Lesley Sharp

Lesley Sharp

Born: April 3, 1960
Age: 64
Birthplace: Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK
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Biography

Lesley Sharp (born 3 April 1960) is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include Clocking Off (2000-01), Bob & Rose (2001) and Afterlife (2005-06). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film The Full Monty. Her other film appearances include Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1986), Naked (1993), Priest (1994), From Hell (2001) and Vera Drake (2004). Since 2011, she has starred as Janet Scott in the ITV drama Scott & Bailey.

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Early life

Sharp was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England. She traced her family background on the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?

Sharp has stated that she started acting because, as a child, she felt "invisible" and didn't "quite fit in." She has said that her inspiration to act came from watching Dick Emery on television.

Sharp attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the class of 1982.

Career

Sharp's screen debut was in Alan Clarke's Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1986), playing Bob's wife, Michelle. She appeared in another Clarke-directed project, as Valerie in the filmed version of Jim Cartwright's successful stageplay Road (1987). Further film appearances included supporting roles in The Rachel Papers (1989) and Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes, with Clive Owen and Alan Rickman. Sharp was establishing herself as a talented actress and social realist roles in Mike Leigh's Naked (1993) and the Jimmy McGovern-penned Priest (1994) further raised her profile. By the time she was in Prime Suspect 4: The Lost Child (1995) and The Full Monty (1997) she had become a well-known performer in Britain.

Although Sharp has appeared in a variety of films throughout her career, she is probably best known by television audiences. By the late 1990s, she was being offered lead roles in numerous well-written - mostly northern-set - drama series. Common As Muck (1997) was followed by Playing the Field (1998-2002), a drama about a female football team which ran for five series. Sharp had supporting parts in Great Expectations (1999), as Mrs Joe, and in Nature Boy (2000), as Martha Tyler, before landing the role of Trudy Graham in Paul Abbott's BAFTA-award-winning Clocking Off (2000-03), which lasted four series. Russell T. Davies then cast her opposite Alan Davies in Bob & Rose, which resulted in a BAFTA nomination for Sharp. Further film roles in From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, and Cheeky (1993), which was directed by Naked co-star David Thewlis, preceded another television drama written by Russell T. Davies. In The Second Coming (2003) Lesley Sharp was "the woman who killed God" in the form of Stephen Baxter, as played by Christopher Eccleston.

Lesley Sharp again worked with Mike Leigh in Vera Drake (2004) which was followed by one-off television dramas including Planespotting, Born with Two Mothers and Our Hidden Lives, all in 2005. The same year, she played the clairvoyant lead role of Alison Mundy opposite Andrew Lincoln's sceptical Robert Bridge in ITV's supernatural drama series Afterlife. Although the subject matter was seen as quite controversial, it was generally received positively by critics and audiences. Sharp's performance was highly praised and she was nominated for several awards. She commented, in a This Morning television interview, that the guest stars - including Natalia Tena, David Threlfall and Mark Benton — for the second series "were amazing".

After a ten-year break from stagework, October 2005 saw Lesley Sharp return to the theatre as Emma in Sam Shepard's The God of Hell at the Donmar Warehouse.In what she described as "a black comedy about the poison at the heart of America", she was directed by her friend Kathy Burke — someone with whom she had previously competed for screen roles. Lesley Sharp concentrated on theatrical work for the next few years, until re-appearing on television screens in 2008 in the three-part Lucy Gannon-penned drama The Children. Later in 2008, she worked with Russell T. Davies for a third time when she played Sky Silvestry in the Doctor Who episode "Midnight". Davies later tipped Sharp to become the first woman to play the Doctor.

Early 2009 saw Sharp playing Petronella van Daan in the BBC's new version of The Diary of Anne Frank. She subsequently played Paddy Considine's wife in Channel 4's acclaimed drama series Red Riding. She then joined the cast in the BBC daytime drama series Moving On, for which Jimmy McGovern was the executive producer. Sharp played Sylvie, a woman whose life becomes dominated by fear, in ""Butterfly Effect", the last of five individual stories. Sharp starred in a 2009 revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville Theatre with Marc Warren and Diana Vickers, which ran from October to the following January. Since May 2011 Sharp has starred in ITV1's crime drama series Scott & Bailey as Janet Scott. From May 2012 she stars in the Sky1 comedy series Starlings as Jan Starling.

In 2015, Sharp played the part of Mary, the daughter of Petunia Howe, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester's novel of the same name.

List of credits

Television

Year Title Role Network Notes
1994
Dandelion Dead Constance Martin
ITV
mini-series
1995
Prime Suspect Anne Sutherland
ITV
Series 4, "The Lost Child"
1999-2001
Playing the Field Theresa Mullen
BBC One
Series 1-3
1999
Daylight Robbery Carol Murphy
ITV
2000-2001
Clocking Off Trudy Graham
BBC One
Series 1, 2
2001
Bob & Rose Rose Cooper
ITV
2003
The Second Coming Judith Roach
ITV
two-part drama
2005-2006
afterlife Alison Mundy
ITV
2008
Doctor Who Sky Silvestry
BBC One
Series 4, Episode 10 "Midnight"
The Children Anne
ITV
mini-series
2009
The Diary of Anne Frank Petronella Van Daan
BBC One
Red Riding Joan Hunter
Channel 4
Part 2 "In the Year of Our Lord 1980"
Moving On Sylvie
BBC One
Series 1, Episode 5 "Butterfly Effect"
2010
Agatha Christie's Poirot Miss Martindale
ITV
Series 12, Episode 4 "The Clocks"
2010
Whistle and I'll Come to You Hetty the nurse
BBC Two
2011
Leah's Story Narrator
ITV
2011-present
Scott & Bailey DC Janet Scott
ITV
2011
The Shadow Line Julie Bede
BBC Two
2012
Protecting Our Children Narrator
BBC Two
2012
Corfu — A Tale of Two Islands Narrator
ITV
2012-2013
Starlings Jan Starling
Sky 1
2013
Who Do You Think You Are? Self
BBC One
Series 10, Episode 4
2015
Capital Mary
BBC One

Film

Year Title Role
1986 Rita, Sue and Bob Too Michelle
1987 Road Valerie
1989 The Rachel Papers Jenny
1991 Close My Eyes Jessica
1993 Naked Louise Clancy
1994 Priest Mrs. Unsworth
1997 The Full Monty Jean
2001 From Hell Catherine Eddowes
2004 Vera Drake Jessie Barnes
2008 Inkheart Mortola

Theatre

In October 2005, Sharp starred in her first theatre role for a decade in the play The God of Hell at the Donmar Warehouse, London.

In 2008, she played the lead character in the play Harper Regan at Royal National Theatre.

In 2014, she played the character Helen in the play A Taste of Honey at Royal National Theatre.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
1988 Olivier Awards Best Comedy Performance A Family Affair Nominated
1992 Olivier Awards Best Supporting Actress Uncle Vanya Nominated
1998 BAFTA Film Awards Best Supporting Actress The Full Monty Nominated
1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Cast in a Film The Full Monty Won
2002 BAFTA TV Awards Best Actress Bob and Rose Nominated
2002 Royal Television Society Best Female Actor Bob and Rose Nominated
2006 Royal Television Society Best Female Actor Afterlife Won

References and notes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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