Despite being a praised theater-thespian, she took 10 years off from the stage, between 1995 and 2005, in order to pursue acting in movies, especially in those directed by Mike Leigh. In 2005, she returned to the stage in the big-budgeted production of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" as Marisa Coulter. The same part has also been performed by Nicole Kidman, two years later, in The Golden Compass (2007).
Lesley Manville, OBE is an English actress. She is known for her collaborations with director Mike Leigh, particularly in the films All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010), and Mr. Turner (2014). For her role in the latter, she won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Actress of the Year. She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Phantom Thread (2017).
Manville was born in Brighton, Sussex, to a housewife mother and a taxi driver father. She was brought up in nearby Hove. She has two older sisters, one of whom is actress Gwen Taylor. She was educated at a local comprehensive school and then attended Brighton Polytechnic to study drama.
Manville’s first film role was in Persecution (1975), followed by a number of supporting roles in British films such as The Dresser (1983) and Dance with a Stranger (1985). She first came to prominence with her role in the Mike Leigh film Meantime (1984). In the 1980s and early 1990s, Manville had supporting roles in several films directed by Stephen Frears, including The Hit (1984), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), and High Hopes (1988). She also appeared in the Merchant Ivory film A Room with a View (1985).
In 2002, Manville starred in Leigh’s All or Nothing, for which she won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Actress of the Year. The following year, she appeared in Leigh’s Vera Drake, for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2005, Manville starred in Another Year, again directed by Leigh, for which she received another BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Manville has worked with Leigh on a further three occasions: as Cynthia Purley in the television film Grown-Ups (2010), as Mrs. Poulteney in the 2011 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and as Mrs. Sedgwick in Mr. Turner (2014), for which she won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Actress of the Year.
In 2017, Manville starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also appeared in the films Maleficent (2014) and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).
Manville has been married twice: first to actor Gary Oldman from 1986 to 1990, and then to director Ken Loach from 2002 to 2009. She has two children from her first marriage: Alfie Oldman (born 1987) and Joe Oldman (born 1989).
General Info
Full Name
Lesley Manville
Profession
Voice Actor
Education
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Nationality
British
Family
Spouse
Joe Dixon, Gary Oldman
Children
Alfie Oldman
Accomplishments
Awards
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year, National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, Obie Award for Ensemble Performance, Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress
Nominations
British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, European Film Award for Best Actress, British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, Drama League Award for Distingui...
Movies
Maleficent, Another Year, Secrets & Lies, Mr. Turner, All or Nothing, Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy, Rupture, The Christmas Candle, Romeo and Juliet, High Hopes, Womb, Molly Moon: The Incredible Hypnotist, Spike Island, A Christmas Carol, A Five Star Life, Grown-Ups, Dance with a Stranger, The Firm, High ...
TV Shows
Mum, North & South, River, Cranford, Harlots, The Cazalets, Painted Lady, King Cinder, A Bunch of Fives, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, Mayday, The Queen, Holding On, David Copperfield, Other People's Children, The Bite, Ain't Misbehavin'
[on David Schwimmer, her co-star of the play "Some Girls"] It's lovely. He's not at all starry. He doesn't take a solo curtain call. He likes to take his gloves off and get his hands dirty. He's a very committed, hard-working theatre actor so we're just like working any other group of actors in that way. Of course, that's not necessarily how other people see it. A friend of mine rang the box office to collect a ticket I'd reserved for her and the girl said, "who's Lesley Manville?"
2
[on Maleficent (2014)]: It's a massive epic Disney film based on Sleeping Beauty starring Angelina Jolie in the title role. Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and myself play the three pixies. They are hilarious. It was just the most happy, happy time. Some of the time in the film we're life-sized, but for the rest of it we're little ditty pixies. It was done by motion capture, so we spent three weeks of filming flying around Pinewood studios, with the Cirque du Soleil people strapping us in and tumbling us in the air. It was just fantastic. It's going to come out this Summer and there's going to be a doll of me that you'll be able to buy at the Disney shop! It's amazing that Imelda and I go from epic Mike Leigh plays and films to being pixie Disney dolls!
3
[on having portrayed the mother of Matt Smith, James Corden and Colin Morgan]: All those boys have done rather well since they worked with me as their mother. They owe me big time. They're all wealthier than me - they can have a whip round.
Facts
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Fact
1
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama. She is an actress in London, England.
She won the 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance as Helene Alving in Richard Eyre's revival of "Ghosts".
5
She won the 2013 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance as Helene Alving in Richard Eyre's revival of "Ghosts".
6
Is a trained soprano-singer, and has practiced the art since the age of eight. She chose to pursue an acting career instead, when she discovered her talent for improvisation.
7
Despite being a praised theater-thespian, she took 10 years off from the stage, between 1995 and 2005, in order to pursue acting in movies, especially in those directed by Mike Leigh. In 2005, she returned to the stage in the big-budgeted production of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" as Marisa Coulter. The same part has also been performed by Nicole Kidman, two years later, in The Golden Compass (2007).
