Miranda Richardson | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Richardson atNew York Comic Con (2018) | |
| Born | Miranda Jane Richardson (1958-03-03)3 March 1958 (age 67) Southport,Lancashire, England |
| Alma mater | Bristol Old Vic Theatre School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Notable work | Blackadder,Chicken Run &Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget |
Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958)[1] is an English actress who has worked in film, television and theatre.[2][3]
After graduating from theBristol Old Vic Theatre School,[4] Richardson began her career in 1979 and made herWest End debut in the 1981 playMoving,[4] before being nominated for the 1987Olivier Award for Best Actress forA Lie of the Mind.
Richardson has been nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress forDamage[5] and theAcademy Award for Best Actress forTom & Viv.[5] A seven-timeBAFTA Award nominee,[6] she won theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role forDamage.[6] She has also been nominated for sevenGolden Globe Awards,[7] winning twice forEnchanted April[7] and the TV filmFatherland.[7]
Her other films includeEmpire of the Sun,[8][9]The Crying Game,[10][11]Sleepy Hollow,[12]The Hours, andSpider.[13][14] She also played a comedic version ofQueen Elizabeth I in all six episodes of the sitcomBlackadder II, and appeared in one episode each ofBlackadder the Third andBlackadder Goes Forth.
Richardson also voiced Mrs Tweedy fromAardman's 2000 stop-motion filmChicken Run and reprised the role in its 2023sequel.
Richardson was born inSouthport,Lancashire. She recalls "a cinema about 50 yards from my house. So Saturday mornings were spent with TheABC Minors: theSaturday cinema club with the theme song set to the tune ofBlaze Away byAbe Holzmann, a red ball bouncing over the lyrics so you could sing along. As I got older, I would go to the cinema by myself to watch matinees of westerns and historicalTechnicolor dramas."[15]
Richardson enrolled at theBristol Old Vic Theatre School,[16] where she studied alongsideDaniel Day-Lewis andJenny Seagrove, having started out with juvenile performances inCinderella andLord Arthur Savile's Crime at the Southport Dramatic Club.
Richardson joined theManchester Library Theatre in 1979 as an assistant stage manager, followed by making a number of appearances inrepertory theatre. Her London stage debut was inMoving at theQueen's Theatre in 1981. She found recognition in theWest End for a series of stage performances, ultimately receiving anOlivier Award nomination for her performance inA Lie of the Mind,[17] and, in 1996, she appeared in the single-actor theatrical adaptation ofOrlando at theEdinburgh Festival. She returned to the London stage in May 2009 to play the lead role inWallace Shawn's new play,Grasses of a Thousand Colours at theRoyal Court Theatre.[18] Richardson has said that she prefers new works rather than the classics because of the history that goes with them.[19]
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In 1985, Richardson made her film debut asRuth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, in the biographical dramaDance with a Stranger.[20][21] Around the same time, Richardson played a comedic version ofQueen Elizabeth I, akaQueenie, in the British television comedyBlackadder II.[22][23][24] Richardson returned in guest roles in one episode each inBlackadder the Third (1987) andBlackadder Goes Forth (1989). She returned to play Queenie in the Christmas specialBlackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)[25] and, later, played Field Nurse in a special edition for the millenniumBlackadder: Back and Forth.[26][27]
FollowingDance with a Stranger, Richardson turned down numerous parts in which her character was unstable or disreputable, including theGlenn Close role inFatal Attraction.[19] In this period, she appeared inEmpire of the Sun (1987)[9] and was nominated for theBAFTA Television Award for Best Actress for her role as Penny inAfter Pilkington (1987). In an episode of the TV seriesThe Storyteller ("The Three Ravens", 1988), she played a witch.
Richardson starred as Charlie Maguire inFatherland (1994),[28][29] for which she was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.[7] Other television roles in this period include Pamela Flitton inA Dance to the Music of Time (1997), Miss Gilchrist inSt. Ives (1998), Bettina the interior decorator inAbsolutely Fabulous andQueen Elspeth, Snow White's stepmother, inSnow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001).
Richardson has appeared in supporting roles in film, includingVanessa Bell inThe Hours (2002),Lady Van Tassel inSleepy Hollow (1999)[12] and Patsy Carpenter inThe Evening Star (1996). For her role inSleepy Hollow she was nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and won theBlockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror. She also won acclaim for her performances inThe Crying Game (1992)[10] andEnchanted April (1992), for which she won aGolden Globe.[7] She receivedAcademy Award nominations for her performances inDamage (1992) andTom & Viv (1994).[5]
Her film credits also includeKansas City (1996),The Apostle (1997) andWah-Wah (2005). She voiced Mrs Tweedy, the mainantagonist, in thestop-motion animated film,Chicken Run (2000). In 2002, she performed a triple role in the thrillerSpider.[14]
In 2003, Richardson playedMary of Teck in the miniseriesThe Lost Prince, for which she was nominated for bothBAFTA Television Award for Best Actress and theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.[30] She also starred asHermione Granger in aComic Relief sketch calledHarry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azibaijan.[31]
Richardson appeared as Queen Rosalind of Denmark inThe Prince and Me and as theballet mistressMadame Giry in the film version of theAndrew Lloyd Webber musicalThe Phantom of the Opera (2004).[32][33] In 2005, she appeared in the role ofRita Skeeter, the toxicDaily Prophet journalist inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[31][34] She later reprised the role of Rita Skeeter in a cameo inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010).[35]
Richardson voiced Corky inThe Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky (2005), an Australian animated series for children. In 2006, she appeared inGideon's Daughter.[36] In 2007 she playedMrs Claus in the filmFred Claus (2007)[37][38] and appeared in the BBC sitcom,The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007).
In 2008, Richardson was cast in a leading role in the originalAMC television pilot,Rubicon. She playsKatherine Rhumor,[39] a New York socialite who finds herself drawn into the central intrigue of athink tank after the death of her husband.[40] The following year, she portrayedPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent in filmThe Young Victoria (2009).[41]
Richardson playedLabour Party politicianBarbara Castle in the British filmMade in Dagenham (2010).[42] She was nominated for aBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for this role. In 2012, she played roles in the BBC comedy television seriesDead Boss,[43] historical drama seriesWorld Without End,[44][45] based on the 1989Ken Follett novelThe Pillars of the Earth, and historical drama seriesParade's End,[46] based onFord Madox Ford'seponymous novel cycle (1924–1928). In 2013, she played Lady Ashford in the filmBelle (2013).[47]
In 2012, Richardson was cast as Queen Ulla inDisney's live action filmMaleficent (2014),[48] where she was to play the titular character's aunt, but her role was cut from the film duringpost-production.[49] In 2015, she playedSybil Birling inHelen Edmundson's BBC One adaptation ofJ. B. Priestley'sAn Inspector Calls.[50]
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In 2015, she playedHilda Lorimer in the filmTestament of Youth[51] and was cast as Emily Brent in BBC One's three-part adaptation of DameAgatha Christie's 1939 novelAnd Then There Were None.[52] In 2017, she portrayedClementine Churchill in the biopic filmChurchill[53] and starred in the filmsStronger andiBoy.[54]
In 2019, Richardson voiced Pinky's Grandma in animated television seriesPinky Malinky and played Lou Collins in seven episodes of television seriesCurfew.[55] In 2020, Richardson starred in the Australian comedy drama filmRams.[56]
Richardson reprised her role as the voice of Mrs Tweedy in the 2023 film,Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.[57]
Richardson is due to appear in an upcoming biopic about conductorSergiu Celibidache,The Yellow Tie, and in the British filmThe Bitter End.
Richardson's hobbies include dog walking, gardening andfalconry. In 2013, she began learning thecello.[19][58]
