Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972)
is an English actress of stage and screen. Her film appearances include ''
Braveheart
''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ...
'' (1995), ''
The Land Girls
''The Land Girls'' is a 1998 film directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. It is based on the 1995 novel ''Land Girls'' by Angela Huth.
The title refers to the real-li ...
'' (1998), ''
Dangerous Beauty
''Dangerous Beauty'' is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz and starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, and Oliver Platt. Based on the non-fiction book '' The Honest Courtesan'' by Margaret Rosenthal, the f ...
'' (1998), ''
Dancing at Lughnasa
''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal in Ulster in the north of Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Eva ...
'' (1998), ''
Spy Game
''Spy Game'' is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide on a $115 million budget, and received mostly ...
'' (2001), and ''
28 Weeks Later
''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote it with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. The sequel to the 2002 film ''28 Days Later'', it stars Robert Carlyle, ...
'' (2007). Her theatre work includes
National Theatre productions of ''
All My Sons
''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...
'' (2000) and ''
Honour
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
'' (2003).
Early life
McCormack was born in
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, England. She is of part Irish ancestry as one of her grandfathers was Irish. Her mother died of
lupus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...
when McCormack was six years old and her
steelworker
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
father subsequently raised her and her brother Stephen.
[Duerden, Nick]
Catherine McCormack: The play's the thing
''The Independent'', 10 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009. She was brought up as Roman Catholic and attended the Convent of Our Lady of Providence. She went on to study at the
Oxford School of Drama.
Career
Film
McCormack's first important role was as the character
Murron MacClannough in the multiple
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning film ''
Braveheart
''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ...
'' (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."
[
After ''Braveheart'', McCormack starred alongside ]Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera '' Brookside'' ...
and Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...
in David Leland
David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987.
Life
He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...
's ''The Land Girls
''The Land Girls'' is a 1998 film directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. It is based on the 1995 novel ''Land Girls'' by Angela Huth.
The title refers to the real-li ...
'' and had lead roles in Nils Gaup
Nils Gaup (born 12 April 1955) is a Sámi film director from Norway.
Career
Gaup was born in Kautokeino, Finnmark County in Northern Norway. He first intended to become an athlete but from 1974 to 1978 he went to drama school and studied at the ...
's '' Northstar'' and Marshall Herskovitz
Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are ''Traffic'', '' The Last Samurai'', '' ...
's ''Dangerous Beauty
''Dangerous Beauty'' is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz and starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, and Oliver Platt. Based on the non-fiction book '' The Honest Courtesan'' by Margaret Rosenthal, the f ...
''. Other films include ''Spy Game
''Spy Game'' is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62 million in the United States and $143 million worldwide on a $115 million budget, and received mostly ...
'' (2001) and ''28 Weeks Later
''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote it with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. The sequel to the 2002 film ''28 Days Later'', it stars Robert Carlyle, ...
''. 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."
Theatre
McCormack has shown a preference in her career for the theatre,[ 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." McCormack was one of the original 2006 London cast of ]Patrick Barlow
Evan George Patrick Barlow (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor, comedian and playwright. His comedic alter ego, ''Desmond Olivier Dingle'', is the founder, artistic director and chief executive of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, whic ...
's play of '' The 39 Steps''. In 2008, she performed the role of Nora in ''A Doll's House
''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...
'', directed by Peter Hall at the Theatre Royal, Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, and also the role of Isabel Archer in a stage adaptation of ''The Portrait of a Lady
''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and '' Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by cr ...
'', 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
''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, the ...
''. In 2012, she starred as Juana Inés de la Cruz in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's play ''The Heresy of Love
''The Heresy of Love'' is a 2012 play by the British playwright Helen Edmundson, based on the life of Juana Inés de la Cruz. It was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in early 2012, with a cast including Ray Coulthard and directed by Nanc ...
''.
Filmography
Personal life
As of 2009 McCormack was living with her boyfriend in Richmond.The Daily Telegraph
/ref>
References
External links
*
2006 Interview with Catherine McCormack on Theatre.com
Interview with Broadway.com
What's On Stage article about Peter Hall's 2008 plays with Catherine McCormack
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Catherine
1972 births
English film actresses
English television actresses
English stage actresses
English voice actresses
English radio actresses
English people of Irish descent
Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama
Living people
People from Epsom
Actresses from Surrey
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses