The Evolution Of Rose Byrne

Just Buried (2007)

This one saw Rose Byrne play opposite Jay Baruchel. He has recently inherited a funeral business, and she is the incumbent mortician. Business is pretty slow, until our Rose comes up with a novel way of creating new business.

This one didn't exactly pack out the multiplexes, but there are more unpleasant ways to spend ninety minutes.

Always The Bridesmaid? This didn't take her centre stage.

Damages (2007-?)

Rose Byrne nabbed a key role in this telly drama, as a recent graduate taken under the wing of Glenn Close's ruthless lawyer. The show has been lauded for its twisty-turny plotting.

The quality feel of the show is increased by the top-drawer acting talent involved; as well as Close and Byrne, Ted Danson, Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt have all had key roles.

Always The Bridesmaid? Three seasons and counting, this long term investment was a smart star-building move from Rose.

The Tender Hook (2008)

Back in her natural Australian accent, this 1920s-set boxing flick casts her as the glamorous wife of Hugo Weaving's dodgy promoter.

Rose gets to play up her seductive side as she falls into a love triangle with one of her hubbie's pugilists, but the script can't really serve Byrne and Weaving's talents.

Always The Bridesmaid? This was a small setback on her road to leading lady status.

Adam (2009)

This flimsy romcom sees Rose getting cosy with Adam (Hugh Dancy), a man with Asperger's syndrome. The leads give endearing performances, though the material feels a bit light for the subject matter.

You can't help but leave feeling that there's still a decent film to be mined from the premise.

Always The Bridesmaid? She's held back by the material here.

Knowing (2009)

This Nicolas Cage sci-fi provided another dud on Rose's CV. Alex Proyas ( I, Robot ) directs this end-of-the-world caper, in which Cage's astrophysics professor finds that the contents of a recently-opened time capsule contain some eerily accurate predictions of large-scale disasters.

Rose's ever-reliable presence provides only a small amount of illumination in this credulity-straining thriller. The only faint praise it can be given is that it wasn't as bad as Cage's other 'glimpsing-the-future' thriller Next .

Always The Bridesmaid? This gloomy yawn-inducer didn't do much to boost her profile.

Get Him To The Greek (2010)

She of the unfeasibly big eyes was back on track in Get Him To The Greek . No one was expecting much from this Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off, but it turned out to be surprisingly funny.

Russell Brand plays himself to decent effect, reprising his role as rocker Aldous Snow, while Rose nails the part of his popstar ex, playing the foul-mouthed, hard-living Jackie Q with admirable aplomb.

Always The Bridesmaid? Given the chance to show off her comedic potential, she damn near steals the movie.

Insidious (2010)

2011 has been a big year for Byrne in terms of UK releases. First up was this spooker from Saw creator James Wan, which also gains fright vintage from producer Oren Paranormal Activity Peli.

Byrne stars as Renai, a songwriter who balances her career and her commitment to her kids by working from home. It’s not long before she’s being freaked out by all manner of ill-explained bumps and creaks, and wondering why she never noticed her husband was so suspicious before. Some were disappointed by the movie’s second half, but there’s no denying the scare-efficiency of the slick build-up.

Always The Bridesmaid? She comfortably handles the lead role, and the decent box office made this the first of a string of hits.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Here Byrne stepped up to the blockbuster plate to join the impressive ensemble that assisted Matthew Vaughn’s spectacularly stylish reboot of Marvel’s mutant franchise.

She plays Moira MacTaggert, a CIA agent on a mission to bring down Sebastian Shaw’s Hellfire Club. To do so, she teams with promising genetics-professor-to-be Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), and she proves her resourcefulness by getting involved in the climactic action scenes and stripping down to her undies when the circumstances dictate.

Always The Bridesmaid? She registers a big impact in a line-up of strong female characters.

Bridesmaids (2011)

Rose Byrne is back in UK cinemas this week, starring in smash-hit comedy Bridesmaids . She plays high-maintenance Helen, one of four bridesmaids that Kristen Wiig’s beleaguered maid-of-honour Annie has to contend with in the run up to Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) big day.

The Judd Apatow-produced comedy opened to superb reviews and impressive box-office in the US, and there’s already been talk of a sequel. Bridesmaids is in cinemas now.

Always The Bridesmaid? Byrne, and her co-stars, prove they can hold their own with the big boys when it comes to comedy.