Catherine McCormack

Catherine McCormack
Born Catherine Jane McCormack[1]
(1972-04-03) 3 April 1972
Epsom, Surrey, England[2]
Occupation Actress
Years active 1994–present

Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972)[1][2] is an English actress of stage and screen. Her film appearances include Braveheart (1995), The Land Girls (1998), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Spy Game (2001), and 28 Weeks Later (2007). Her theatre work includes National Theatre productions of All My Sons (2000) and Honour (2003).

Early life

McCormack was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. She has Irish ancestry, as one of her grandfathers was Irish.[3] Her mother died of lupus when McCormack was six years old, and her steelworker father subsequently raised her and her brother Stephen.[4] She was brought up in the Roman Catholic religion (though is now a "lapsed Catholic")[5] and attended the Convent of Our Lady of Providence. She then went on to study at the Oxford School of Drama.[6]

Career

Film

McCormack's first notable role was as the character Murron MacClannough in the multiple Academy Award-winning film Braveheart (1995). Her screen debut was as the lead in the Anna Campion-directed film Loaded (1994). She has subsequently stated that she had a "miserable time with the director (Anna Campion)... it was my first film job, I needed to be mollycoddled, I needed to be helped through it, and I wasn't. Mostly, it was a horrible experience."[4]

After Braveheart, McCormack had lead roles in Nils Gaup's Northstar and Marshall Herskovitz's Dangerous Beauty. Other films include Spy Game (2001) 28 Weeks Later. Despite being in demand, she does few films, stating that "I read very few scripts I'm passionate about... Maybe one in every twenty or thirty."[7]

Theatre

McCormack has shown a preference in her career for the theatre,[4] saying that "theatre really is an actor's medium: you're on stage with no director anymore, whereas in film very rarely do you get much rehearsal other than running through the scene very quickly. Then everyone comes in and shoots it."[8] McCormack was one of the original 2006 London cast of Patrick Barlow's play of The 39 Steps.[9] In 2008, she performed the role of Nora in A Doll's House,[10] directed by Peter Hall at the Theatre Royal, Bath, and also the role of Isabel Archer in a stage adaptation of The Portrait of a Lady,[11] both of which commenced their runs in July 2008, ending in August, before transferring to the Rose Theatre in Kingston later that year.

In 2009, she appeared in the British tour of Headlong's adaptation of Six Characters in Search of an Author. In 2012, she starred as Juana Ines de la Cruz in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's play The Heresy of Love.[12]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Loaded Rose
1995 Braveheart Murron MacClannough
1996 North Star Sarah
1998 Land Girls, TheThe Land Girls Stella
1998 Dangerous Beauty Veronica Franco
1998 Dancing at Lughnasa Christina 'Chrissy' Mundy
1999 This Year's Love Hannah
1999 The Debtors
2000 Shadow of the Vampire Greta Schröder
2000 Rumor of Angels, AA Rumor of Angels Mary Neubauer
2000 Weight of Water, TheThe Weight of Water Jean Janes
2000 Born Romantic Jocelyn
2001 Tailor of Panama, TheThe Tailor of Panama Francesca Deane
2001 Spy Game Elizabeth Hadley
2004 Strings Zita (voice)
2005 Sound of Thunder, AA Sound of Thunder Sonia Rand
2006 Renaissance Bislane Tasuiev (voice)
2007 Moon and the Stars, TheThe Moon and the Stars Kristina Baumgarten / Tosca
2007 28 Weeks Later Alice
2013 Fold, TheThe Fold Rebecca Ashton Post-production
2014 Magic in the Moonlight Olivia
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Wycliffe Asenath Gardner Episode: "The Scapegoat"
1997 Deacon Brodie Annie Grant TV film
1999 Love in the 21st Century Fay Episode: "Reproduction"
2001 Armadillo Flavia TV film
2004 Gunpowder, Treason & Plot Queen Elizabeth I TV film
2005 Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore Kathleen Tynan TV film
2006 Elizabeth David: A Life in Recipes Elizabeth David TV film
2006 Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire Poppaea Sabina Episode: "Nero"
2008 Midnight Man Alice Ross TV miniseries
2011 Lights Out Theresa Leary 13 episodes
2013 Lucan Veronica TV miniseries
2016 Sherlock Lady Carmichael Episode "The Abominable Bride"
Theatre
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Anna Weiss Anna Weiss Whitehall Theatre, London
2000 All My Sons Ann National Theatre
2001 Lie of the Mind, AA Lie of the Mind Beth Donmar Warehouse, London
2001 Kiss Me Like You Mean It Ruth Soho Theatre, London
2001 White Horses Paula Gate Theatre, Dublin
2002 Free Sophie National Theatre
2002 Dinner Sian National Theatre
2003 Honour Claudia National Theatre
2003 Under the Curse Iphigenia Gate Theatre, London
2004 Vermillion Dream Miriam Salisbury Playhouse
2006 39 Steps, TheThe 39 Steps Various Tricycle Theatre, London
2007 Lady from Dubuque, TheThe Lady from Dubuque Jo Theatre Royal Haymarket, London

References

  1. 1 2 Ms Catherine Jane McCormack company-director-check.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 "20 Questions With ... Catherine McCormack" whatsonstage.com (8 February 2012). Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Catherine McCormack — Life after Braveheart". Macbraveheart.co.uk. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Duerden, Nick. Catherine McCormack: The play's the thing, The Independent, 10 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  5. ↑ Vaughan, Brendan. Catherine McCormack, Esquire, 30 November 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Catherine McCormack Biography — Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. 1 January 1972. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Blackwelder, Rob. UNRECOGNIZED 'BEAUTY': The surprising off-screen Catherine McCormack, SPLICEDwire, 6 February 1998. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  8. ↑ Wolf, Matt. Catherine McCormack, Broadway.com, 16 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  9. ↑ Cavendish, Dominic. Irreverent romp down the nostalgia track, Telegraph, 18 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Theatre Royal – A Doll's House Archived 19 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ Theatre Royal – The Portrait of a Lady Archived 19 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-heresy-of-love

External links

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