Television

Riley's television credits include episodes of Poirot (2003), Marple (2006), and Doctor Who (2008's "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead").^[7] She played Lila, a lovestruck writer, in the short-lived E4 series Nearly Famous (2007).^[8] She played Angela in the first two seasons of the television series Westworld.^[9]

Stage

Riley made her stage debut in The Philadelphia Story at the Old Vic in 2005. Her performance in a 2006 revival of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke was described by critic Rachel Read as "delightful".^[10]

Film

Riley played Mary Bennet in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and Marianne in 2009's The Boat That Rocked. She starred in the 2007 film St Trinian's and its 2009 sequel St Trinian's: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.^[11][12]

Riley appeared as a disguise used by Tom Hardy's character in Inception (2010). Also in 2010, Love and Distrust was released direct-to-video, featuring five unique short films, the first of which was The Summer House, in which Riley was co-lead, opposite Robert Pattinson. Available as a standalone download, The Summer House was the number one film on iTunes worldwide on its first day of release, holding that position for several days.^[13] She also appeared in White Frog.^[14]

Between 2009 and 2015, Riley developed an idea and story by her father into a screenplay, then ultimately directed (after being unable to hire another director to helm the project)^[15] and starred in the resulting feature film Scottish Mussel.

Writing

Her debut novel, Acts of Love, was published by Hodder & Stoughton in August 2016.^[16][17] In June 2022, Riley released her second novel, The Quickening, also published by Hodder & Stoughton. She is also listed as a contributor to Encounters with Jane Austen: Celebrating 250 years.

Other

She was featured on the March 2010 cover of Esquire.^[18][19] In 2011, she was named a "Brit to Watch" by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.^[20]