Hamilton trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Career
Hamilton made her television debut as a regular in the hit Showtimedrama seriesThe Tudors, portraying the sharp-tongued Anne Stanhope in seasons three and four. Her breakthrough role was in the highly acclaimed film Last Cab to Darwin in 2015, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Australian Academy Awards. She is known for her roles in Mr Selfridge, Hyde & Seek and. Notable feature films include the black comedyWhole Lotta Sole with Brendan Fraser by Oscar-winning director Terry George, and the action thriller The Cold Light of Day where she starred alongside Bruce Willis and Henry Cavill. Hamilton won her first professional role in HBO’s World War II film Into the Storm, produced by Ridley Scott, upon graduating drama school. Subsequently, she made her stage debut as Isabella Thorpe in an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey at the Salisbury Playhousein September 2007. Her first major stage role followed in 2008 in the Royal Exchange Theatre's production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie where she played Laura Wingfield opposite Brenda Blethyn, her portrayal described as "a haunting, heartbreaking performance". In 2010 she performed alongside Gemma Arterton and Stephen Dillane in the off-West End production of Ibsen’s The Master Builder. Hamilton's leading performance in the title role of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in 2012 was critically acclaimed. In 2013 Hamilton joined the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Queen Isabella opposite David Tennant in Richard II, Gregory Doran's first production as Artistic Director. Richard II broke records as the fastest selling production in RSC history and when screened live to cinemas around the UK on 13 November 2013, played to an audience of over 60,000. Hamilton returned to international screens as Eleanor, the malevolent red-headed half-sister of Porthos in the BBC’s The Musketeers. She then went on to star in the romantic comedy in the title role of Mary Donaldson, the future Crown Princess of Denmark. The television biopic was the highest rating drama for the network for that year, earning praise as "fun...tearjerking film-making" and "one of the better romantic comedies Australia has made in some time." Hamilton physically transformed herself for the role, dying her hair brunette and wearing brown contact lenses. In that year Hamilton also featured as Rosie Dolly, the blonde American love interest of Mr Selfridge in the fourth season of the period drama starring Jeremy Piven. In 2016 she starred in her first major series television lead role as ex-NZSIS agent Claire McKenzie in the crime thrillerHyde & Seek.
