Donna Anita Nikolaisen

Acting

Biography

Donna Anita Nikolaisen is an Irish stage and screen actor. She trained through LAMDA at Montfort College of Performing Arts, attended The Focus Theatre Stanislavsky Studio and trained vocally at Bel Canto School of Voice. She won Best Supporting Actor at the Underground Cinema Festival for her role in the award winning short QED. Her film credits include: Hallmark's Christmas at Castle Hart, Sweetness in the Belly and The Last Right. Her TV credits include: Conversation with Friends, Nova Jones, The South Westerlies, Blood and Fair City. Her theatre credits include: Tea Chests and Dreams (The Axis), No Irish No Blacks No Dogs (The New Theatre), Jane Eyre (The Gate), Talking to Terrorists (The Samuel Beckett) and The Bacchae of Baghdad (The Abbey). As a voice over artist Donna has voiced radio plays, narrated TV documentaries: Ireland's Refugee Hotel (BBC/TV3) and The Story of Water (Virgin Media) and narrated audio books including the audio book for award winning novel Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan. She is currently (2022) voicing a main character in an animation scheduled for release in 2023.

Known For & Full Filmography10 Titles

#1Kin

Drama Series - 2021, 16 episodes as Estate Agent

7.7 / 10
CrimeDrama

The lives of a Dublin family embroiled in a gangland war and the consequences of their choices.

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#2Cold Courage

Drama Series - 2020, 16 episodes as Catherine Grant

5.7 / 10
CrimeDrama

Two young Finnish women in London are drawn inexorably together via the Studio - a clandestine group dedicated to bringing justice to those beyond the law. But, as their battle against exploitation, violence and corporate greed intensifies, will the Studio's ends continue to justify its means?

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#3Blood

Drama Series - 2018, 16 episodes as Louisa Short

6.8 / 10
DramaMystery

Cat Hogan returns to West Meath upon her mother's sudden death - she has an accident at home and died (or was it an accident?). Blood is about old secrets, older betrayals, mind games and the lies family tell each other.

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#4Sweetness in the Belly

Movie - 2019, 2h 15m as Grace Ture

6.3 / 10
Drama

Orphaned in Africa as a child, Lilly escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war in Ethiopia. Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families. But as her friend Amina discovers, Lilly's mission isn't purely selfless: a passionate lost love affair is revealed.

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#5September Says

Movie - 2025, 2h 15m as Biology Teacher

7.0 / 10
Drama

Sisters September and July share an intense bond, speaking in a secret language and keeping the outside world at a distance. After September is suspended from school, their mother brings them to a remote house on the Irish coast—where July begins to resist her sister’s increasingly sadistic control.

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#6Christmas at Castle Hart

Movie - 2021, 2h 15m as Paige Monaghan

6.3 / 10
TV MovieComedyRomance

Brooke Bennett goes to Ireland for Christmas to search for her Irish roots. While there, she meets Aiden Hart, Earl of Glaslough. Mistaken for an elite event planner, she’s hired to host his castle’s epic Christmas party.

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#7The Last Right

Movie - 2019, 2h 15m as Herself - Air Hostess

6.0 / 10
ComedyDrama

Daniel Murphy is lumbered with a corpse that has the same last name as his, who dies on his flight from Boston to County Cork. Travelling back to Ireland to attend his mother’s funeral, Daniel also checks on his autistic brother. What follows is an unconventional road trip with his brother and the mortuary assistant as they take the coffin from Clonakilty to Rathlin Island.

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#8Royally Ever After

Movie - 2018, 2h 15m as The Countess

6.0 / 10
DramaTV MovieComedy

Sara's dream of finding the perfect mate is realized when boyfriend Daniel proposes marriage, but there is one tiny hitch. It turns out he is the real-life prince of a small European monarchy, and his marriage requires the approval of his royal parents. Commoner Sara will have to do more than simply impress the in-laws-to-be. If she wants to become Daniel’s wife, she’ll have to prove she’s got all the makings of an honest-to-goodness princess.

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#9One Sweet Hour

Movie - 2024, 2h 15m as Amara

8.8 / 10
Drama

An ageing Elvis impersonator finally faces up to his demons as he travels through the Irish midlands with his long-lost brother, who has recently quit his life in a monastery.

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#10Hotel Darklight

Movie - 2009, 2h 15m as Young Woman (as Donna Nikolaisen)

8.8 / 10
HorrorMystery

Ten horror tales about the strange and sinister goings-on in the Hotel Darklight: Lonely Hearts (written and directed by Ciaran Foy); Hotel Training (written by Maura McHugh and directed by Conor McMahon); Prejudice (written and directed by Paul Walker); St. Mary (written by Gerry Creehan and Paul Markey and directed by Brian O'Toole); Play Dead (written and directed by James Phelan); Heaven in a Wildflower (written by Sinead Fagan and directed by Dolores Rice); Regards to the Chef (written by Eilis Mernagh and directed by Kian Petit and Ewan Petit); Noughts and Crosses (written by Barry McLoughlin and directed by Alan Brennan); You Beta Your Bollix (written by T.C. Director and directed by Ian Whelan); Better the Derval You Know (written by Paul Markey and directed by Brian O'Toole).

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