Samantha Morton | |
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 Morton in 2026 | |
| Born | Samantha Jane Morton (1977-05-13)13 May 1977 (age 48) Nottingham, England |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1991–present |
| Partner | Harry Holm (2005–present) |
| Children | 3, includingEsmé Creed-Miles |
| Awards | Full list |
Samantha Jane MortonOBE (born 13 May 1977)[1] is an English actress and musician. Known for her work inindependent films, particularlyperiod dramas with dark and tragic themes,her accolades include twoBAFTAs (including theBAFTA Fellowship) and aGolden Globe Award, with nominations for twoAcademy Awards, and aPrimetime Emmy Award.
A native ofNottingham and former member of theCentral Junior Television Workshop, Morton started her career on British television in the early 1990s and gained recognition for acting in theITV seriesBand of Gold (1995–1996) and theBBC miniseriesThe History of Tom Jones: a Foundling (1997). After her feature film debut in 1996, she appeared in the filmsJane Eyre (1997), andUnder the Skin (1997). ForWoody Allen'sSweet and Lowdown (1999) andJim Sheridan'sIn America (2003), she received nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress andBest Actress, respectively. Morton's performance in the 2006 television crime dramaLongford earned her theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.
Morton received continued acclaim over following years for her roles in the filmsMorvern Callar (2002),Minority Report (2002),The Libertine (2004),Control (2007),Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007),Synecdoche, New York (2008),The Messenger (2009),John Carter (2012),Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), andThe Whale (2022). Her television credits includeThe Last Panthers (2015),Rillington Place (2016),Harlots (2017–2019),The Walking Dead (2019–2020), andThe Serpent Queen (2022–2024).
Outside of acting, Morton made her directorial debut with the television filmThe Unloved (2009), winning theBAFTA TV Award, and her musical debut with the collaborative albumDaffodils & Dirt (2024).
Morton was born inNottingham,[1] the third child of Pamela (née Mallek), a factory worker, and Peter Morton.[2] She is of Polish/Irish descent.[3] She has five siblings from her parents' relationships subsequent to their 1979 divorce. She lived with her father until she was eight, when she was made award of court because neither of her parents could care for her and her siblings.[4] Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother was involved in a violent relationship with her second husband; as a result, she never lived with her parents again.[5]
The next nine years were spent in and out offoster care and children's homes. During that time, she attendedWest Bridgford Comprehensive School and joined theCentral Junior Television Workshop when she was 13, soon being offered small-screen roles inSoldier Soldier andBoon.[1]
Under the effects of drugs, she threatened an older girl who had been bullying her. She was convicted of making threats to kill and served 18 weeks in an attendance centre.[6]
After joiningCentral Junior Television Workshop at the age of 13, she was soon being offered small-screen roles such as Clare Anderson in the first series ofLucy Gannon'sSoldier Soldier and also Mandy, in an episode ofBoon — both wereITV Central productions.[7] Moving to London at sixteen, Morton applied to numerous drama schools, includingRADA, without success.[1] In 1991, she attended Clarendon College of Performing Arts to gain a BTEC award but subsequently left for personal reasons.[8] She made her stage début at theRoyal Court Theatre,[1] and continued her television career with appearances inPeak Practice and in an episode ofCracker. At the time, she had a regular role in the first two series ofKay Mellor's successfulBand of Gold (1995–96).
Further television roles followed, including parts in period dramas such asEmma andJane Eyre.Emma was a film adaptation of thenovel of the same name published in 1815 about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The movie received largely positive reviews from critics and was broadcast in late 1996 on ITV, gaining an estimated 12 million viewers.[9] InJane Eyre, Morton starred as a Yorkshire orphan who becomes a governess to a young French girl and finds love with the brooding lord of the manor. Like her previous small-screen projects, the 1997 film originally aired on ITV.[10]
She took on the leading role in the independent dramaUnder the Skin (1997), directed byCarine Adler, where she played Iris, a woman coping with the death of her mother. The movie garnered favorable reviews from writers, withThe Guardian placing it at number 15 on its list of the Best British Films 1984–2009.[11][12] Janet Maslin forThe New York Times remarked that Morton "embodies the role with furious intensity and with a raw yet waifish presence" andJames Berardinelli wrote that the actress "forces us to accept Iris as a living, breathing individual".[13][14] She won the Best Actress accolade at the 1998Boston Society of Film Critics Awards and was nominated for theBIFA forBest Female Performance in a British Independent Film.
Impressed by her performance inUnder the Skin,Woody Allen cast her inSweet and Lowdown, a romantic comedy about a fictional jazz guitarist in the 1930s (played bySean Penn) who regards himself as the second greatest guitarist in the world. Morton played Hattie, a mute laundress and the love interest of Penn's character. The film was released in September 1999, to wide critical acclaim and moderate success at thebox office in the arthouse circuit.[15][16] George Perry forBBC.com found her to be "extraordinary" as an "adoring mute who suffers [...] She uses her eyes to convey meaning, reviving techniques ofsilent cinema".[17][18] Morton earnedAcademy Award andGolden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role, which was especially notable, considering the fact that she does not utter a single word of dialogue in the film. During a 2007 interview with UK'sThe Guardian, she remarked that her Oscar nomination meant "incredible things for me in the [United States]. I'm grateful for that. It means that [...] I'm able to support the industry".[19]
Morton would next star in the small scale dramaJesus' Son, which found a limited release,[20] and praise from critics.[21] She received aSatellite Award nomination forBest Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance. Her other film in 1999 was the romantic dramaDreaming of Joseph Lees, an adaptation of a story written byCatherine Linstrum set in rural England in the late 1950s; for her part, she won theEvening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She appeared in the biographical dramaPandaemonium (2000), directed byJulien Temple,[22] playing Sara Coleridge, the wife of the poetSamuel Taylor Coleridge.[23] She was nominated for aBritish Independent Film Award in the category of Best Actress.[24] Morton also played amermaid oppositeLarry Mullen in theAnton Corbijn-directed promotional video forU2's "Electrical Storm",[25] and provided the voice of Ruby for the Canadian animated seriesMax & Ruby from 2002 to 2003.
Morton found wider recognition and mainstream success when she took on the part of a seniorprecog inSteven Spielberg science fiction thrillerMinority Report, oppositeTom Cruise. Although critics felt she was "slightlytypecast" in her role of "feral, near-mute victim",[26][27]Minority Report grossed US$358 million.[28][29] She won theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and theEmpire Award for Best British Actress.[30][31] In her next film, the dramaMorvern Callar, she played a grieving young woman from Scotland who decides to escape to Spain after the suicide of her boyfriend.[32][33] Writing forRolling Stone, Peter Travers stated that Morton "fills this character study with poetic force and buoyant feeling",[34] as part of a positive critical response, and she earned the Best Actress Award at the5th British Independent Film Awards and the7th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.[35]
In the independent dramaIn America (2003), directed byJim Sheridan, Morton played the matriarch of an immigrant Irish family struggling to start a new life in New York.In America met widespread critical acclaim, with Terry Lawson ofDetroit Free Press calling the film "an achingly intimate and beautifully observed account of the immigrant experience".[36]Roger Ebert felt that Morton "reveals the power of her silences, her quiet [and] her presence",[37] whileA. O. Scott, ofThe New York Times, found the "blunt, inarticulate force of her feeling [...] at the center of the drama".[38] Her performance earned her nominations for theAcademy Award, theIndependent Spirit Award, and theBroadcast Film Critics Association Award in the category of Best Actress.[39][40][41]
In 2004, Morton starred as a love interest in the dystopian filmCode 46, directed byMichael Winterbottom and alongsideTim Robbins,[42][43] and played the wife of a man who witnessed a deadly accident in the dramaEnduring Love, oppositeRhys Ifans andDaniel Craig.[44] Critics were polarized for the latter film and suggested that Morton did not have enough time on screen.[45][46] Nevertheless, she earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Award at the2004 British Independent Film Awards. InRiver Queen (2005), she took on the role of a young Irish woman finding herself on both sides of the wars between British andMaori during the British colonisation of New Zealand.[47] The film was a box office success at the New Zealand box office, grossing around NZ$1 million in the country.[48][49][50] For her role, she received a nomination for theNew Zealand Screen Award for Best Leading Actress.[51] She starred alongsideJohnny Depp in the little-seenperiod dramaThe Libertine,[52][53] and appeared in the dramaLassie, both of which were also released in 2005.
In 2006, she played theMoors murderessMyra Hindley in the television filmLongford. Set between 1967 and 1997, the film depicts the relationship between the child murderer andLord Longford, the politician who spent years campaigning (ultimately unsuccessfully) for her release.Longford was a critical success and premiered with 1.7 million viewers.[54] Morton, however, was severely criticised by the relatives of the children who were killed by Hindley andIan Brady, but she insisted, "It is my duty as a performer to raise issues [...] we're afraid to look at".[55] She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the59th Primetime Emmy Awards, and won at the65th Golden Globe Awards.[56][57]
Morton took on roles in four feature films in 2007. She starred as a struggling police officer in the romantic dramaExpired, and portrayed aMarilyn Monroe impersonator in the dramedyMister Lonely alongside her daughterEsmé Creed-Miles who portrayed aShirley Temple impersonator.[58] Morton worked again with director Anton Corbijn in the biographical filmControl, where she appeared asDeborah Curtis, wife of musicianIan Curtis from the bandJoy Division, whose biographyTouching from a Distance formed the basis of the film. The film was acclaimed by critics.[59][60]Roger Ebert remarked that Morton was "absolutely convincing as a plucky teenage bride",[61] andVariety magazine found her performance to be "astonishing" and "sympathetic".[62] ForControl, she was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[63][64][65] Her last film of 2007 was another biopic,Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in which she playedMary, Queen of Scots.
She made part of anensemble cast inCharlie Kaufman'spostmodern[66] dramaSynecdoche, New York (2008), alongsidePhilip Seymour Hoffman,Michelle Williams andEmily Watson. In the film, she portrayed Hazel, one of the women in the life of a theatre director (Hoffman) whose extreme commitment to a realistic stage production begins toblur the boundaries between fiction and reality. As her character ages from 30 to 64 over the course of the story, Morton used full-faceprosthetic makeup. She discovered that she was pregnant during the filming, which had a schedule that took up to 20 hours a day.[67] The film was abox office bomb,[68] but garnered praise from critics, appearing on many top ten lists of the year.[69] Morton and her co-stars were eventually nominated for theBest Ensemble Performance award at the18th Gotham Independent Film Awards.[70] Also in 2008, she starred inThe Daisy Chain, an Irish horror film about a couple who after the death of their daughter, take in an orphaned girl, only to become involved in a series of strange occurrences.[71] It premiered at the 16thRaindance Film Festival (London; October 2008),[72][73] and received a DVD release in 2010.[74]
In the directorial debut ofJesus' Son screenwriterOren Moverman, the war dramaThe Messenger (2009), Morton starred as Oliva Patterson, a widow whose husband was killed inIraq.[75] She was drawn to the "feminine" side of the story[76] and found her part to be "one of the first characters [she has] played in a long time where [she has] felt so much in common", as her brother and stepfather both served as soldiers in themilitary forces.[77] Critical reception towardsThe Messenger and Morton was unanimously favorable,[78][79][80] with Claudia Puig ofUSA Today asserting that, Morton "as always, gives a subtle, excellent performance".[81] She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the14th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the25th Independent Spirit Awards.
Morton's other project of 2009 was her directorial debut, the semi-autobiographicalChannel 4 dramaThe Unloved, which follows an eleven-year-old girl (played by Molly Windsor) growing up in achildren's home in the UK's care system, and shown through her perspective. Morton wrote the story in collaboration withTony Grisoni, andThe Unloved was first broadcast on 17 May 2009, drawing nearly 2 million viewers.[82][83] It premiered at theToronto International Film Festival in September 2009. Michael Deacon, forThe Daily Telegraph, praised Morton on creating an "intense" and "vivid" dramatic film.[84] Morton won aBAFTA for her direction in 2010.[85][86]
Following a three-year hiatus from the screen to focus on her personal life and family, Morton returned in 2012. She provided the voice of Sola in the science fiction filmJohn Carter, based onA Princess of Mars, which received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office.[87][88] She next played a chief of theory in the thrillerCosmopolis, directed byDavid Cronenberg.[89][90][91] Her role, described as "misjudged" byThe Guardian,[92] earned her a nomination as Best Actress in a Canadian Film Award at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.[93] She also served as a jury member at the69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.[94]
Morton was the original voice of the artificially intelligent operating system in the 2013 romantic science fiction dramaHer directed bySpike Jonze, but in post-production, she was replaced byScarlett Johansson.[95] She is, however, credited as an associate producer.[96] Morton starred in the independent dramaDecoding Annie Parker (2013) oppositeHelen Hunt, playing a woman with breast cancer. The film was released in limited theaters,[97][98] to mixed reviews from critics.[99] Nevertheless, Betsey Sharkey ofLos Angeles Times observed that the actress "gives Parker such a humility within a warm humanity that you feel an obligation to stick with her through the mounting horrors".[100] She was awarded the Best Actress Golden Space Needle Award at the 2013Seattle International Film Festival.[101]
Morton starred oppositeMichael Shannon in the independent thrillerThe Harvest (also 2013), as a controlling mother keeping her sick son in a secluded environment.[102][103][104][105] Several critics such as Peter Debruge (Variety) and Nikola Grozdanovic (Indiewire) compared her role of Katherine toKathy Bates'Annie Wilkes inMisery (1990).[106][107] Her performance earned her a Best Actress Award nomination at the 2014 BloodGuts UK Horror Awards.[108]
InLiv Ullmann's film adaptationMiss Julie (2014), alongsideColin Farrell andJessica Chastain, Morton portrayed Kathleen, the fiancée of a valet (Farrell) who finds himself seduced by the daughter of an Anglo-Irish aristocracy (Chastain). The film screened at theToronto International Film Festival and had a limited release in the UK, France and Spain.[109][110]Miss Julie rated average with reviewers,[111] but the cast received acclaim.[112] Writing forThe Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney thought Morton's Kathleen was "the most satisfyingly drawn character" of the film, which he considered a "ponderous, stately affair".[113]
In 2015, Morton starred as a mother in theFirst World War context inCider with Rosie, amade-for-television adaptation of thebook of the same name byLaurie Lee, and took on the role of an insurance investigator charged with recovering stolen diamonds in the European limited television seriesThe Last Panthers, inspired by the notorious Balkan jewel thieves thePink Panthers. Morton found her character to be a "very truthful, [...] strong woman" and described her as a "femaleBond".[114] Genevieve Valentine, forThe AV Club, wrote: "Morton might at first seem a tough sell as someone so hard-boiled, but the taciturn, untouchable edifice she presents is leaking just enough poison at the edges that we look forward to watching her strike—the sort of character a six-hour miniseries was made for".[115]
Morton appeared inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), aspin-off from theHarry Potter film series, with a screenplay byJ. K. Rowling.[116][117] In the film, she portrayed Mary Lou Barebone,[118] the leader of an extremist group whose goals include exposing and killing wizards and witches.Fantastic Beasts grossed US$814 million at the international box office,[119] becoming Morton's most successful and widely seen film.[120]
She filmed the three-part television crime dramaRillington Place (also 2016), based on the case of serial killerJohn Christie, who murdered several women in London during 1940s and early 1950s.[121][122] Morton was cast oppositeTim Roth as Christie's wife, Ethel. Intrigued by their relationship, Morton felt the depiction of the "psychological aspect of love" in the story "really developed [her] acting chops" but considered as a challenge "to play someone so submissive" as Ethel.[123] The miniseries premiered in BBC One and was favourably received by critics.[124]The Guardian found Morton to be "strong" in her "difficult role",[125] andThe Independent remarked that she "gave a fine, nuanced performance" as "a woman trapped under her husband's spell".[126]
Beginning in 2017, Morton has starred in theHuluperiod drama seriesHarlots. She portrays Margaret Wells, themadam of a low-classbrothel who seeks to improve her fortunes. The response from critics and audiences has been highly positive.[127]The Telegraph found her to be the "standout performer",[128] andThe Atlantic noted: "While the role doesn't give Morton the same room to flex her acting muscles as, say, Woody Allen'sSweet and Lowdown, she gives depth and moral conflict to a character who could easily be a pantomime dame in the wrong hands".[129]
In July 2018, it was announced that Morton had been cast in the role ofAlpha inThe Walking Dead, making her first appearance in February 2019. Alpha is the villainous leader of the Whisperers, a mysterious group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse who—as a method of self-concealment—wear skins taken from the undead.[130]
Since 11 September 2022, Morton stars asCatherine de' Medici in theStarz television seriesThe Serpent Queen. Also in 2022, Morton returned to the big screen in three different roles: inThe Whale she played the ex-wife ofBrendan Fraser's reclusive andmorbidly obese professor; inSave the Cinema she starred as a hairdresser campaigning to save a local theater from closing; and inShe Said, Morton playedZelda Perkins, who revealed toNew York Times reporterJodi Kantor the details ofnon-disclosure agreements by whichsexual assault victims ofHarvey Weinstein, co-founder and at that time co-chairman ofMiramax Films, her former employer, were bound.[131][132]
As a musician Morton is a member of the duo Sam Morton, along withRichard Russell.[133] The duo's debut studio album,Daffodils & Dirt, was released in 2024.[134]
Morton dated actorCharlie Creed-Miles, whom she met on the set of the filmThe Last Yellow, in 1999. They broke up when Morton was 15 weeks pregnant[135] with their daughter, actressEsmé Creed-Miles, born in February 2000.[136]
Morton met filmmaker Harry Holm (son of actorIan Holm) while filming a music video for the band The Vitamins.[1] They had a daughter[1] and a son, and as of 2012 lived inMonyash, Derbyshire.[114][137]
In early 2008, Morton revealed that she had been "close to death" after suffering a debilitating stroke after being hit on the head by a piece of 17th-century plaster, damaging hervertebral artery, in 2006. She was in hospital for three weeks after the incident.[4] She took an 18-month break from public life and acting to learn to walk again.[138]
In 2011, Morton wrote an open letter to her stepfather, hoping they would get back in touch after being estranged for several years. However, it was soon revealed that her stepfather had died ofprostate cancer four years previously.[5]
On 20 July 2011, Morton received an honoraryDoctor of Letters (DLitt) fromNottingham Trent University, "in recognition of her internationally successful acting career".[139][140][141]
Morton is a Catholic and describes herself as 'quite religious.'[142][143]
Morton was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2025 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to charity.[144][145]
Having been raised in thefoster care system, Morton has often been active in related causes. In March 2009, Morton returned to her hometown to show her support for its children's homes and protest against the threatened closure, by Nottingham City Council, of one of the four establishments with 24 social-care staff facing redundancy.[146] In 2012, Morton showed her support for the Fostering Network's annual campaignFoster Care Fortnight,[147] and in September 2014, triggered by theRotherham child sexual exploitation scandal,[148] she discussed in a video interview thesexual abuse she experienced while in thefoster care system as a child inNottingham and that the police took no action when she reported the abuse. Morton had discussed the abuse previously while promoting the semi-autobiographical dramaThe Unloved, in an article forThe Guardian.[149]
In 2008, she was part of theVodafone Foundation's World of Difference campaign, which gives people the opportunity to work for a charity of their choice.[150] Whilst attending a fundraiser for the charityMedical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in January 2009, she vowed never to work for the BBC again after their refusal to broadcast an emergency charity appeal for the victims ofIsrael's attack onGaza on 27 December 2008. She was later joined byTam Dean Burn, Pauline Goldsmith,Peter Mullan, andAlison Peebles, who also threatened to boycott the corporation.[151] In 2009, she also fronted a television advertising recruitment campaign for social workers in the UK.[152]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Soldier Soldier | Clare Anderson | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Cracker | Joanne Barnes | Serial: "The Big Crunch" |
| Peak Practice | Abbey | Episode: "Abbey" | |
| 1995–1996 | Band of Gold | Naomi "Tracy" Richardson | 12 episodes |
| 1996 | Emma | Harriet Smith | Television film |
| 1997 | The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling | Sophia Western | Miniseries |
| Jane Eyre | Jane Eyre | Television film | |
| 2002–2003 | Max & Ruby | Ruby (voice) | 26 episodes |
| 2006 | Longford | Myra Hindley | Television film |
| 2009 | The Unloved | N/a | Director; Television film |
| 2015 | Cider with Rosie | Annie Lee | Television film |
| The Last Panthers | Naomi | 6 episodes | |
| 2016 | Rillington Place | Ethel Christie | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | Harlots | Margaret Wells | 20 episodes |
| 2019 | I Am Kirsty | Kirsty | Television film |
| 2019–2020 | The Walking Dead | Alpha | 19 episodes |
| 2022 | Tales of the Walking Dead | Dee | Episode: "Dee" |
| 2022–2024 | The Serpent Queen | Catherine de' Medici | 16 episodes |
| 2023 | The Burning Girls | Reverend Brooks | Lead role[154] |
Morton was made Honorary Associate ofLondon Film School.
Morton was presented with theBAFTA Fellowship at the77th British Academy Film Awards.
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