A Field Guide To Indira Varma

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This season of "Game of Thrones" has seen the introduction of Oberyn Martell, a Dornish prince whose lust for violence is rivaled only by his lust for group sex--and with him, the arrival of Ellaria Sand, his equally libertine lover. Between the two of them, they've already logged quite a bit of time in the brothel--and after this past episode's exploits, we're finding ourselves even more enamored of Ellaria...and curious about Indira Varma, the actress who plays her.

Indira Varma was born in Bath, Somerset, on May 14, 1973, to an Indian father and a Swiss mother, both of whom worked as visual artists. Her childhood was rich in colorful cultural experiences, and exactly the sort of wild adventures you'd expect two artists to encourage their child to get into. As she told reporters:

[A]s we had no other family in Britain, we travelled abroad a lot to visit their friends. It wasn't glamorous – just really good fun, often camping on a shoestring. We'd be on a train somewhere in Europe and mum and dad would send me off to talk to other children, so I would have to communicate with them using bits of French or Italian mixed in with sign language. It was as if I was practising my Marcel Marceau on them.

These early experiences gave her a deep love of language (if she hadn't gone into acting, she would have loved to be a language teacher), and, we'd wager, helped her hone her impressive acting talents, which to put to work at a very early age, playing the angel Gabriel in a school nativity play at the tender age of five. She spent her youth honing her acting talents in community theater, then enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, one of the most prestigious drama schools in the world.

Though many actors struggle for years to gain a foothold in the acting world, Indira scored a big break right after drama school, scoring the lead role in "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love," a movie about two girlhood friends who grow up to be sexual rivals. Indira's Indian background helped her clinch the role--as did her willingness to get completely naked for a sex scene (seen above). Yes, shocking as it may seem, a movie named after a tome famed for its depictions of a variety of sex positions happened to feature some pretty steamy sex scenes--and Indira performed quite admirably in them, if you want to know our opinion.

Since starring in "Kama Sutra," Indira's had a number of notable roles--and, we should add, notable nude scenes. Though none have quite reached the height of her full frontal fabulousness in "Kama Sutra," she hasn't exactly been averse to getting her kit off, showing skin in "Zehn wahnsinnige Tage," "Canterbury Tales," "Rome," and, most recently, "Hunted." Will this result in us seeing Ellaria naked on "Game of Thrones"? It's hard to say. Though she hasn't shied away from nudity over the years, some of her more recent scenes ("Rome," specifically) made use of a body double. But the again, her 2012 scene in "The Hunted" seems to have shown her sans clothes and sans body double, so it's possible the "Rome" bit was an aberration in a nudity friendly career, especially when you factor in this interview with Pedro Pascal (the actor who plays Oberyn Martell), which seems to suggest that the pair will get up to quite a bit of naughtiness throughout the show's run.

But friends: much as we enjoy Indira Varma's nudity (and we do, quite a bit), we'd be remiss if we didn't recognize the many wonderful non-nude things about this woman. She's a hard working, dedicated actress who loves exploring all forms of her craft ("I love variety. I love theater. I also love radio. I love language.")--and in addition to the roles mentioned above, she's turned in pretty impressive performances in shows like "Luther" and "Human Target," as well as numerous plays (even with all her onscreen success, she still hasn't abandoned her love of the theater).

And, of course, much as she loves her work, she's not all business. Indira balances her rigorous work schedule with a fulfilling family life (her partner Colin Tierney and daughter Evelyn live in London--one of the big reasons why she hasn't made the jump to full time work in Hollywood), and, we're pleased to see, still makes time to prioritize travel and vacation. Wondering where you should take Indira on that fantasy vacation you're dreaming of? We hear she's a fan of driving around the European countryside:

Whether it's Italy or Spain, we love rolling out an Ordnance Survey map, getting in the car and then just following our instincts to the mountains, the sea, the cities and the art.

We're definitely filing that fact away in case we ever have a chance with Indira. (Hey, stranger things have happened!)

· See all of Indira Varma's nude scenes at Mr. Skin (mrskin.com)