Helen McCrory

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Birthday:

17 August 1968, London, England, UK

Height:

163 cm

Award-winning actress Helen Elizabeth McCrory was born in London, England, to Welsh-born Anne (Morgans) and Scottish-born Iain McCrory, a diplomat (from Glasgow). She trained at the Drama Centre London. She began her career on stage in the UK. She won the Manchester Evening News' Best Actress Award for her performance in the National Theatre's "Blood Wedding" and the Ian Charleson award for classical acting for playing "Rose Trelawney" in "Trelawney of the Wells". Helen's theatre work has continued to win her critical praise and a large fan base through such work as the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Les Enfant du Paradis" opposite Joseph Fiennes, Rupert Graves and James Purefoy. At the Almeida Theatre, her productions have included "The Triumph of Love" opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor and the radical verse production, "Five Gold Rings", opposite Damian Lewis.Helen has also worked extensively at the Donmar Warehouse playing lead roles in "How I Learnt to Drive", "Old Times" directed by Roger Michel, and in Sam Mendes' farewell double bill of "Twelfth Night" and "Uncle Vanya" (a triumph in both London and New York). For her performance in "Twelfth Night", Helen was nominated for the Evening Standard Best Actress Award, and the New York Drama Desk Awards.Helen also found time to found the production company "The Public" with Michael Sheen, producing new work at the Liverpool Everyman, The Ambassadors and the Donmar (in which she also starred).With over twenty productions under her belt, Mike Coveney recently wrote "We celebrate the careers of great actors Olivier, Ashcroft, Richardson, Gielgud, Dench, the Redgraves, Gambon, Walter, Sher, Russell Beale and McCrory".On the small screen, Helen's first television film, Karl Francis' Screen Two: Streetlife (1995) with Rhys Ifans, won her the Welsh BAFTA, Monte Carlo Best Actress Award and the Royal Television Society's Best Actress Award, for her extraordinary performance as "Jo". The Edinburgh Film Festival wrote "simply the best performance this year".She went on to win Critics Circle Best Actress Award for her role as the barrister "Rose Fitzgerald" in the Channel 4 series North Square (2000), having been previously nominated for her performance in The Fragile Heart (1996). Helen has shown her diversity as an actress, appearing in comedies such as Lucky Jim (2003) with Stephen Tompkinson or Dead Gorgeous (2002) with Fay Ripley, as well as dramas such as Joe Wright's Charles II: The Power & the Passion (2003) (for which she was nominated for the LA Television Awards) and Anna Karenina (2000). Died: April 16, 2021 (age 52) in London, England, UK Show less «

Theatre is liberating because it only works if it's truthful, That's what it requires. That's not true of film: the camera does lie. You can...Show more »

Theatre is liberating because it only works if it's truthful, That's what it requires. That's not true of film: the camera does lie. You can be moved by a performance on set, but when you see it on screen, it does nothing. Yet there will be someone you simply didn't notice on set that on screen: bam! Show less «

I was lucky to learn early in life that you need money for food and shelter, but there's no ambition in having money in the bank for the sak...Show more »

I was lucky to learn early in life that you need money for food and shelter, but there's no ambition in having money in the bank for the sake of it! Show less «

I'm a very positive person. My grandmother taught me that happiness is both a skill and a decision, and you are responsible for the outcome.

I feel as though my life is bathed in golden sunlight. And the really wonderful thing is that I know it.

If you're constantly frightened of being unhappy, how bloody exhausting must that be?

If you think you are beautiful in a scene, you will come across as beautiful. I don't think looks are important; I think what's important is...Show more »

If you think you are beautiful in a scene, you will come across as beautiful. I don't think looks are important; I think what's important is if someone is sexy. Show less «

People are not considerate of others. They tend not to consider themselves as all living together, but see themselves only as individuals.

What really matters to me is what my peers think.

The benefits of feminism for someone like my husband are fantastic. He can stay at home with the kids, he can take them to a park, he does t...Show more »

The benefits of feminism for someone like my husband are fantastic. He can stay at home with the kids, he can take them to a park, he does the school run. Show less «

A perfect weekend in London has to start on Friday night, by going to the theater, the Donmar or the National. It's a cliche for an actor, b...Show more »

A perfect weekend in London has to start on Friday night, by going to the theater, the Donmar or the National. It's a cliche for an actor, but I enjoy going as much as possible. Show less «

What I find most interesting about acting is transforming myself.

People who are exceptionally intelligent are often lonely because there are few people as intelligent as them. I have two little children, a...Show more »

People who are exceptionally intelligent are often lonely because there are few people as intelligent as them. I have two little children, and everyone says: 'I hope they're doing well in school. I hope they're bright.' And I think: 'Why would anyone want their children to be the brightest?' Academia is a lonely world. Show less «

I think change is good because it teaches you that it's nothing to be frightened of.

America is such a nation of suppressed emotion, and when you arrive in L.A., you can smell the fear. It's the most alien country I've ever b...Show more »

America is such a nation of suppressed emotion, and when you arrive in L.A., you can smell the fear. It's the most alien country I've ever been to. Show less «

I think it's very important not to grow up with the unhealthy amount of attention that is sometimes put on people because they are 'actors'.

Actually, I'm looking forward to being 50. Because to me, that's when a woman is at the pinnacle of her femininity and her womanhood.

In the area we live, there's a large show of children who run from one house to another house to another house. That's lovely because it mea...Show more »

In the area we live, there's a large show of children who run from one house to another house to another house. That's lovely because it means all the children play together, and all the adults get to sit around and have coffees and read the papers or go to the park. Show less «

As I've got older, I feel more confident in my body, so wouldn't want to tamper with it.

I can sleep anywhere! I can come off stage during the interval of a play, lie down for four minutes then wake up feeling better.

I listen to Radio 4 all the time. I didn't go to university, so that's my further education.

Every time, at any point of my life, I think now is always the best age to be.

A script is only as good as the director who's making it.

I love London, and it's a privilege for my children to grow up here.

I spent my teenage years in Paris when my dad was stationed there, and I'd look at women in their forties and think, 'That's the age I want ...Show more »

I spent my teenage years in Paris when my dad was stationed there, and I'd look at women in their forties and think, 'That's the age I want to be.' Show less «

I used to say that theater was my favorite thing. But the more I do film, the more I appreciate it.

I was a real art freak when I was a teenager.

I've become more confident as I have got older. I care less what others think.

It's what people create that makes my heart stop.

So often when you meet child actors, they're weird - they're freaks. No, I mean it, they're really odd people.

I've often sat down with people talking about a film I've been in, and they haven't realized I was in it.

My own parents were very un-neurotic, so I never thought that I had to change enormously in order to become a parent.

To be honest, my husband and my children are my best friends.

Working in films, there are hundreds of odd moments.

Appallingly, I hadn't thought about it one jot. I never daydreamed as a little girl of getting married and having children. I was as surpris...Show more »

Appallingly, I hadn't thought about it one jot. I never daydreamed as a little girl of getting married and having children. I was as surprised to discover I was getting married as I was to discover I was up the duff. Show less «

Childhood has definitely been invented, hasn't it? I think that's because people had children later, and we appreciate and cherish childhood...Show more »

Childhood has definitely been invented, hasn't it? I think that's because people had children later, and we appreciate and cherish childhood a lot more. Show less «

I had a great start in television; the first thing I did was an episode of 'Performance' called 'The Entertainer' with Michael Gambon playin...Show more »

I had a great start in television; the first thing I did was an episode of 'Performance' called 'The Entertainer' with Michael Gambon playing Archie Rice. Show less «

I really love my food. My favorite thing is artichokes. I am not so much interested in desserts or chocolate, though. I also like to cook wi...Show more »

I really love my food. My favorite thing is artichokes. I am not so much interested in desserts or chocolate, though. I also like to cook with my husband Damian. Show less «

I think I was brought up with an innate sense of responsibility because my dad was in the Foreign Office where you were in somebody else's c...Show more »

I think I was brought up with an innate sense of responsibility because my dad was in the Foreign Office where you were in somebody else's country, and you were aware of your behavior. And my mum worked for the NHS, so you were aware of your responsibility to your country. Show less «

I love live performance and have huge admiration for people who can really do it. It's the same with music: I'll play a record and think tha...Show more »

I love live performance and have huge admiration for people who can really do it. It's the same with music: I'll play a record and think that I'm not really into country or ragga. But, if it's live and the musicians are good, I'll listen to pretty much anything. Show less «

I love dressing up. But I'm very low-maintenance; the week before an event, I'll choose something as quickly as possible and that's that. If...Show more »

I love dressing up. But I'm very low-maintenance; the week before an event, I'll choose something as quickly as possible and that's that. If I can do my own hair and make-up, even better. I like it to be fun. Show less «

I love theater because it's just me and the audience. It's the litmus test in acting, to be able to sustain a performance over one, two or t...Show more »

I love theater because it's just me and the audience. It's the litmus test in acting, to be able to sustain a performance over one, two or three hours. Show less «

I was very lucky. I left college, and Richard Eyre was in charge of the National Theater. I was offered the lead in 'The Seagull' with no ex...Show more »

I was very lucky. I left college, and Richard Eyre was in charge of the National Theater. I was offered the lead in 'The Seagull' with no experience and went on to do five plays there. Show less «

If I were in politics, I'd make both left and right sit down and make good decisions about national health. It's a huge problem, and it is s...Show more »

If I were in politics, I'd make both left and right sit down and make good decisions about national health. It's a huge problem, and it is something we all should be part of. Show less «

The only time I ever spend alone is when I am working or when my husband is away filming. I put the kids to bed and have an hour and a half ...Show more »

The only time I ever spend alone is when I am working or when my husband is away filming. I put the kids to bed and have an hour and a half in the evening for myself. Show less «

I use my awards as doorstops. Others are in the office or in little cubbyholes in our library - they go between the books, because they actu...Show more »

I use my awards as doorstops. Others are in the office or in little cubbyholes in our library - they go between the books, because they actually look like arty pieces. Show less «

Literature is reflecting what is happening in life. More and more women are having relationships with younger men. It's partly that women ar...Show more »

Literature is reflecting what is happening in life. More and more women are having relationships with younger men. It's partly that women are not losing their figures now. Show less «

You don't learn from good people - they've found what works for them and are completely original; you learn from the people who are bad. You...Show more »

You don't learn from good people - they've found what works for them and are completely original; you learn from the people who are bad. You think: 'Oh dear, I'm not going to do that.' Show less «

When I was 14, I told my mother I intended to be in the House of Commons in the morning, in court in the afternoon and on stage in the eveni...Show more »

When I was 14, I told my mother I intended to be in the House of Commons in the morning, in court in the afternoon and on stage in the evening. She realized then a fantasist had been born. Show less «

What interests me about life most is people, and the why of the world. That's what theater looks at: it examines life, and gives it a cohesi...Show more »

What interests me about life most is people, and the why of the world. That's what theater looks at: it examines life, and gives it a cohesiveness that life doesn't have. Show less «

You can be moved by a performance on set, but when you see it on screen, it does nothing. Yet there will be someone you simply didn't notice...Show more »

You can be moved by a performance on set, but when you see it on screen, it does nothing. Yet there will be someone you simply didn't notice on set that on screen: bam! Show less «

There are a lot of little lessons that can be taught around the home without sitting a child down and boring them to death with your philoso...Show more »

There are a lot of little lessons that can be taught around the home without sitting a child down and boring them to death with your philosophy of life! Show less «