Mackenzie Davis Biography

Mackenzie Davis was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Lotte and John Davis, owners of a hair care company based out of the province. As a child, she took every opportunity she could find to perform but decided not to pursue acting professionally until she’d finished school. She studied English and Women’s Studies at McGill University, while taking acting classes and performing in school plays to hone her craft.

Mackenzie moved to New York City to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse whose famous alumni include Gregory Peck, Diane Keaton and Jeff Goldblum. Although eager to act, Mackenzie resisted taking roles that would typecast her as the girlfriend or love interest, a decision she believed would likely make landing roles even more difficult.

While she was in New York, Mackenzie was discovered by director Drake Doremus, who cast her alongside Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce in his drama, Breathe In. Following her breakout role, Mackenzie began appearing in more films, including the comedy That Awkward Moment (2014), the space odyssey film The Martian (2015), and the psychological thriller, Always Shine (2016).

She has not restricted herself to the big screen, starring in the AMC-TV period drama Halt and Catch Fire, as well as appearing on the Netflix series Black Mirror in a 2017 episode widely regarded as the best and most emotional episode of the series.

Mackenzie returned to theaters in the Blade Runner sequel, Blade Runner 2049, and starred in the title role in the 2018 film, Tully, alongside Charlize Theron. While playing a half human sent to Earth to save a woman with a pivotal role in the future in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie was completely unrecognizable.

In 2020, she took on a starring role in The Turning, playing a governess hired to take care of two children in a mansion that appears to be haunted. The same year, she played a supporting role in the hilarious big budget motion picture Irresistible (2020), which was scheduled to hit theaters, but was eventually released online instead, due to the pandemic. The same fate met her next film, Happiest Season (2020), which moved to a Hulu release in November 2020.

Filmography:

Happiest Season (2020)
Irresistible (2020)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Tully (2018)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town (2017)
Always Shine (2016)
Freaks of Nature (2015)
The Martian (2015)
A Country Called Home (2015)
That Awkward Moment (2014)
Plato's Reality Machine (2013)
Bad Turn Worse (2013)
The F Word (2013)
Breathe In (2013)
The Hat Goes Wild (2012)
Smashed (2012)