Patricia Clarkson
| Patricia Clarkson | |
|---|---|
 Clarkson at the opening night of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera season |
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| Born | Patricia Davies Clarkson December 29, 1959 , U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1985–present |
Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. After having a dramatic education on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Pieces of April (2003).
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Early life
Clarkson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Jacquelyn (née Brechtel), a local New Orleans politician and councilwoman, and Arthur, a school administrator who worked at the Department of Medicine of Louisiana State University.[1][2] Clarkson's great-grandfather was from Barcelona, Spain.[3]
Clarkson studied drama at Fordham University, where she graduated summa cum laude, and earned her MFA at the Yale School of Drama[4] before making her film debut in The Untouchables in 1987.
Career
Clarkson's Broadway theatre credits include The House of Blue Leaves and Eastern Standard.
Clarkson had supporting roles in a series of high-profile films in her early career. Her first movie role, at age 27, was as the wife of Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) in The Untouchables. She was also featured in The Dead Pool, Rocket Gibraltar and Everybody's All-American. She starred in the short-run television series Davis Rules, and in the miniseries Alex Haley's Queen. More often a character actor than a leading woman, she has also appeared in such major films as The Green Mile (1999), Far from Heaven (2002) and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). Her breakthrough role was in High Art (1998) where her portrayal of Greta, a German, drug-addicted lesbian former model, gained rave reviews.
In 2002, she originated her role as Sarah O'Connor (a.k.a. "Aunt Sarah") in HBO's Six Feet Under. She went on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress that year for her performance, a feat she repeated for the same role in 2006.
In 2003, she gained critical acclaim and a Special Jury Prize for her work in four films that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival: All the Real Girls, The Baroness and the Pig, The Station Agent and Pieces of April.[5][6] Later in the year, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Pieces of April, in which she plays an acerbic mother dying of cancer.
In 2006, she portrayed Sadie Burke, in All the King's Men, set in her native New Orleans. In 2008, she had supporting roles in Elegy, as a womanizer's put-upon girlfriend, and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as an unhappily-married housewife.
Clarkson returned to New Orleans for the January 17, 2009, reopening of the Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts. She served as Master of Ceremonies for a gala featuring Plácido Domingo in concert with the New Orleans Opera, conducted by Robert Lyall.[7] She also made a cameo appearance in the Saturday Night Live Digital Short "Motherlover" on May 9, 2009. The video featured Andy Samberg, Justin Timberlake, and Susan Sarandon.
In 2010, she starred in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island.[8] Clarkson was honored by the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival when she received one of the 2010 Volta awards for achievements in her career.[9]
In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Clarkson published a post for Natural Resources Defense Council's magazine OnEarth. She also released a public service announcement talking about her experiences growing up in New Orleans. Both pieces were released July 26, 2010.[10]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Untouchables | Catherine Ness | |
| 1988 | The Dead Pool | Samantha Walker | |
| Rocket Gibraltar | Rose Black | ||
| Everybody's All-American | Leslie Stone | ||
| 1990 | Tune in Tomorrow | Aunt Olga | |
| 1995 | Pharaoh's Army | Sarah Anders | |
| Jumanji | Carol Anne Parrish | ||
| 1998 | Playing by Heart | Allison | |
| High Art | Greta | Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female |
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| 1999 | The Green Mile | Melinda Moores | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| Wayward Son | Wesley | ||
| Simply Irresistible | Lois McNally | ||
| 2000 | Falling Like This | Caroline Lockhart | |
| Joe Gould's Secret | Vivian Marquie | ||
| 2001 | The Safety of Objects | Annette Jennings | |
| The Pledge | Margaret Larsen | ||
| Wendigo | Kim | ||
| 2002 | Welcome to Collinwood | Rosalind | |
| Far from Heaven | Eleanor Fine | Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress |
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| Heartbreak Hospital | Lottie Ohrwasher | ||
| The Baroness and the Pig | The Baroness | ||
| 2003 | Dogville | Vera | |
| The Station Agent | Olivia Harris | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress also for Pieces of April Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress also for Pieces of April Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress also for Pieces of April National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress also for Pieces of April Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role |
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| All the Real Girls | Elvira Fine | ||
| Pieces of April | Joy Burns | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Station Agent Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Station Agent National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Station Agent National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress also for The Station Agent Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role |
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| 2004 | Miracle | Patty Brooks | |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck. | Shirley Wershba | Nominated — Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| The Dying Gaul | Elaine Tishop | ||
| 2006 | The Woods | Ms. Traverse | |
| All the King's Men | Sadie Burke | ||
| 2007 | No Reservations | Paula | |
| Lars and the Real Girl | Dagmar | ||
| Married Life | Pat Allen | ||
| 2008 | Blind Date | Janna | |
| Phoebe in Wonderland | Miss Dodger | ||
| Elegy | Carolyn | ||
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Judy Nash | ||
| 2009 | Whatever Works | Marietta | |
| 2081 | Narrator | voice | |
| Cairo Time | Juliette Grant | ||
| 2010 | Shutter Island | 2nd Rachel Solando | |
| Legendary[11] | Sharon Chetley | Opens Sept. 10, 2010 | |
| Main Street | Willa | in post-production | |
| Easy A | Rosemary Penderghast | in post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Elizabeth Haller | 1 episode |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Deborah Wade | 1 episode |
| 1990 | The Old Man and the Sea | Mary Pruitt | |
| Tales from the Crypt | Suzy | 1 episode | |
| Law & Order | Laura Winthrop | 1 episode | |
| 1991 | Davis Rules | Cosmo Yeargin | 8 episodes |
| 1992 | Blind Man's Bluff | Dr. Virginia Hertz | |
| An American Story | Barbara Meade | ||
| Legacy of Lies | Pat Rafael | ||
| Four Eyes and Six Guns | Lucy Laughton | ||
| 1993 | Queen | Elizabeth "Lizzie" Perkins | mini-series |
| Caught in the Act | Meg | ||
| 1994 | She Led Two Lives | Desiree Parnell | |
| 1995–1996 | Murder One | Annie Hoffman | 20 episodes |
| 1996 | London Suite | Diana Nichols | |
| The Wedding | Della McNeil | ||
| 2000 | Wonderland | Mrs. Tammy Banger | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Frasier | Claire French | 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Carrie | Margaret White | |
| 2002–2005 | Six Feet Under | Sarah O'Connor | 7 episodes Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series (2002, 2006) |
| 2007 | American Masters | Narrator | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Saturday Night Live | Mother of Justin Timberlake's character | May 9, 2009 SNL Digital Short |
References
- ↑ Patricia Clarkson Biography (1959-)
- ↑ Patricia Clarkson Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ↑ http://www.collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/7202/tcid/1/pg/2
- ↑ "Clarkson Shifts Her Weight" in the Washington Times, 2008, March 28, pp. D1
- ↑ Gordon, Devin, "A Woman on the Verge of a Breakthrough" in Newsweek, 20 October 2003, pp. 11
- ↑ "Move Over Sundance Kids, There's a New...Star of Indies", New York Post, 23 January 2003, p. 39
- ↑ Theodore P. Mahne, "Star Emcee Patricia Clarkson Shares in the Excitement over Tonight's Opera Gala", The Times-Picayune, 2009 January 17, pp. C1, C3
- ↑ "Video Interviews: Shutter Island - Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Dennis Lehane", DreadCentral.com
- ↑ JDIFF announce recipients of this year's Volta Awards, Filmbase; retrieved 2010-02-24
- ↑ OneEarth.org
- ↑ Legendary (official site)
External links
- Patricia Clarkson at the Internet Movie Database
- Patricia Clarkson at Allmovie
- Patricia Clarkson at Yahoo! Movies
- Patricia Clarkson at TV.com
- "Patricia Clarkson, Directors' Stealth Weapon" Michelle Orange, The New York Times, 30 July 2010
- "Patricia Clarkson Reflects on 'Cairo Time'" Rossiter Drake, 7x7 Magazine in San Francisco, August 30, 2010
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