Greta Scacchi
| Greta Scacchi | |
|---|---|
 Greta Scacchi, January 2008 | |
| Born |
Greta Scacchi 18 February 1960 Milan, Italy |
| Nationality |
Italy Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Partner(s) | Carlo Mantegazza |
| Children |
|
Greta Scacchi (English pronunciation: /ˈskækiː/, Italian pronunciation: [ˌɡrɛːta ˈskakːi]; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress known for her roles in the films White Mischief, Presumed Innocent and The Player. She won an Emmy Award in 1996 for her portrayal of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.
Early life
Scacchi was born in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela, an English dancer and antiques dealer.[1]Scacchi's parents divorced when she was four, and her mother returned to her native England with Greta and her two older brothers, first to London, then to Haywards Heath, West Sussex.[2] In 1975, after her mother's remarriage, the family settled in Perth, Australia,[3] where she attended Hollywood Senior High School and the University of Western Australia (UWA).[4] She made her theatrical debut at UWA's New Dolphin Theatre in Edward Bond's play Early Morning.[5]
Career
In 1977, Scacchi left UWA to return to England to pursue an acting career, studying at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, with Miranda Richardson and Amanda Redman. In 1982, she made her film debut in the German movie, Das Zweite Gesicht (The Second Face), and gave versatile performances in films, such as Heat and Dust (1983), The Ebony Tower (1984), The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), White Mischief (1987), Presumed Innocent (1990), The Player (1992) and Country Life (1994). She turned down the role of Catherine Trammell in Basic Instinct (1992).[6]
In 1996, she won an Emmy Award for her work as Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and numerous other awards. In 1999, she had a role as an Italian-Australian single mother in the Australian film Looking for Alibrandi,[7] a performance for which she won the 2000 AFI award for Best Supporting Actress.[8]
In 2007, she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Broken Trail.
Scacchi is fluent in English, French, German and Italian, which has made her a popular choice for European casting directors and has been an asset when working for European directors and producers.
She has performed in a wide range of parts in theatre. In "Uncle Vanya" at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, in 1987, she played opposite Michael Gambon and Jonathan Pryce. In 1991 she played Nora in Chekhov's "A Doll's House" in the Festival of Perth. A year later she played the lead role in Strindberg's "Miss Julie" for the Sydney Theatre Company. The review in Green Left Weekly stated: '(this production) is worth seeing because of, and only because of, Scacchi.' She returned to Sydney in 1996 to play Cecilia in Sam Shepard's "Simpatico". In 1999 she took the lead in "Easy Virtue" in Chichester, directed by actress Maria Aitken. In 2001 she was back in Sydney for Harold Pinter's "Old Times", directed by Arne Neeme, playing Kate. In 2004 she toured Italy with an Italian production "Vecchi Tempi" of the same play, but this time playing Anne. In 2005, she performed at the Theatre Royal, Bath, in Thea Sharrock's production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives". 'Pitch Perfect' said Charles Spencer in The Telegraph. Back in Australia in 2008, she was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Best Actress Award for playing Queen Elizabeth in Schiller's "Mary Stuart" in Sydney. According to Peter Craven in The Spectator: 'This is Greta Scacchi's show and her Elizabeth is a relevation...effortless magnetism...it is a performance of great danger and authority. It leaves the rest of the production dead.' In that year she also performed to great acclaim in Terence Rattigan's "The Deep Blue Sea" at the Theatre Royal, Bath, on tour and then in the West End back at the Vaudeville Theatre. As Hester Collyer, critics found her performance 'outstanding' (Daily Express), 'incandescent' (The Times), 'shatteringly fine' (the Daily Telegraph), and 'the finest piece of acting I have seen in a decade' (Sunday Telegraph).
In 2010, she replaced an injured Kristin Scott Thomas in the Chatelet Theatre, Paris in the French premiere (37 years after it was written) of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". As Desiree she sang 'Send In The Clowns', which one critic described as a "heartbreaking rendition' that was 'as close to perfection as it could get'.
In May 2011, she appeared alongside Anita Dobson in the play Bette and Joan at London's Arts Theatre, directed by Bill Alexander, about the personal and professional relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.[9]
In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at The Old Vic in London. Scacchi played Regan.[10]
In 2014 she played Arkadina in Chekov's "The Seagull" in Perth. According to the CultureConcept Circle review she was 'as elegant and classy as a beautiful swan'. In 2015 she joined the Headlong theatre company to star on a UK tour in Tennessee Willliams' "The Glass Menagerie" as Amanda - the Warrington Guardian thought her 'sensational', Entertainment Focus thought her 'remarkable' and The Yorkshire Post thought her performance 'perfectly judged'.
In March 2016 it was announced she would be playing opposite Kenneth Branagh and John Hurt in a revival of John Osborne's "The Entertainer" at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End.
Personal life
Scacchi was in a relationship with New Zealand musician Tim Finn from 1983–89. She has a daughter (born 1992) with actor Vincent D'Onofrio[11][12] Scacchi also has a son (born 1998).[13]
Scacchi applied for British citizenship after turning 18, but was turned down because her father was not a British citizen. After appealing unsuccessfully, she decided not to apply for it again, and retained her Italian citizenship.[14] In January 1995, she became an Australian citizen and has since had dual nationality.
She lived for many years in Hurstpierpoint until moving in early 2011 to a rented property in East Grinstead because of a dispute with her neighbour.[15]
Scacchi is an active supporter of campaigns and organisations that promote environmental causes. She has supported Greenpeace and, more recently, Christian Aid's climate change campaign.[16] In 2009, she posed nude with a Codfish to promote the documentary End of the Line, a film exposing the effects of over-fishing.[17]
In October 2013 she was made a Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito for her services to the Arts.[18]
Filmography
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Uncle Vanya | Yelena | Vaudeville Theatre, London |
| 1991 | A Doll’s House | Nora | Festival of Perth |
| 1992 | Miss Julie | Miss Julie | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1996 | Simpatico | Cecilia | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 1999 | Easy Virtue | Larita | Chichester, England |
| 2001 | Old Times | Kate | Sydney Theatre Company |
| 2004 | Vecchi Tempi | Anne | Italian tour of Pinter play |
| 2005 | Private Lives | Amanda | Theatre Royal, Bath |
| 2008 | Mary Stuart | Queen Elizabeth | Sydney Theatre |
| 2008 | The Deep Blue Sea | Hester | Theatre Royal, Bath; Vaudeville, London |
| 2010 | A Little Night Music | Desiree | Chatelet Theatre, Paris. French premiere |
| 2011 | Bette and Joan | Bette Davis | Arts Theatre, London and tour |
| 2013 | King Lear | Regan | The Old Vic, London |
| 2014 | The Seagull | Madame Arkadina | Black Swan Theatre, Perth |
| 2015 | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda | Headlong/West Yorkshire Playhouse/Liverpool Playhouse co-production |
References
- ↑ "Greta Scacchi profile". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ↑ Law, Cally; Scacchi, Greta (17 Aug 2008). "Slight mischief". The Sunday Times. p. 2.
- ↑ Cornwell, Jane (22 June 2014). "Greta Scacchi: acting royalty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ↑ Bosworth, Michael (2000). "Hollywood Senior High School – A History" (PDF). Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
- ↑ "The Octagon Takes a Bow". Uniview 29 (1): 16–19. Summer 2010. Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
- ↑ Bryce Hallett, Her world's a stage, The Sydney Morning Herald, Metropolitan, 10 February 2001, p.3
- ↑ "Urban Cinefile Scacchi, Greta - Looking For Alibrandi". Urbancinefile.com.au. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ George, Sandy (19 November 2000). "Looking For Alibrandi finds five AFI Awards | News | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ "Bette & Joan". Londontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ↑ "The Old Vic | King Lear". Bookings.oldvictheatre.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (28 September 2008). "Greta Scacchi: glad to be back". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (28 November 1999). "'Trainspotting, I'd love to do that...'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
Her daughter's father is the actor Vincent D'Onofrio, with whom Scacchi had a four-year relationship that ended acrimoniously not long after the baby, Leila, was born
- ↑ Maher, Kevin (26 April 2008). "Greta Scacchi takes on Miss Austen Regrets". The Times. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ↑ Urban, Andrew L. "Scacchi, Greta – Looking for Alibrandi". Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ↑ Walker, Emily (5 February 2011). "Greta Scacchi's "driven out" of Sussex dream home". The Argus. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ↑ "Greta Scacchi". Christian Aid. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent. "Greta Scacchi revels in her happiest role yet: environmental campaigner | Environment | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ Cinema: conferito a Greta Scacchi Ordine a Merito
Filmography
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greta Scacchi. |
- Greta Scacchi at the Internet Movie Database
- Greta Scacchi at the TCM Movie Database
- Interview in the Spectator
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