The summer of 2021 was an embarrassment of riches for fans of Rachel Weisz. We got to see her join the MCU in Black Widow playing scientist Melina Vostokoff. The Mummy, which made Weiz an international household name, saw a resurgence in popularity as many took to social media to express their love of the film.
Even the small screen wasn’t immune to her charms, with the absolutely charming fourth episode of Ted Lasso’s second season making a recurring joke about the musical stylings of Weisz and her husband, actor Daniel Craig, while at Christmas parties. For those wanting in on the fun, we’re excited to present ten career highlights from the woman whose delivery of the line “I am a librarian” lives rent-free in my head.
10 Rachel Weisz Films and Where to Stream Them
The Mummy
In this 1999 remake of the 1932 Universal monster movie, Weisz plays Evelyn Carnahan, a librarian whose interest in Ancient Egypt leads her to hire Rick O’Connell (played by Brendan Fraiser) to guide her to Hamunaptra, the city of the dead.
Its premise and imagery would suggest that The Mummy is a horror film (seriously, a LOT of people get eaten by beetles). But its lush setting, comedic undercurrent, and the sizzling chemistry between the leads mean that I’d also consider it something of a romantic drama. Just, you know, with a lot of people being eaten alive.
Streaming on Prime Video and Netflix
The Mummy Returns
If The Mummy had romance drama potential, then The Mummy Returns absolutely goes there without hesitation. The first film was concerned with the titular mummy, Imhotep, attempting to resurrect his lover Anck-Su-Namun. The sequel really doubles down on the concept, throwing a reincarnation subplot in there as well for good measure.
Weisz does double duty this time around, reprising her role as Evelyn, while also playing Princess Nefertiri in flashbacks. Of the two, this one surpasses the first for me, not only for being even more of a sweeping romance, but because it gave me a sweet swordfight scene to try and recreate in my backyard using badminton rackets instead (it didn’t go well).
Streaming on Prime Video and Netflix
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
About A Boy
In her first role after wrapping up The Mummy movies, Weisz plays Rachel, Hugh Grant’s love interest in a story about what it means to be a parent and a parental figure. About A Boy is worthy of mention in her career highlights purely because years after watching it, I still remember her role so clearly, even though her part is not the largest in terms of screentime.
She really stands out in a movie full of rock-solid performances, including a memorable turn by a very young Nicholas Hoult, who would later co-star with her again in The Favourite.
Streaming on Prime Video
Constantine
Interestingly, Black Widow was not Weisz's first foray into comic book movies. Instead, that honor belongs to Constantine, which stars Keanu Reeves as the titular DC Comics character. Like in The Mummy Returns, Weisz does double duty as both Detective Angela Dodson (and technically her twin sister as well) and as Mammo, the son of Lucifer.
Though the character of Constantine has been rebooted a couple of times since then, it’s hard to resist the charms of the two leads set against a supernatural backdrop
Streaming on Prime Video and Netflix
The Constant Gardener
Based on John Le Carré’s novel, The Constant Gardener is a heartbreaking thriller that deals with some truly heavy subject matter. It is also the film that won Weisz her Academy Award – among quite a few others – for her role as Tessa Quayle, an activist with Amnesty International.
Streaming on Prime Video
The Brothers Bloom
In the middle of the more serious period dramas and the heart-stopping adventure comes The Brothers Bloom, from writer-director Rian Johnson. Weisz plays Penelope, a bored, wealthy woman who gets roped into a heist by the titular con artist brothers – played by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody respectively.
I always enjoy seeing an actor who usually chooses more serious fare have fun in something more lighthearted, and by throwing herself into Penelope’s wide range of pastimes, it’s clear how much fun Weisz is having onscreen.
Streaming on Prime Video and Netflix
The Deep Blue Sea
Weisz was nominated in several critical circles for her role in The Deep Blue Sea, winning one of them. The Deep Blue Sea is a small movie, by which I mean it tells a smaller scale story than some of the others on its list. But sometimes what makes a movie worth watching is the powerful performances of its leads, and that is certainly the case here.
Weisz stars opposite Tom Hiddleston as two damaged, lonely people just trying to get by in postwar London. It is the kind of smaller critical darling film that too often gets overlooked.
Streaming on Prime Video and Netflix
Disobedience
It’s difficult for me to speak on the specifics of Disobedience, Weisz's first producing role, as it is entirely about queer identity within a strict religious environment, and I don’t have experience with either. But what I can say for it is that in my experience stories like this prioritize trauma and end on a very bleak note. Though not a happy-go-lucky film by any means, Disobedience is made up of characters who mean well by each other, and has a surprisingly hopeful ending, all things considered.
Streaming on Netflix
The Favourite
The movie that garnered her a second Oscar nomination, The Favourite, features Weisz as Sarah Churchill, confidante, and lover to Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne. Though the film is a liberal take on the actual historical events, there is still something chilling and compelling in the struggle that plays out between Sarah and her cousin Abigail (Emma Stone), as they depict women struggling for a degree of power and control in an echelon of society where such things were kept out of reach.
Streaming on Prime Video and Disney+ Star in Canada
Scarlett Johansson, and Florence Pugh | Courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios
Black Widow
This summer, Weisz made her return to the world of comic book movies in Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, playing Melina Vostokoff, a Russian scientist, spy, and adoptive mother to Natasha (Scarlett Johanssen) and Yelena (Florence Pugh). In a movie about deception and a group of untrustworthy people needing to trust each other, the subtlety of her performance really comes through, as Melina delivers some of the more unexpected moments, particularly through the final act.
Since she walked away alive in the end, it’s worth wondering if she’s going to make an appearance later this year in Hawkeye, or some other Yelena-adjacent project down the line. Nothing has been announced or speculated, but never say never with Marvel.
Streaming on Disney+ (With Premiere Access)
Arezou Amin is a freelance writer with a lifelong love of Star Wars, romance, fantasy, and all things pop culture. She is the host of Space Waffles, a Star Wars-focused podcast on the Geeky Waffle network, where she also co-hosts the flagship show and writes reviews and recaps for the site.