Irish actress Laura Pyper hails from County Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. She is one of five siblings, the other being two brothers and two sisters. She trained at Trinity College in Dublin, studying English and Drama to improve her career. Also a stage actress, she has been working avidly in theatre. Her notable roles are in Blackwater Angel at the Finborough Theatre, and in the Donmar Warehouse production of Don Juan in Soho. She is best known for her performance on the BBC cult show Hex, where she played the time-traveling witch, Ella Dee. Doing her own stuntwork, her character is given the task of defeating evil adversaries, leaving her life in constant danger and peril.
Laura Pyper has also appeared on a number of other television shows. She played the character Vicki Lester on two episodes of Bachelor’s Walk, and has done work in movies as well. In 2002, she landed a role in the action thriller Reign of Fire, acting alongside Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler, Izabella Scorupco and Batman Begins’ star, Christian Bale. That year, she was seen in the short Kester Dyer film Padraig agus Nadia, as the lead female. Pyper was also noted for her role in the Irish film, Headrush, where she was cast as Vicky Nobel. In 2004, she got the part of Lorraine Wilson in the BAFTA Award-winning TV film Omagh. This was followed by a guest appearance on the series Holby City as Alison on the episode “Playing with Fire.” She later took on a role in the show The IT Crowd, and appeared on Doctors as Hannah Farmer. In 2008, she was seen on The Bill as Mandy Glover. The role required her to appear on two episodes, namely “Spilt Blood” and “Shadow Stalker.”
Pyper is also romantically involved with actor Chris O’Dowd, who starred on The IT Crowd with her.
(Photo courtesy of BBC America)
Reign of Fire (2002) .... Lin
Padraig agus Nadia (2002) .... Nadia
Headrush (2003) .... Vicky
Bachelors Walk .... Vicki Lester (2ep., 2003)
Omagh (2004) (TV) .... Lorraine Wilson
Holby City .... Alison Kerman (1ep., 2004)
Hex .... Ella Dee
Tess: A Tale of Love and Darkness (2006) .... Tess
The IT Crowd .... Laura (1ep., 2006)
Doctors .... Hannah Farmer (1ep., 2007)
The Bill .... Mandy Glover (2ep., 2008)
Silent Witness .... Esther Rubutkin (2ep., 2008)
(On the cast of Hex) "I think on the first day I had scenes with Jemima and we just clicked. They all had a huge amount of time off since filming for the second series began and the first ended so they came starting afresh. I've been made to feel very welcome."
(On her favorite moments on Hex) "I loved all the stuff where I go mad. It was really cool being burnt at the stake too. They had a stunt girl but I was like, "No, I'll do it and conquer my fear of heights" ... by being strapped to a pole and lowered into flames."
(On Stardom) "I don't have any interest in moving to Hollywood... maybe someday."