Lesley Sharp (born 1960 in Liverpool, Lancashire^[1]) is an English stage, film and television actress, particularly well known for her variety of British television roles including Clocking Off, Bob & Rose and afterlife.

Early life[link]

Adopted as the second daughter of mature Scottish parents, Sharp grew up in Formby, Merseyside.^[2] Childhood holidays were spent in Edinburgh, where "every fucking summer it rained".^[2] Sharp started acting because, as a child, she felt "invisible" and didn't "quite fit in."^[2] She has said that her inspiration to act came from watching Dick Emery on television.^[3] Her father worked for the Inland Revenue and was not keen on her taking up acting, preferring her to follow in his footsteps by becoming a civil servant.^[2] Her adoptive mother died of cancer when Sharp was 15.^[3] The adoption was never a secret in the family, but it was only after leaving home that she met her genetic mother — a working class woman unable to keep her because the father was a married man.^[3]

Sharp moved to London at 18 and, after initially failing to get into drama school, worked at the Department of Education and Science at the Victoria & Albert Museum.^[2] Responsible for filling in the warders' overtime sheets, her poor numeracy skills resulted in frequent mistakes before she was eventually asked "very nicely, but firmly" to leave.^[2]

Sharp attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1982.^[4]

Career[link]

Lesley'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).^{[citation needed]} Further film appearances included supporting roles in The Rachel Papers (1989) and Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes, with Clive Owen and Alan Rickman.Lesley 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.^{[citation needed]}

Although Lesley 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. Lesley 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Sharp's performance was highly praised and she was nominated for several awards.^{[citation needed]} 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".^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} 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 she had previously competed with for screen roles. Lesley Sharp concentrated on theatrical work for the next few years,^{[citation needed]} 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.^[5]

Early 2009 saw Sharp playing Petronella Van Daan in the BBC's new version of The Diary of Anne Frank. Next up was a role, playing 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,^[6] 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 (TV series) as Jan Starling.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Sharp has been married to Bolton-born actor Nicholas Gleaves since 1994.^[3] They have two sons and live in London.^[2]

In an interview relating to Afterlife, Sharp stated that she is "not religious", and thinks "you should live your life as if it's all there is."^[2]

List of credits[link]

Television[link]

Film[link]

Theatre[link]

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.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, she played the lead character in the play Harper Regan at Royal National Theatre.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations[link]

• 1988 Olivier Awards: Best Comedy Performance for A Family Affair - nominated
• 1992 Olivier Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Uncle Vanya - nominated
• 1998 BAFTA Film Awards: Best Supporting Actress for The Full Monty - nominated
• 1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding cast in a film for The Full Monty - won
• 2002 BAFTA TV Awards: Best Actress for Bob and Rose - nominated
• 2002 Royal Television Society: Best Female Actor for Bob and Rose - nominated
• 2006 Royal Television Society: Best Female Actor for Afterlife - won

References and notes[link]

External links[link]

• Lesley Sharp at the Internet Movie Database
• Voice agency LipService.co.uk

Peter Capaldi
Capaldi in January 2008
Born	(1958-04-14) April 14, 1958 (age 54) Glasgow, Scotland
Occupation	Actor Film director
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Elaine Collins (1991 –present)

Peter Dougan Capaldi (born 14 April 1958) is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. As an actor, he played Oldsen in Local Hero, John Frobisher in Torchwood and political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the British TV comedy series The Thick of It and the affiliated feature film In the Loop. He also portrayed Balthazar, one of the Magi, in the 2010 BBC adaptation of The Nativity.

Early life[link]

Capaldi was born in Glasgow. His mother's family was from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family is from Picinisco, Italy.^[1] Capaldi was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in the city's Possilpark district,^[2] St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs^[2] and at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch,^[3] before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Capaldi displayed an early talent for performance by putting on a puppet show in primary school. While still at high school he was a member of the Antonine Players, who performed at the Fort Theatre, Bishopbriggs. As an art student, Capaldi was the lead singer in the punk rock band "Dreamboys", which included the future comedian Craig Ferguson as drummer.^[4][5]

Career[link]

Capaldi is best known for his portrayal of spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC sitcom The Thick of It, written by fellow Scottish-Italian Armando Iannucci. Tucker is said to be largely if loosely based upon Tony Blair's right-hand man Alastair Campbell. In 2006, Capaldi was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards. He won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role.^[6] He also won the 2010 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor.^[7] A movie spin-off from The Thick of It titled In the Loop was released in 2009.

Capaldi has appeared in over forty films and television programmes since his appearance as Danny Oldsen in Local Hero (1983). He had a lead role in Ken Russell's The Lair of the White Worm (1988) and in Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons (1988). He featured as Ozzy in a 1985 episode of Minder titled Life in the Fast Food Lane, in which he helped Arthur Daley shift dodgy car phones that caused other radio technology nearby to malfunction.

In 1995 Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, which was tied with fellow nominee Trevor thus leading to both films being announced as joint winners. He also wrote Soft Top, Hard Shoulder (winner of the audience award at the London Film Festival) and wrote and directed Strictly Sinatra.

He played Chief Petty Officer Grieves in the BBC Radio Ministry of Defence Comedy Our Brave Boys. His first starring role on television was as Luke Wakefield, a closet gay man who imagines he has witnessed a crime, in the BBC drama series Mr Wakefield's Crusade.

Capaldi played fictional Songs of Praise producer Tristan Campbell in two episodes of the sitcom Vicar of Dibley and a transvestite in ITV's Prime Suspect 3. In Channel 4's 1999 series "Psychos", he played a mathematician with bipolar disorder.^[8] He made an appearance in the hit sitcom Peep Show as a university professor, starred in Aftersun with Sarah Parish, and played a prime suspect in the 2007 series of Waking the Dead. In the Neil Gaiman gothic fantasy Neverwhere he portrayed the Angel Islington.

In 2007 Capaldi appeared as Mark Jenkins (Sid Jenkins' dad) in the E4 teen comedy/drama Skins where he returned for a second series in 2008 only to be killed off in the 3rd episode, and as characters in the Midsomer Murders episode "Death in Chorus" and ITV1's Fallen Angel. He also appeared in the British Comedy film Magicians. He played a fictional version of Caecilius in "The Fires of Pompeii", a 2008 episode of the science-fiction series Doctor Who.^[9] He returned to the Doctor Who franchise in 2009, playing civil servant John Frobisher in the third series of Torchwood.^[10] He also appeared as King Charles I in the Channel 4 series The Devil's Whore, screened in 2008.

He provided a voice for the animated feature for Haunted Hogmanay by Kolik Films in 2006.

Capaldi directs the BBC Four sitcom Getting On, written by and starring Jo Brand, Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine, one episode of which he appeared in as a doctor. Later that same year he wrote and presented A Portrait of Scotland, a documentary about 500 years history of Scottish portrait painting.^[11]

Capaldi also played Balthazar, one of the Magi, in the 2010 BBC adaptation of The Nativity.^[12]

Capaldi is also a successful audio book narrator. His many titles include several of the works of Iain Banks. He starred as Rory in the TV version of Banks' The Crow Road.

In November 2011 Capaldi will be playing Professor Marcus in The Ladykillers at the Liverpool Playhouse and The Gielgud Theatre, London.

Awards[link]

In 2006, Capaldi was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards. He won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. In 2011 Capaldi won Best TV Comedy Actor at the British Comedy Awards. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.

Personal life[link]

In a 2009 BBC Radio 2 interview with Jonathan Ross, Capaldi described himself as having come from an "Old Labour background."^{[citation needed]} He is a patron of the Association for International Cancer Research and of the Scottish children's charity the Aberlour Child Care Trust.^[13] He lives in Crouch End with his wife, Elaine Collins, and their daughter.

Credits[link]

Television[link]