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Catherine McCormack

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Catherine McCormack
McCormack in Midnight Man 2008
Born
Catherine Jane McCormack[1]

(1972-04-03) 3 April 1972 (age 52)
Epsom, Surrey, England[2]
EducationOxford School of Drama
OccupationActress
Years active1994–present

Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972)[1][2] is an English actress. 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

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McCormack was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. She is of part 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 as Roman Catholic[5] and attended the Convent of Our Lady of Providence. She went on to study at the Oxford School of Drama.[6]

Career

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Film

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McCormack's first important 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 starred alongside Anna Friel and Rachel Weisz in David Leland's The Land Girls and had lead roles in Nils Gaup's Northstar and Marshall Herskovitz's Dangerous Beauty. Other films include Spy Game (2001) and 28 Weeks Later. In 1998, she stated that "I read very few scripts I'm passionate about... Maybe one in every twenty or thirty."[7]

Theatre

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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 Inés de la Cruz in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Helen Edmundson's play The Heresy of Love.[12]

Personal life

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As of 2009, McCormack was living with her boyfriend in Richmond.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1994 Loaded Rose
1995 Braveheart Murron MacClannough
1996 North Star Sarah
1998 The Land Girls Stella
Dangerous Beauty Veronica Franco
Dancing at Lughnasa Christina 'Chrissy' Mundy
1999 This Year's Love Hannah
The Debtors
2000 Shadow of the Vampire Greta Schröder
A Rumor of Angels Mary Neubauer
The Weight of Water Jean Janes
Born Romantic Jocelyn
2001 The Tailor of Panama Francesca Deane
Spy Game Elizabeth Hadley
2004 Strings Zita (voice)
2005 A Sound of Thunder Sonia Rand
2006 Renaissance Bislane Tasuiev (voice)
2007 The Moon and the Stars Kristina Baumgarten / Tosca
28 Weeks Later Alice
2013 The Fold Rebecca Ashton
2014 Magic in the Moonlight Olivia
2016 The Journey Kate Elgar
2017 Promise at Dawn Lesley Blanch
2019 The Song of Names Helen
Cordelia Kate

Television

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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 Main cast, miniseries
2003 Broken Morning Kathy TV film
2004 Gunpowder, Treason & Plot 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
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire Poppaea Sabina Episode: "Nero"
2008 Midnight Man Alice Ross Main cast, miniseries
2011 Lights Out Theresa Leary Main cast
2013 Lucan Veronica Main cast, miniseries
2015 Life in Squares Virginia Woolf Main cast, miniseries
2016 Sherlock Lady Carmichael Episode "The Abominable Bride"
2017 Genius Marija Ružić–Marić Recurring role (season 1)
2018 Women on the Verge Claire 4 episodes
2019–2021 Temple Beth Milton Main cast
2022 Slow Horses Alex Tropper Recurring role (series 2)
2023 The Witcher Anika Episode: "Reunion"
TBA Lockerbie: A Search for Truth † Jane Swire In production
Key
† Denotes TV productions that have not yet been released

Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue or Company
1999 Anna Weiss Anna Weiss Whitehall Theatre
2000 All My Sons Ann National Theatre
2001 A Lie of the Mind Beth Donmar Warehouse
Kiss Me Like You Mean It Ruth Soho Theatre
White Horses Paula Gate Theatre, Dublin
2002 Free Sophie National Theatre
Dinner Sian National Theatre
2003 Honour Claudia National Theatre
Under the Curse Iphigenia Gate Theatre, London
2004 Vermillion Dream Miriam Salisbury Playhouse
2006 The 39 Steps Various Tricycle Theatre
2007 The Lady from Dubuque Jo Theatre Royal Haymarket
2008 A Doll's House Nora Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Portrait of a Lady Isabel Archer Theatre Royal Haymarket
2009 Six Characters in Search of an Author
2012 The Heresy of Love Juana Inés de la Cruz Royal Shakespeare Company

References

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  1. ^ a b Ms Catherine Jane McCormack company-director-check.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c Duerden, Nick. Catherine McCormack: The play's the thing, The Independent, 10 August 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Catherine McCormack - Actress in Braveheart - Esquire". Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009., 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 Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 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, The 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. ^ "The Heresy of Love - By Helen Edmundson - Royal Shakespeare Company". rsc.org.uk.
  13. ^ "My Perfect Weekend: Catherine McCormack". The Daily Telegraph. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
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