Imelda Staunton- Actor of the Week

Imelda Staunton

Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton. The most Irish of names for one of the best English actresses of all time. Her parents were immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland but she was raised in London, attending RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) with Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson. She started her career performing in the theatre, but of course we know her best from all of her wonderful film roles. And so many of her film and television roles have been costume dramas.

Mr. and Mrs. Palmer in Sense and Sensibility

I first learned to love Imelda as the chattery twit Charlotte Palmer in Sense and Sensibility 1995. Apparently she had had a long connection with Emma Thompson (Thompson, Peter's Friends, Much Ado About Nothing) and when Emma was writing the screenplay, she had Imelda and Hugh Laurie in mind for Mr. and Mrs. Palmer right from the beginning.

Nurse in Shakespeare in Love

Her wonderfully nuanced comedic performance as Nurse in Shakespeare in Love is a joy to watch. Her facial expressions are even more amazing with that incredible Elizabethan headgear.

Vera Drake

Nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for her role as Vera Drake, Imelda really showed her acting chops. Although she lost to Hilary Swank, Hollywood sat up and took notice.

Mrs. Blatherwick in Nanny McPhee

Reunited with Emma Thompson for Nanny McPhee, Imelda got to have fun with a comedic performance again. In fact, she really gets to let loose as Mrs. Blatherwick! Look out!

Dolores Umbrage in Harry Potter

As the saccharine Dolores Umbrage in Harry Potter, Imelda gets to be truly evil and over the top. And I must say, those costumes are out of this world!

Miss Pole in Cranford

Do you love her as much as I do as Miss Pole in Cranford? Oh, the cat and the lace! Oh, the cage and the parrot! Oh, I have to watch Cranford again. Especially as Imelda's husband Jim Carter is Captain Brown and her daughter Bessie Carter has a small role as Margaret Gidman.

Bessie Carter as Margaret Gidman in Cranford

Imelda's daughter Bessie Carter played Margaret Gidman in Cranford, the maid who learned how to read (horrors!). Lady Ludlow was not amused!

Queen Victoria in The Pirates! Band of Misfits

As the voice of Queen Victoria in The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (which I haven't seen alas as I have no child to accompany me) she looks quite ferocious. Anyone seen this film? Is it as fun as it looks?

Imelda with Bessie and Jim

I had to pop in this photo as it is just so comical. 5 foot nothing with her family towering over her. She is a very big talent however, in a very little package.

Do you have any fave Imelda Staunton roles that I missed? There are lots to choose from!

Pam Ferris- Actor of the Week

Pam Ferris has been in so many period dramas! Most recently cast as Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife, now showing on PBS, she has worn many a bonnet over the years.

Pam Ferris as Ma Larkin in Darling Buds of May

Possibly best known as the warm beloved mother Ma Larkin in The Darling Buds of May. Catherine Zeta-Jones may have been the sex appeal in this show, but Ma Larkin was the character who made you want to join the Larkin family for dinner.

Pam Ferris as Mrs. General in Little Dorrit

As the horrid Mrs. General in Little Dorrit, hired to accompany the Dorrit sisters on their trip to Europe and educate them, she is wonderful and terrible all at the same time. Poor little Amy Dorrit!

Mr. Dorrit: Mrs General and I have been in conversation about you, and we agree that you scarcely feel at home here in Venice. How is this?
Amy Dorrit: I think I need a little time. Father.
Mrs. General: [sighing] "Papa" is a preferable form of address. "Father" is rather vulgar. Besides, the word "papa" gives a pretty form to the lips. "Papa", "potatoes", "poultry", "prunes" and "prism" are all very good words for the lips - especially "prunes" and "prism".

Pam Ferris as Grace Poole in Jane Eyre 2006

Perfectly horrible again as Grace Poole in Jane Eyre 2006, the alcoholic minder of the crazy woman in the attic. Wonderful role to play but not a warm fuzzy role.

Pam Ferris as Mrs Boffin in Our Mutual Friend

As the friendly Mrs. Boffin in the Dickens adaptation Our Mutual Friend 1998, she gets to play a working woman who, with her husband, comes into a fortune. She retains her heart of gold while she tries to negotiate the world of the monied upper classes.

Pam Ferris as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda

As one of the most horrible characters in literature, Pam Ferris plays Headmistress Miss Trunchbull from the film based on the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. Evil, evil, evil...but at least Matilda gets revenge in the end!

Pam Ferris as Aunt Marge in Harry Potter

As the nasty Aunt Marge Dursley in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pam Ferris gets "blown up" by Harry who accidentally uses his magical powers after being enraged by the things that Marge says.

Aunt Marge: I still don't like your tone, boy. If you can speak of your beatings in that casual way, they clearly aren't hitting you hard enough. Petunia, I'd write to them if I were you. Make it clear that you approve the use of extreme force in this boy's case.

Pam Ferris as Mrs Dollop in Middlemarch

In a small part in the 1994 BBC production of Middlemarch Pam Ferris plays Mrs. Dollop, the opinionated landlady of The Tankard in Slaughter Lane.

Pam Ferris as Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife

But my favourite role for Pam Ferris so far is Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife. This character (and the entire miniseries) has a wonderful balance of humour and heart. Sister Evangelina makes me laugh and cry all in the same episode. She is mostly a fun, no nonsense character who is likely drawn from a real person as the miniseries is based on the memoirs of midwife Jennifer Worth. I can't wait for more Call the Midwife. Apparently there is a Christmas special and another series coming next year. Yay!!!


Sister Evangelina:  Ah, Camilla Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne?
Chummy Browne:  I generally answer to "Chummy". My pa used to say "Long dogs need short names".
Sister Evangelina:  Follow me. And mind your head. I understand you qualified by a whisker, Nurse Fortescue-Cholmeley-Browne.
Chummy Browne:  I did pass. It was a bit of a scrape.

Emma Thompson- Actor of the Week

Emma Thompson

Let me just say that I adore Emma Thompson. I will never be able to do justice to her so let me just allow her to do the talking!

''I don't want your readers ever to think they have to have it all. I think that's a revolting concept. It's so false! Sometimes you'll have some things, and sometimes you'll have other things. And you do not need it all at once; it's not good for you."--on juggling motherhood and careers

Sense and Sensibility

Elinor Dashwood: Marianne, please try... I cannot... I cannot do without you. Oh, please, I have tried to bear everything else... I will try... but please, dearest, beloved Marianne, do not leave me alone. 

Love Actually

Karen : Get a grip, people hate sissies. No-one's ever going to shag you if you cry all the time!

"Liam Neeson, quite frankly, is sex on legs. Always has been".

Professor Trelawney in Harry Potter

"I have a nervous breakdown in the film and in one scene I get to stand at the top of the stairs waving an empty sherry bottle which is, of course, a typical scene from my daily life, so isn't much of a stretch." -- on her role in the Harry Potter film.

Nanny McPhee

"I've realized that in all the great stories, even if there's a happily-ever-after ending, there's something sad."

"There is that thing about not working with animals and children - I don't think that's true. Although you should never work with donkeys."

"You can't imagine what satisfaction can be gotten from throwing a pie into someone's face."

An Education

Headmistress: Nobody does anything worth doing without a degree.
Jenny: Nobody does anything worth doing WITH a degree. No woman anyway.
Headmistress: So what I do isn't worth doing? Or what Miss Stubbs does, or Mrs. Wilson, or any of us here? Because none of us would be here without a degree. You do realize that, don't you? And yes, of course studying is hard and boring...
Jenny: Boring!
Headmistress: I'm sorry?
Jenny: Studying is hard and boring. Teaching is hard and boring. So, what you're telling me is to be bored, and then bored, and finally bored again, but this time for the rest of my life? This whole stupid country is bored! There's no life in it, or color, or fun! It's probably just as well the Russians are going to drop a nuclear bomb on us any day now. So my choice is to do something hard and boring, or to marry my... Jew, and go to Paris and Rome and listen to jazz, and read, and eat good food in nice restaurants, and have fun! It's not enough to educate us anymore Ms. Walters. You've got to tell us why you're doing it.

Howard's End

Margaret Schlegel: Unlike the Greek, England has no true mythology. All we have are witches and fairies.

Remains Of The Day

Miss Kenton: What's in that book? Come on, let me see!
Stevens: This is my private time. You're invading it.
Miss Kenton: Oh, is that so?
Stevens: Yes.
Miss Kenton: I'm invading your private time, am I?
Stevens: Yes. 

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Well, this post could go on for ever, but let me just add that Emma has a few new films coming out. She is Agent O in Men in Black 3, the voice of Queen Elinor in Brave, Lady Eastlake in Effie among others. So...any other fans of ET? Any Emma Thompson films you would like to add?

"I was brought up by very witty people who were dealing with quite difficult things: disease and death... I was brought up by people who tended to giggle at funerals."

Michael Gambon- Actor of the Week

Sir Michael Gambon

Sir Michael Gambon is a Dublin born treasure of the British stage and screen has done so many wonderful period dramas, I will never be able to list them all. He also seems to be quite a character. He flies planes and drives a Ferrari and has "Gambon Corner" on BBC's Top Gear named after the location of his his near roll of a Suzuki Liana in their "Star in a reasonably priced car" segment.

Although he keeps his private life quiet, he became a father for the third time in 2009 at the age of 68 with the then 43-year-old set designer Philippa Hart, with whom he already had a two year-old. He has been married to his wife, retired mathematician and staunch Catholic Lady Anne Gambon for 50 years. He and Lady Anne still share a house in the countryside of Kent, but he visits his other family regularly. OK, enough with the titillating gossip and on to his wonderful work.

Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse with Romola Garai as Emma

I am showing my bias here again with one of my favourite adaptations ever, Emma 2009. Sir Michael Gambon does a wonderful job of the worrywart father Mr. Woodhouse who clings to Emma, ever fearful of being left alone.

Michael Gambon as Squire Hamley in Wives and Daughters

With the wonderfully meaty role of Squire Hamley in Wives and Daughters, Gambon really gets to flex his acting chops. Poor Squire Hamley goes through a contrariety of emotions, from the love he has for his cultured wife to the rage he vents at his eldest son (and huge disappointment) Osborne and then through sorrow, confusion and on to pride and happiness in his remaining family by the end of the series.

Michael Gambon as Lord Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited with Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell

As the aloof Lord Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited 2008, he has a small role, but quite dramatic at the end when he returns to his beloved Brideshead and to his family.

Michael Gambon as Sir William McCordle in Gosford Park

In Gosford Park, Sir Michael plays the head of the house Sir William McCordle. He turns out to be rather a key character in this wonderful ensemble piece. Well, at least Elsie the maid and his dog loved him! The 3 Dames in this film (Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith) thought he was a rotter!

Michael Gambon as Judi Dench's love interest in Cranford

In our beloved Cranford, Sir Michael Gambon plays Mr. Thomas Holbrook, the long lost love interest of Miss Matty Jenkins (Judi Dench) and a tender story it is. I love the way he eats his peas!

Michael Gambon as King George V in The King's Speech

Lending a note of authority to the role of King George V, grandfather to the present Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech, he shows why the relationships between English rulers and their fathers have usually been fractious.

Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in Harry Potter

And of course, we all know Sir Michael as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. He had big shoes to fill after the death of Richard Harris in 2002 after filming the first two Harry Potter films.

Michael Gambon in Longitude 2000

I had forgotten about Michael Gambon starring as John Harrison in Longitude. Sounds like a good birthday gift for The Squire. Good thing he rarely reads my blog. My secret is safe!

The Lost Prince 2003

The Lost Prince is on my to be watched list. I think I saw it when it first came out, but I may not have seen the whole thing. Michael Gambon plays King Edward VII in this one, grandfather to the "Lost Prince" John. There seem to be a lot of folks who love this one about the epileptic uncle of our present Queen who died of a seizure at the age of 13. Any fans out there?

Listing of period films starring Michael Gambon (thanks to Cheryl at Enchanted Serenity of Period Films):

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Cranford (2007)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Amazing Grace (2006)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Being Julia (2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Sylvia (2003)
The Lost Prince (2003)
Path to War (2002)
Charlotte Gray (2001)
Gosford Park (2001)
Wives and Daughters (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Last September (1999)
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
Mary Reilly (1996)
The Browning Version (1994)
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990)
Much Ado About Nothing (1967)

Sophie Thompson- Actor of the Week

Sophie Thompson onstage in Clybourne Park

Sophie Thompson is one of my absolute favourite actresses. Her smile and her eyes are so expressive and she seems to truly inhabit every role she is in. She comes from a very talented family, as Emma Thompson is her sister and Phyllida Law is her mother. But she is a force onscreen in her own right.

Sophie Thompson as Lydia in Four Weddings and a Funeral

Bernard: How's it going, Lyds?
Lydia: Bloody awful.
Bernard: Oh dear, what's the problem?
Lydia: I was promised sex. Everybody said it. You'll be a bridesmaid, you'll get sex, you'll be fighting 'em off. But not so much as a tongue in sight.
Bernard: Well, I mean, if you fancy anything, I could always...
Lydia: Oh, don't be ridiculous, Bernard. I'm not that desperate.

Sophie Thompson as Miss Bates in Emma with her mother Phyllida Law as Mrs. Bates

  
Miss Bates: It left us speechless, quite speechless I tell you, and we have not stopped talking of it since.

Sophie Thompson as Mary Musgrove in Persuasion

Mary Musgrove: Are you coming in, Henrietta, or is my cottage insufficiently grand for you?

Sophie Thompson (second from left) as Dorothy in Gosford Park

Dorothy: I believe in love. Not just getting it, but giving it. I think that if you're able to love someone, even if they don't know it, even if they can't love you back, then it's worth it. 

Sophie Thompson as Mafalda Hopkirk in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

She even got a small part in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 as Mafalda Hopkirk. And she also plays Hermione Granger pretending to be Mafalda Hopkirk...oh, it's complicated!

Emma and Sophie Thompson as teenagers

In the old family photo above, you can see that although there is a family resemblance, their eyes are totally different. Sophie has the wide open eyes that gave Lydia from Four Weddings and a Funeral her wonderful look.

Sophie Thompson and Richard Lumsden at the Olivier Awards 2011 (Sophie was nominated)

Sophie lives with her husband Richard Lumsden in London with their sons Ernie and Walter. She met Richard on the set of Sense and Sensibility. He played the coxcomb Robert Ferrars, brother to Hugh Grant's character Edward Ferrars. Her sister Emma married Greg Wise, who played Willoughby in S&S.  Up until recently, she lived on the same street as her mother and her sister. She moved all of a mile away!

I am now going to pop in my recently arrived DVD and see her in The Young Visiters (written by a 9 year old, hence the spelling). Also starring Jim Broadbent and Hugh Laurie, I can't wait to see if she is frumpy or glam. She can do it all!

Rhys Ifans- Actor of the Week

Rhys Ifans is one of those British characters who are rather fun to watch, both in film and in life. I mean here is a man who used to be the lead singer for the Welsh pop group Super Furry Animals, was engaged to Sienna Miller and played Spike the crazy Welsh roommate in Notting Hill.  And now he has the lead role in Anonymous, playing the Earl of Oxford who, and I quote with disdain, "supposedly penned Shakespeare's plays". Whether you buy the premise of the film (and I truly hope that you do not), there is no denying the fact that Rhys Ifans is a talented actor. Weird, but talented!

Rhys Ifans as The Earl of Oxford in Anonymous

He really shows his acting chops in Anonymous. This role will finally help to erase Spike from the minds of film goers everywhere. OK, maybe not totally erase the image of Spike...in his underwear...

Rhys Ifans as the crazy Welsh roommate Spike from Notting Hill

Or perhaps Spike in the wetsuit and scuba mask eating cereal...

Rhys Ifans as Spike from Notting Hill

Shudder...he really is a good actor isn't he? Ewwww......

I also loved him in Pirate Radio (The Boat that Rocked) as Gavin, the "greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position". If they need an eccentric Brit, who do they call?

Rhys Ifans as Gavin from Pirate Radio

But he can also do a straight period drama role such as Dobbin in Vanity Fair...

Rhys Ifans as Dobbin in Vanity Fair

And who does Emma Thompson call when she needs a creepy, slimy uncle with gambling debts for her latest Nanny McPhee?  Why Rhys Ifans, that's who. It's hard to even imagine these are all the same people isn't it? What a chameleon!

Rhys Ifans as nasty Uncle Phil in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

And of course for the odd father of the odd Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter?  Yes, for Xenophilius Lovegood he hardly had to act at all!

Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood from Harry Potter

So whether or not you like all of the films he has been in (and I am a fan of pretty much all of these films to a greater or lesser degree) you have to admit that this guy can act.  And I hope to see lots more of him in the future. Apparently without Sienna Miller.