Hera Hilmar

Personal life Hera is the daughter of the film director Hilmar Oddsson and actress Thorey Sigthorsdottir . Her grandfather was playwright and theater director Oddur Björnsson.

She graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2011.

Career Hera was nominated for an Edda as Actress of the Year in a leading role in 2007 for her role in The Quiet Storm. She joined Da Vinci's Demons in 2013 as Vanessa Moschella, an outspoken Florentine barmaid and occasional model for Leonardo.

Later she won the same award (Edda) twice, first in 2015 for her role as Eik in Life in a Fishbowl, and then in 2017 for her role as Anna in The Oath. She was also chosen as one of Europe's Shooting Stars at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015, as well as winning a ‘special mention’ at the Zurich Film Festival for her role in Life in a Fishbowl.

In 2015, Hera appeared in the period drama film The Ottoman Lieutenant, playing Lillie Rowe, a 20-year-old nurse from a prominent Philadelphia family. Around the same time, Hera played Tanja, a Serbian agent disguised as a housemaid alongside Ben Kingsley in Brad Silberling's film, An Ordinary Man, which was later screened in 2017 before being released direct-to-video in June 2018. In 2016, Hera starred in The Ashram, which would be released two years later.

In February 2017, Hera was doing a play in Iceland when she heard about Peter Jackson’s film, Mortal Engines, based on the novel of the same name by Philip Reeve. Writer Philippa Boyens described her audition via Skype as "flawless", and she was cast thereafter. Her character, Hester Shaw, is different than in the novel, as she is older and a protagonist. Upon release in December 2018, she recounted reading the source material and going through the action that the complexly crafted world demanded. She tried to understand more during filming, which took place between April and July 2017.

In June 2018, Hera was cast in Matt Weiner's anthology series The Romanoffs. On October 18, 2018, it was reported that she had joined the Apple TV+ series See, alongside Christian Camargo. She plays Maghra, the wife of Baba Voss, a character played by Jason Momoa.

During the pandemic, Hera collaborated with The Icelandic Film Centre for the 2020 short films Last Dance and Óskin, or “The Wish”. She also starred as the leading role “Helga” in Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir’s feature film adaptation of , or A Letter from Helga. In addition, she provided the narration for a video revealing the new national Icelandic football team crest.

In 2024, Hera was cast in the Canadian thriller film Hangashore.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1995 Tears of Stone Jón's Daughter Hilmar Oddsson (3) 1998 Child 2006 An Ordinary Day Short film 2007 The Quiet Storm Disa Guðný Halldórsdóttir 2008 Two Birds Lára Rúnar Rúnarsson Short film 2010 Undercurrent Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson 2012 Anna Karenina Varya Chirkova Joe Wright 2013 We Are the Freaks Iona Justin Edgar The Fifth Estate WikiLeaks Staffer #2 Bill Condon 2014 Life in a Fishbowl Eik Baldvin Zophoníasson Get Santa WPC Boyle Christopher Smith 2016 Alleycats Trix Ian Bonhôte The Oath Anna Baltasar Kormákur 2017 The Ottoman Lieutenant Lillie Rowe Joseph Ruben An Ordinary Man Tanja Brad Silberling Summer Children 2018 The Ashram Sophie Ben Rekhi Mortal Engines Hester Shaw Christian Rivers 2020 The Wish Halla Inga Lísa Middleton Short film Last Dance Woman Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir (2) 2022A Letter from Helga Helga Driving Mum Bergdís Hilmar Oddsson (4) 2025 Hangashore Vera Justin Oakey Turbulence Emmy Claudio Fäh

Television Year Title Role Notes 2007 Áramótaskaupið Episode: "Áramótaskaupið 2007" 2008 Black Angels Aðalheiður 6 episodes 2009 The Cliff Una 4 episodes 2012 World Without End Margery 2 episodes Leaving Paulina 3 episodes 2013–2015 Da Vinci's Demons Vanessa Moschella 25 episodes 2016 Harley and the Davidsons Emma Davidson 3 episodes 2018 The Romanoffs Ondine Episode: "The One That Holds Everything" 2019–2022 See Maghra Kane 24 episodes 2025 Reykjavik Fusion Marý 6 episodes