Marsha Thomason

Marsha Thomason
Thomason at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1976-01-19) 19 January 1976 (age 48)
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present
Spouse
Craig Sykes
(m. 2009)
Children1

Marsha Lisa Thomason Sykes (born 19 January 1976)[1] is an English television and film actress who is best known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, Nessa Holt in the first two seasons of the NBC series Las Vegas, Naomi Dorrit on the ABC series Lost, FBI agent Diana Berrigan on the USA Network series White Collar, and DS Jenn Townsend in ITV crime series The Bay.

Early life

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Thomason attended Holy Trinity Primary School in Harpurhey and North Manchester High School for Girls in Moston, before attending Oldham Sixth Form College to study for A levels in media studies, theatre studies, and performing arts. She attended the Manchester Metropolitan University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. From the age of 13, Thomason attended Oldham Theatre Workshop, where she participated in youth theatre productions.

Career

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Thomason first came to prominence on British television in the fifth series of Pie in the Sky (1997) playing the waitress, Sally, in eight episodes. She went on to appear in Playing the Field and Where the Heart Is (both 1998), as well as in the first series of the BBC Three drama Burn It (2003). In the United States, she appeared in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, opposite Eddie Murphy. She played Brandy in the film My Baby's Daddy and Victoria in Black Knight. She also played Vicki in Pure. She starred in the U.S. television series Las Vegas as Nessa Holt in seasons one and two, a total of 47 episodes.

On 21 October 2004, she was a guest on the radio show Loveline. In January 2008, she appeared in Messiah V: The Rapture. In August 2008, Thomason was cast as a series regular in the CW show Easy Money.[2] In late 2009, she appeared on General Hospital.[3] After appearing in the pilot episode for White Collar as agent Diana Berrigan, she returned for the first-season finale. It was announced that she would appear on the series full-time in the second season.[4][5] She is also the new voice of Diana in Hitman: Absolution.

Thomason had the recurring role of Naomi Dorrit on the television show Lost. Being a friend of Dominic Monaghan (who played Charlie Pace on the series), she was a huge fan of the show and excited to be cast. She first appeared in the third-season episode "Catch-22", which aired on 18 April 2007, and continued to appear until the season finale "Through the Looking Glass". She next appeared in "The Beginning of the End" and in the season-five episode "Some Like It Hoth".

In an interview on her role in Lost and whether the actors were provided with information not known to the audience she said, "That's kind of difficult as an actor, but also freeing in a way, because you just have to play the scenes as they're written. And then if you find out if you're a big villain or whatever, then you play that".[6]

Personal life

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On 5 April 2009, Thomason married lighting technician Craig Sykes in Malibu, California.[7] Their daughter was born in June 2013.[8]

Filmography

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Film

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Priest Nurse
2001 Black Knight Victoria the Chambermaid and Nicole
2002 Long Time Dead Lucy
Pure Vicki
2003 The Haunted Mansion Sara Evers and Elizabeth Henshaw
2004 My Baby's Daddy Brandy
2005 The Nickel Children Beatrice
2006 The Package Melissa Short film
Caffeine Rachel
The Fast One Lucy Comedy short
The Tripper Linda
Tug of War Sam Comedy short
2007 LA Blues Carla
2009 Into the Blue 2: The Reef Azra
TBA The Extraordinary Farewell Claire Samuels Pre-production

Television

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Television
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Safe Wendy TV film
1996 Prime Suspect Janice Episode: Prime Suspect 5: "Errors of Judgement"
1996 Brazen Hussies Stripper with fire TV film
1997 Pie in the Sky Sally 8 episodes
1998 Playing the Field Sharon 'Shazza' Pearce
1998–1999 Where the Heart Is Jacqui Richards 20 episodes
1999 Love in the 21st Century Louise Episode: "Threesome"
2001 Table 12 Denie Episode: "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner"
Swallow Tina Harford TV film
2003 Burn It Tina 3 episodes
2003–2005 Las Vegas Nessa Holt Seasons 1–2 (Main cast: 47 episodes)
2007 Cane Miranda Sanfilipino Episode: "Family Business"
2007–2010 Lost Naomi Dorrit 12 episodes
2008 Life Jill Abrahams Episode: "The Business of Miracles"
Easy Money Julia Miller 8 episodes
Messiah V: The Rapture Mel Palmer TV film
2009 General Hospital Gillian Carlyle 4 episodes
2009–2010 Make It or Break It Mary Jane "MJ" Martin 6 episodes
2009–2014 White Collar Special Agent Diana Berrigan Season 1 (2 episodes: Pilot, Finale); Seasons 2–6 (main cast)[4]
2011 2 Broke Girls Cashandra 2 episodes
2013–2014 Men at Work Selena 2 episodes
2014 House of Lies Acquaintance Episode: "Soldiers"
2015 Safe House Katy 4 episodes
2017 Bones Amy Bryan Episode: "The Tutor in the Tussle"
2017–2020 NCIS: Los Angeles Nicole Dechamps 8 episodes
2017–2018 The Good Doctor Dr. Isabel Barnes 3 episodes
2018 SEAL Team Staff Sergeant Vanessa Ryan 3 episodes
2019 Better Things Mer Kodis 3 episodes
2020–present COBRA Francine Bridge
2020 MacGyver Dr. Cheryl Werner Episode: "Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac"
2021 Castlevania Greta Voice, 6 episodes
Magnum P.I. Eve Season 4 recurring
2022–present The Bay DS Jenn Townsend Lead role; since series 3[9][10]
2022 FreakAngels Voice

Video games

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Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Hitman: Absolution Diana Burnwood

References

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  1. ^ Rose, Mike (19 January 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 19, 2023 includes celebrities Dolly Parton, Jodie Sweetin". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Exclusive: Lost's Naomi Finds Easy Money". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Breaking News". Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b Ausiello, Michael (12 February 2010). "White Collar Promotes Marsha Thomason". ew.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (14 March 2010). "Three solidify cable series roles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  6. ^ "'Lost's Marsha Thomason Interview". Digital Spy.
  7. ^ Heldman, Breanne (6 April 2009). "Lost Actress Marsha Thomason Finds a Husband". E! Online. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  8. ^ Leon, Anya. "Marsha Thomason Welcomes Daughter Tallulah Anaïs". People.
  9. ^ "Marsha Thomason joins The Bay in lead role as ITV orders a third series". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ Ginger and Nuts Radio Interview, February 2022
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