After appearing in various West End productions, Atwell gained popularity for her roles in period dramas, appearing in the films Brideshead Revisited , The Duchess and the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth ; for the latter two, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award respectively.
For her work on stage, Atwell has received Laurence Olivier Award nominations for her leading performances in The Pride and Rosmersholm Atwell took two years off to travel with her father and work for a casting director. Atwell made her professional stage debut in Prometheus Bound at the Sound Theatre in London, portraying Io, a maiden exiled by Zeus. Atwell made the transition to film roles with her first major role coming in Woody Allen 's film Cassandra's Dream , playing stage actress Angela Stark.
In April , Atwell was cast as the love interest in a then-forthcoming film about Captain America as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Forster novel and adapted by playwright Kenneth Lonergan. That same year saw her partnered with The Picturehouse as part of the Picturehouse Ambassador Program as part of her own program Hayley Selects.
In December , it was revealed she had been cast to reprise her role of Peggy Carter in Avengers: Doomsday , scheduled to be released on May 1, Described as the "queen of period-drama" by The Guardian , Atwell has been praised by directors for "the professional example she sets" and her work in period-drama films and television shows.
In , Atwell lived in a flat in London. In October , at the time of the accusations against Harvey Weinstein , a story emerged that, during filming of Brideshead Revisited in , Weinstein had told Atwell she looked like a "fat pig" on screen and should eat less. She also said that she did not believe that Weinstein was a sex addict , but a predator who should be punished for harassing women.
