Joanne Thomson is an Actor, Writer and Director from Glasgow, Scotland.

Since graduating with a BA in Acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland she has also trained with the Groundlings Improv School in Los Angeles. She has worked extensively across the UK as an actor and has directed internationally award-winning theatre.

Her theatre credits as an actor include work with the National Theatre of Scotland, Bristol Old Vic, Citizens Theatre,  Birmingham Rep, Royal Lyceum, Traverse and the legendary Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. 

In 2022 it was announced that Joanne had been cast as new recurring character Amy McCallum in Season 6 of OUTLANDER with Sony/Starz before going on to join the cast of Synchronicity and CAA’s latest feature film Kill. She also recently played DS Lisa Harvey in BBC One drama THE VICTIM which was nominated for a BAFTA and her performance in ITV’s BAFTA-nominated In Plain Sight won her 2 Best Actress nominations at the IARA awards. In 2019, she starred in BBC’s prime-time drama THE SUFFRAGETTES which won a BAFTA that same year.In 2021 Joanne was selected as a BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer in addition to being chosen for Glasgow Film Festival’s New Talent scheme as a Writer/Director and most recently she was chosen as one of the Traverse Theatre’s Breakthrough Writers.

 During lockdown, she co-founded the first online BAFTA New Talent Writer’s Group and assists with the running of the Global Women in Film Film Club in an effort to keep creative support and conversation thriving throughout our new normal.

Her passion lies in championing underrepresented voices and her writing has placed in several Screencraft competitions, made the BBC Writer’s Room Top 2% List, Olivia Colman’s South of the River & Sister’s Commendation List  and won WWFC’s LA Pilot Accelerator in association with Netflix, HBO & Blumhouse.  ​

Her queer, women-led pilot Spinner & Marie also won C21’s coveted Screenwriting Award at Content London in 2021 and her debut film, which she will also co-direct, was recently shortlisted for BFI-funding and will go into production in 2024. Her debut play Jack in a Box was recently longlisted for the David MacLennan Award before being chosen for The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 37 Plays.