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Samantha Morton on The Unloved

BBC - Found May. 15, 2009
Samantha Morton discusses her new film about children in the care system.

Posted on May 15, 2009, 7:27 am

Look back in anger: Samantha Morton makes her directorial debut

The Independent - Found May. 15, 2009
... is most astonishing about this bleak and beautiful film is that it marks the directorial debut of Samantha Morton the actress who played Myra...

Posted on May 15, 2009, 5:42 am

Samantha Morton Is a Polygamist Wife?

TMZ - Found May. 31, 2009
Here's 'Minority Report' star Samantha Morton, just 32, out in London on Thursday (left) -- and one of the polygamist female members of the

Posted on May 31, 2009, 9:23 am

Samantha Morton talks about growing up in a Midland children's home

Sunday Mercury - Found May. 18, 2009
OSCAR-nominated Midland actress Samantha Morton makes her directorial debut this week with a hard-hitting drama on a subject close to her own heart. ...

Posted on May 18, 2009, 9:31 am

Film & TV: Samantha Morton directs from the heart

Chester Chronicle - Found May. 18, 2009
I think it will be, but not right now.' Extra Time - Samantha Morton At the age of 13, Samantha joined the Central Junior Television Workshop...

Posted on May 18, 2009, 11:37 am

Samantha Morton charged with attempted murder as a teen

Now Magazine - Found Apr. 28, 2009
April 2009 Samantha Morton has revealed she was charged with attempted murder at the age of 14. The actress, who went into care at the age of three,

Posted on April 28, 2009, 5:03 am

Samantha Morton's Mortimer praise

Lichfield Mercury - Found May. 15, 2009
Samantha Morton once got mistaken for Emily Mortimer by a director who had already hired her.

Posted on May 15, 2009, 11:16 am

Samantha Morton's Mortimer praise

Lincolnshire Echo - Found May. 15, 2009
Samantha Morton once got mistaken for Emily Mortimer by a director who had already hired her.

Posted on May 15, 2009, 7:59 am

Samantha Morton's wedding plans

Sussex Courier - Found May. 13, 2009
Samantha Morton has revealed she is waiting to get in shape before she marries her filmmaker boyfriend Harry Holm.

Posted on May 13, 2009, 5:06 am

Samantha Morton's wedding plans

Plymouth Evening Herald - Found May. 13, 2009
Samantha Morton has revealed she is waiting to get in shape before she marries her filmmaker boyfriend Harry Holm.

Posted on May 13, 2009, 2:51 am

Samantha Morton Biography

Samantha Morton
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Samantha Morton

Samantha Morton, February 2008
Born 13 May 1977 (1977-05-13) (age 32)
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Samantha Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and film director. She is also a campaigner for social justice and she is an ambassador for the Save the Children organisation. Because of both her acting excellence and her commitment to political activism, a The Sunday Times journalist described her as "a working class Vanessa Redgrave".1

Contents

Early life

Morton was born in Clifton, Nottingham, England; the daughter of Pamela Freebury, a factory worker, and Peter Morton.23 Her parents divorced in 1979.4 At the age of seven, she was made a ward of the court and never lived with her natural parents again.5 The next nine years were spent in and out of foster care and children's homes. She attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School, and, for a while, Haywood Comprehensive School, and was known for always getting in trouble.citation needed Under the effects of drugs, she threatened an older girl who had been bullying her.6 She was convicted of making threats to kill7. She served 16 weeks in an attendance centre.8 Morton said in an interview, "as a child I had a serious anger problem but from the age of 16 I've been trying to turn bad things into positives".9 She had an abortion at age 16. 10 After leaving care, she lived in a hostel for the homeless and worked on a Youth Training Scheme in hairdressing.11

Career

Morton took up acting as a child. She joined the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was thirteen and was soon being offered small-screen roles. In 1991 she was cast as Clare Anderson in the first series of Lucy Gannon's Soldier Soldier and also made a guest appearance, as Mandy, in an episode of Boon — both were Central TV productions.

Moving to London at sixteen, Morton applied to numerous drama schools, including RADA, without success. As a result she received no further formal acting training.12 Despite this she made her stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre, and continued her television career with a guest appearance on Peak Practice and an impressive performance in a memorable episode of Cracker: "The Big Crunch".

A controversial role in the second series of Kay Mellor's successful Band of Gold (1995) resulted in a lot of tabloid interest, some of which focused on Morton's upbringing and personal life. Further television roles followed, including parts in period dramas including Emma, Jane Eyre and The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Morton's reputation was growing fast and she was now able to move into films. The well-received Under the Skin (1997) continued to raise her profile and impressed Woody Allen enough for him to cast her in Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Morton gave an acclaimed performance and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2000.13 In 2002 Morton won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress for her work in Morvern Callar, followed by a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for In America in 2004.

Morton has also appeared in a number of music videos. She worked with English garage rock band The Horrors on their debut video for "Sheena is a Parasite", and played a mermaid opposite Larry Mullen in U2's promotional video for "Electrical Storm".

Morton played the Moors Murderess Myra Hindley in a television film Longford (2006). Set between 1967 and 1997, the film depicts the relationship between the infamous child killer and Lord Longford, the politician who spent years campaigning for her release. Morton was severely criticised by the relatives of the children who were killed by Hindley and Ian Brady but she insisted, "It is my duty as a performer to raise issues...we're afraid to look at".14 Morton received a 2007 Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe for her performance in the film, both for Best Supporting Actress.

Her directorial debut, a semi-autobiographical piece The Unloved, written in collaboration with screenwriter Tony Grisoni, was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 17 May 2009.

Personal life

Morton has two daughters: Esme (born 2000), with actor Charlie Creed-Miles; and Edie (born 4 January 2008 in London), with filmmaker Harry Holm. Morton is engaged to Holm, the son of actor Ian Holm.

In 2006 Morton was reported to have had a stroke. As a result she was said to be close to death and had to relearn how to walk and talk,15.

In January 2009, whilst attending a fund raiser for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) she vowed to never work for the BBC again after the broadcaster refused to broadcast an emergency charity appeal for the victims of Israel’s attack on Gaza on 27 December 2008.16

In March 2009 Morton protested in Nottingham against the closure of some children's homes due to job cuts made by Nottingham City Council.

Filmography (actor)

Film

Television

Filmography (non-acting)

  • The Unloved … Writer and Director; 17 May 2009, Channel 4

Awards and nominations

  • Academy Awards
  • BAFTA
    • 2007 - BAFTA TV Award / Best Actress - Longford (nominee)
    • 2008 - BAFTA Film Award / Best Supporting Actress - Control (nominee)
  • Golden Globe
    • 2000 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Sweet and Lowdown (nominee)
    • 2008 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Longford (winner)

References

  1. ^ Raw Power, Lesley White, Culture: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009;
  2. ^ Biography from FilmReference.com
  3. ^ 'I may have left Sam in care but she still flies me First Class to Hollywood' — Sunday Mirror; 30 June, 2002.
  4. ^ Yahoo! Movies Biography
  5. ^ Raw Power, Lesley White, Culture: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009;
  6. ^ Knives, bullies and growing up in care, News Review: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009, p.12;
  7. ^ 'Morton reveals knife crime past'
  8. ^ Knives, bullies and growing up in care, News Review: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009, p.12;
  9. ^ Raw Power, Lesley White, Culture: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009;
  10. ^ 'I was abused for a long time and I retaliated' - The Guardian, Hattenstone, Simon. Published 2009-4-25. Retrieved 2009-6-30.
  11. ^ Raw Power, Lesley White, Culture: The Sunday Times supplement, 10 May 2009;
  12. ^ 'Young, gifted and gabby' — The Observer; Sunday, 18 June, 2000.
  13. ^ She is only the second actress to be Oscar-nominated for a non-speaking role — Jane Wyman won the 1949 Best Actress Oscar as a deaf rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948).
  14. ^ 'Yes, I'm playing Myra Hindley. It's my duty to raise things we're afraid of' — The Independent; Sunday, 8 January, 2006
  15. ^ Tahira Yaqoob (9 March 2008). "Actress Samantha Morton was 'close to death' after a secret stroke two years ago". Daily Mail. This was found to be untrue.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=528844&in_page_id=1773. Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  16. ^ "Samantha Morton vows to boycott BBC". Press Association. 26 January 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jeBosH3sPI9Q7-L83IyepzuxNAuw. 

External links