--- name: "Lisa Dillon" canonical: "https://film.one/person/lisa-dillon" roles: ["Actor"] born: "1 January 1979" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 72 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-17T15:49:22.988151+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lisa Dillon Actor. Born 1 January 1979 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 1 January 1979, Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK - **Active:** 2007–present - **Also known as:** Lisa Stawiarski - **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 84 (1), 2020s 61 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Dillon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6557935, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1373096/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/229792 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Cranford*](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md) (84) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Lisa Dillon > Lisa Dillon is good at making a quiet response count. Her Mary Smith in *Cranford* helps the other performances belong together, and we value that attentiveness more than any attempt to stand apart. Lisa Dillon does not make Mary Smith wait conspicuously for her next line in *Cranford* (2007). Beside Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench, she responds in a way that keeps the scene moving between people, rather than breaking it into separate performances. We were moved by that shared patience, especially when Dench's hesitations are allowed to matter without anyone insisting on our sympathy. Dillon helps those moments feel natural within a busy ensemble. Her performance is a good reason to stay with a series that takes a while to settle. The stage roles make it hard to regard Mary's watchfulness as all Dillon has to offer. Early roles included Hilda Wangel in *The Master Builder* (2003), while *Hawking* (2004) cast her as Jane Wilde before *Cranford* became her television breakthrough. Theatre continued to offer leading parts, with Lucy in *The Knot of the Heart* (2011) written specifically for her. Playwright David Eldridge and director Howard Davies are among her collaborators. Those are substantial demands on an actor who is easy to remember for her composure. As the narrator figure, Mary could easily become a device for telling us how to regard everybody else. Dillon is more useful when she simply gives the others her attention, allowing Atkins's certainty and Dench's doubt to sit beside one another. We like those exchanges considerably more than the occasional cosiness of the setting. The programme can look too comfortable, but the women have more to do than decorate it. Her appearance as Mrs Drayton in *Suffragette* (2015) adds another period role, though it tells us little by itself about the demands she can meet. Screen parts have sometimes been smaller than her stage leads. We would welcome more space for the attentive acting that works so well in company here. Start with *Cranford*, and give its slow opening time. ## Biography Lisa Dillon (née Stawiarski) is an English actress. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2002, and began her career in theatre. She is known for her role as Mary Smith in the BBC series *Cranford* (2007–2009). Other television credits include *Hawking* (2004) as Jane Wilde, *Cambridge Spies* (2003), *Dirk Gently* (2012) and *Midsomer Murders* (2012). Film roles include *Bright Young Things* (2003) and *Suffragette* (2015). She has also appeared in *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025). Dillon received the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Newcomer and first prize in the Ian Charleson Awards in 2003 for her stage performances in *The Master Builder* and *Iphigenia*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, bbc.co.uk.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), Fi1m 61, as Princess Arthur — [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md) - *Cranford* (2007), Fi1m 84, as Mary Smith — [page](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md) ## Complete filmography (13) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Hack* (2025), series, as Clare Rewcastle Brown - *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* (2025), as Princess Arthur — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/downton-abbey-the-grand-finale.md) - *Stan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles* (2017), series, as Barbara Haleton - *Suffragette* (2015), as Mrs Drayton - *Black Work* (2015), series, as Carla - *The Beat Beneath My Feet* (2014), as Mary - *Dirk Gently* (2012), series, as Melinda Fulstone - *Cranford* (2007), series, as Mary Smith — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/cranford.md) - *Hawking* (2004), as Jane Wilde - *Bright Young Things* (2003), as Jane Brown - *Cambridge Spies* (2003), series, as Litzi Friedman - *The Jury* (2002), series, as Tasha Williams - *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Deirdre Denning --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. 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