Emily Swallow

About Emily Swallow

Emily Swallow, born December 18, 1979, is an American actress recognized for her significant roles across television and theatre. She is particularly well-known to audiences as The Armorer in the acclaimed Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. Her television work also includes portraying Kim Fischer in The Mentalist and taking on the formidable character of Amara, also known as "the Darkness," from the eleventh season through the conclusion of Supernatural. Furthermore, Swallow contributed her talents to the video game world, lending her voice to the character Emily in The Last of Us Part II.

Swallow's early life began in Washington, D.C., on December 18, 1979. She spent her formative years in Sterling, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida. It was during her time at Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville that she discovered her passion for acting, participating in various theatrical endeavors at the college, amateur, and professional levels. She pursued higher education at the University of Virginia, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies in 2001, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts.

Her acting career commenced on the stage, where she amassed a diverse portfolio of performances. These included appearances in the Broadway musical High Fidelity, Shakespearean classics like King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Guthrie Theater. She also performed in Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare in the Park and originated roles in the off-Broadway premieres of Romantic Poetry and Measure for Pleasure. Swallow made her cinematic debut in 2008 with a role in the military drama The Lucky Ones. Her stage work continued with starring appearances in world premieres, such as Donald Margulies' play The Country House at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse. She shared the stage with Mark Rylance in Louis Jenkins' play Nice Fish at the Guthrie Theatre and in John Patrick Shanley's musical Romantic Poetry at Manhattan Theater Club. Her performance as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew earned her the Falstaff Award for Best Female Performer in 2010. In 2012, Swallow collaborated with singer and comedian Jac Huberman to create Jac N Swallow, a stage show that explored the pair's humorous yet poignant experiences navigating life's challenges, which they presented in New York at the Laurie Beeckman Theater and Joe's Pub. She reunited with Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins in 2013 for the world premiere of Nice Fish at the Guthrie Theater. In 2016, she was cast in the Center Theatre Group's production of Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced. Swallow's initial foray into television was with the series Guiding Light, and she subsequently appeared in various other shows