Brenda Blethyn

Who is Brenda Blethyn?

Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion and has earned a Theatre World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work.

Born into a working class home, Blethyn pursued an administrative career until her early 30s before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting after the dissolution of her marriage in 1973. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and received credits for her performances in Troilus and Cressida and Mysteries. In 1981, Blethyn earned her first critical acclaim for Steaming.

In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh's film Grown-Ups. After a modest number of guest spots in several productions, in the mid-1980s she garnered leading roles in the short-run sitcoms Chance in a Million and The Labours of Erica. Having followed her big screen debut with smaller supporting roles in films such as The Witches and A River Runs Through It, she made a major cinema breakthrough with her role in the 1996 dramedy Secrets & Lies, for which she received rave reviews.

Famous Quotes:

• 'I knew it was a great film, but I didn't expect it to get the attention it did because none of his other films had and I thought they were just as good. Of course, I didn't know what it was about until I saw it in the cinema because of the way that he works — but I knew it was good. That it reached a wider audience surprised me.'
• 'We lived in a rented house, which was in a very poor state of repair, but despite many pleas to the landlord we found that we had to like it or lump it.'
• 'I always think 12 times before saying anything.'
• 'I hate that people think going to the theatre is a special occasion. I wish people would treat it as normally as going to the cinema.'