Samantha Morton Biography

Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier, Cracker and Boon. She played Hattie in 1999's Sweet and Lowdown, for which she received attention from Hollywood, critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Morton subsequently starred in 2002's Minority Report and Morvern Callar. She received her second Academy Award nomination for her performance as the young Irish mother, Sarah, coping with life in New York City in 2003's In America. Morton starred in 2004's Enduring Love and The Libertine and 2005's Lassie. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Film for her role as Myra Hindley in 2006's Longford. She appeared in the 2007 biographical films Control, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Mister Lonely. She then starred in 2008's Synecdoche, New York. Morton appeared in the 2009 critically acclaimed The Messenger. She made her directorial debut in the British television film The Unloved.

Early life

Morton was born in Nottingham, the third child of Peter Morton and Pamela Freebury, a factory worker. She has six half-siblings from her parents' relationships, subsequent to their 1979 divorce. At the age of seven, Morton was made a ward of court and never lived with her natural parents again. The next nine years were spent in and out of foster care and children's homes. She attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School.

Under the effects of drugs, she threatened an older girl who had been bullying her. She was convicted of making threats to kill. She served 18 weeks in an attendance centre. 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."

Career

1991"1998

Morton took up acting as a child. She joined the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was 13 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. In 1991 she attended Clarendon College Of Performing Arts to gain a BTEC award but subsequently left for personal reasons. She made her stage début at the Royal Court Theatre, and continued her television career with a guest appearance on Peak Practice and in an episode of Cracker called "The Big Crunch."

She had a role in the first two series of Kay Mellor's successful Band of Gold (1995). Further television roles followed, including parts in period dramas including Emma, Jane Eyre and The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. The well-received Under the Skin (1997) continued to raise her profile.

1999"2004

Impressed by her performance in Under the Skin, Woody Allen cast her in Sweet and Lowdown (1999). In the film, she gave an acclaimed performance and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2000. Critic Stephanie Zacharek wrote in her review "Rising star Samantha Morton shines in this charming, finely crafted film from Woody Allen" and that "Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years." Also, James Berardinelli praised the actress, by saying that she "overmatches her more experienced co-star with a luminous and heartbreaking performance."

She appeared in the film Jesus' Son (1999), which came out in a limited release in June 2000, after being screened at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival. She received a nomination for Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture for her performance in that film. She starred in the biographical independent film Pandaemonium, released 2000. She won a British Independent Film Award in the category of Best Actress. Morton played a mermaid opposite Larry Mullen in the Anton Corbijn-directed promotional video for U2's "Electrical Storm". She also provided the voice of Ruby for the Canadian animated series Max and Ruby from 2001 to 2003.

Morvern Callar, a British film starring Morton, received a limited release in 2002. In his review for the San Francisco Chronicle, Nick LaSalle stated that Morton "has moments of striking subtlety and detail. Her take upon receiving a major offer for her boyfriend's novel (which she claims as her own) is as satisfying a close-up as anyone could hope to see." Morton got a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress.

Also in 2002, she appeared in the Steven Spielberg-directed film Minority Report, opposite Tom Cruise. She won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for In America in 2004. Roger Ebert wrote that Morton "reveals the power of her silences, her quiet, her presence." She also appeared in Code 46 (2003) and Enduring Love (2004).

2005"2007

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 (ultimately unsuccessfully) 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". Morton received a 2007 Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe, both for Best Supporting Actress.

She then starred in the independent comedy-drama film Expired, which required her to move to Los Angeles during filming. The film opened to mixed responses from critics. New York magazine noted that Morton "is one of those tingly actresses whose skin barely covers her soul, and to watch her search for tender mercies in a crazy-hostile world is a gift."

She played Marilyn Monroe in the drama-comedy feature film Mister Lonely, which was first screened in 2007 at the Cannes Film Festival. During an interview, she said, "In Mister Lonely we all live in a commune as the characters we impersonate and support each other. I'm married to a Charlie Chaplin impersonator and we have a daughter who is a Shirley Temple impersonator." She had a supporting role in the 2007 film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in which she played Mary, Queen of Scots.

In 2007, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Control (2007), again directed by Anton Corbijn. She played Deborah Curtis, wife of musician Ian Curtis, whose biography Touching from a Distance formed the basis of the film. Russell Edwards, from Variety magazine called her performance "astonishing" and "sympathetic".

2008"present

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman cast Morton as Hazel in Synecdoche, New York, alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams and Emily Watson. The film was a box office bomb, but it was praised by critics, appearing on many top ten lists for 2008. In an interview with Movieline, Morton spoke about her experience of working with director Kaufman, saying, "it was like going to school, every time. You were constantly learning a different way of working, a different way of looking at my craft. And also I was giving as much as I can. It was very liberating to work with him."

She starred in the war drama The Messenger (2009) as Oliva Patterson, a widow whose husband was killed in Iraq. The film, co-starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Jena Malone, was the directorial debut of Oren Moverman. Claudia Puig of USA Today asserted that Morton, "as always, gives a subtle, excellent performance." She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 14th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the 25th Independent Spirit Awards.

Her directorial début, the semi-autobiographical Channel 4 drama The Unloved, written in collaboration with Tony Grisoni, was first broadcast on 17 May 2009. The film was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009. Michael Deacon praised Morton on creating an 'intense' and 'vivid' dramatic film. Morton won a BAFTA for her direction in 2010.

In 2012, Morton co-starred in Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg, and provided the voice of Sola in epic science fiction film John Carter. It was announced she will play the title role in the film Decoding Annie Parker.

Other projects

Morton has urged people to volunteer help to smaller charities. In 2008, she was part of the Vodafone Foundation's World of Difference campaign, which gives people the opportunity to work for a charity of their choice. "It's very important to know that there's over two million people dissatisfied with their work life,: she said. "And a lot of people, I think about 70 per cent of people actually want to go and work for a charity. They don't know how and actually can't afford it. So I think this campaign is hugely important because it'll give these people an opportunity to go and do that. To probably make a dream come true and help someone in the process."

In March 2009, Morton returned to her hometown to show her support for its children's homes and protest against the threatened closure, by Nottingham City Council, of one of the four establishments with 24 social-care staff facing redundancy. She also fronted a TV advertising recruitment campaign for social workers in the UK in 2009.

Whilst attending a fundraiser for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in January 2009, she vowed never to work for the BBC again after their refusal to broadcast an emergency charity appeal for the victims of Israel's attack on Gaza on 27 December 2008. She was later joined by Tam Dean Burn, Pauline Goldmsith, Peter Mullan and Alison Peebles who also threatened to boycott the Corporation.

In 2012 Morton showed her support for the Fostering Network's annual campaign Foster Care Fortnight.

Personal life

Morton had a short relationship with actor Charlie Creed-Miles from 1999 to 2000. They appeared together in The Last Yellow (1999). Their daughter, Esme, was born in London on 5 February 2000. In 2005, she started a relationship with filmmaker Harry Holm (the son of actor Ian Holm), shortly after she met him when Holm directed her in a video for the band The Victims. Their daughter Edie was born on 4 January 2008 in London. Their second child, possibly a boy, was born in 2012.

In early 2008, she revealed that she was 'close to death' after suffering a debilitating stroke due to being hit by a piece of 17th century plaster that fell on her head (damaging her vertebral artery) in 2006. She was in the hospital for three weeks and had to learn to walk again.

On 20 July 2011, Morton received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from Nottingham Trent University.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1994	Cracker	murder victim Joanne Barnes	3 Episodes
1995–1996	Band of Gold	Naomi 'Tracey' Richardson	12 Episodes
1996	Emma	Harriet Smith	TV film
1997	This Is the Sea	Hazel Stokes
	Jane Eyre	Jane Eyre	TV film
	Under the Skin	Iris Kelly	Angers European First Film Festival Award for Best Actress Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Gijón International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by a British Actress in an Independent Film
1999	Sweet and Lowdown	Hattie	London Film Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year Nominated " Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress Nominated " Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Empire Award for Best British Actress Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture Nominated " Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Nominated " National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (3rd place) Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Musical or Comedy
	Jesus' Son	Michelle	Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Drama
	Dreaming of Joseph Lees	Eva	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress Verona Love Screens Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2000	Pandaemonium	Sara Coleridge	Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2002	Minority Report	Agatha	Empire Award for Best British Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Morvern Callar	Morvern	British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated " Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated " European Film Award for Best Actress Nominated " London Film Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
2003	In America	Sarah	Nominated " Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Nominated " Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated " Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Code 46	Maria Gonzáles	Nominated " European Film Award for Best Actress (Audience Award)
2004	Enduring Love	Claire	Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor/Actress Nominated " Empire Award for Best British Actress
2005	River Queen	Sarah O'Brian	Nominated " New Zealand Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
	The Libertine	Elizabeth Barry
	Lassie	Sarah Carraclough
2006	Free Jimmy	Sonia	Voice " English version
	Longford	Myra Hindley	TV film Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Satellite Award for Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film Nominated " British Academy Television Award for Best Actress Nominated " Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress Nominated " Golden Nymph for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Film Nominated " Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
2007	Expired	Claire
	Control	Deborah Curtis	International Cinephilia Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor/Actress Nominated " Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress Nominated " London Film Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
	Elizabeth: The Golden Age	Mary, Queen of Scots
	Mister Lonely	Marilyn Monroe	Nominated " Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
2008	Synecdoche, New York	Hazel	Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Independent Spirit Award: Robert Altman Award
	The Daisy Chain	Martha Conroy	Nominated " British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2009	The Messenger	Olivia Pitterson	San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress Nominated " Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Nominated " National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Nominated " St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
	The Unloved		Director; TV film British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama Nominated " British Independent Film Award: Douglas Hickox Award
2012	John Carter	Sola	Performance capture
	Cosmopolis	Vija Kinsky
2013	Decoding Annie Parker	Anne Parker
	Her		Post-production (Replaced by Scarlett Johansson)
	The Harvest		Filming
2014	Miss Julie	Kristin	Filming