Charlotte Riley first appeared in the Episode: "Send" of the BBC Three sitcom ‘Grownups’ in 2007. She went on to make her big-screen debut in the 2008 British romantic comedy film ‘Easy Virtue’ directed by Stephan Elliott. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and scored a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The following year, she portrayed Catherine Earnshaw in the 2009 two-part British ITV television series ‘Wuthering Heights.’ The series was an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name and received a mixed response from critics. She continued to appear in television series and films such as ‘The Take’ (2009), ‘Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen’ (2009), ‘Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side’
(2009), ‘Foyle's War’ (2010), ‘DCI Banks’ (2010-2011), ‘The Town’ (2012), and ‘World Without End’ (2012). In 2012, she starred as ‘Kate Hansen’ in the British supernatural thriller film ‘Entity’ directed by Steve Stone. The film received a mixed response from critics. She next appeared in the 2014 American science fiction action film, ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ directed by Doug Liman. The film garnered praise from critics and grossed over $370.5 million on a budget of $178 million. She next appeared in television series and films such as ‘Peaky Blinders’ (2014), ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015), and ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’ (2015).
In 2016, she played the role of ‘MI6 Agent Jacquelin Marshall’ in the American action thriller film ‘London Has Fallen’ directed by Babak Najafi. While the film was panned by critics, it managed to do decent business at the box office and grossed over $205.9 million on a budget of $60 million. She continued to star in films and television series such as ‘Close to the Enemy’ (2016), ‘Dark Heart’ (2016), ‘King Charles III’ (2017), ‘Swimming with Men’ (2018), ‘Press’ (2018), and ‘Trust’ (2018). She was last seen playing the role of ‘Lottie/Ghost of Christmas Present’ in the 2019 British dark fantasy drama Television Film Miniseries ‘A Christmas Carol’ directed by Nick Murphy. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
