Joanna Scanlan
Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as The Thick of It (2005–2012),[1] Getting On (2009–2012), Puppy Love (2014), and No Offence (2015–2018). She was nominated for three BAFTA TV Awards for Getting On, including two for Best Writing.
Joanna Scanlan | |
|---|---|
Scanlan in 2019 | |
| Born | 27 October 1961 West Kirby, Merseyside, England |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
Scanlan's film appearances include Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003), Notes on a Scandal (2006), The Invisible Woman (2013), and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).[2] She won a British Academy Film Award and a British Independent Film Award for her performance in the film After Love (2020).
Early life
Scanlan was born on 27 October 1961 in West Kirby, Cheshire, the daughter of hoteliers Michael and Patricia Scanlan.[3] She moved to North Wales with her parents at the age of three, and her parents later bought the Castle Hotel in Ruthin.[4] She attended Brigidine Convent and Howell's School, Denbigh, as well as New Hall School in Chelmsford, Essex. She studied history at Queens' College, Cambridge and joined the Cambridge Footlights, where she became friends with Tilda Swinton.[5]
Career
After graduation, Scanlan joined the academic staff of Leicester Polytechnic lecturing in drama for five years, before she undertook a similar role at the Arts Council of Great Britain for three years.[6] After the Arts Council of Great Britain was split in 1994, at age 34 Scanlan decided to try becoming a professional actor, quickly gaining the role as a nurse in ITV1's Peak Practice. This formed somewhat of a theme in her early career, then playing a midwife in The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, before playing a nurse again alongside Ade Edmondson's doctor in ill-fated Doctors and Nurses, and latterly Dr Diana Dibbs in Doc Martin with Martin Clunes.[7]
Scanlan is known for her portrayal of Terri Coverley, the notoriously useless senior press officer for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship in the British comedy television series The Thick of It from 2005 to 2012.
Among her successes is Scanlan's critically acclaimed dark satirical NHS drama Getting On, which she starred and co-wrote with Jo Brand and Vicki Pepperdine. The series earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a Comedy and a BAFTA Television Craft nomination for screenwriting in both 2011 and 2013.[8] They were also nominated for Best Comedy Screenwriting at the Royal Television Awards in 2010[9] and Best Comedy at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards in 2011. The comedy series was adapted for an American audience with HBO, with Scanlan on board as an executive producer to closely work on script development. Scanlan was a guest star in the American version, reprising her role as Denise Flixter. The Emmy-nominated show ran for three seasons between 2013 and 2015.
Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine teamed up again to write and star in their BBC Four comedy series Puppy Love, which follows two women at their dog training classes on the Wirral. Under their production company George and George Co., they are currently adapting Puppy Love with HBO for America and a new sitcom This Land is Ours[10] is in development for US Network IFC.
Scanlan plays lead character DI Inspector 'Viv Deering' in Paul Abbott's BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning primetime drama, No Offence.
Scanlan appeared as Cathy in Bridget Jones's Baby.
Other film credits include Charles Dickens' wife in The Invisible Woman and roles in Get Santa, Testament of Youth, In the Loop, The Bad Education Movie, The Other Boleyn Girl, Stardust, Notes on a Scandal, Girl With A Pearl Earring, Pin Cushion, After Love and Kinky Boots.
Additional television credits include Death Comes To Pemberley, Fungus the Bogeyman, Mapp and Lucia, Heading Out, Stella, Doc Martin, One Foot in the Grave and Spaced.
On stage, Scanlan has worked with Thea Sharrock in her production of Cloud 9 at the Almeida Theatre and Top Girls, with Rufus Norris in Vernon God Little at the Young Vic, and featured in Polly Teale's Madame Bovery.
Scanlon appeared in the first two episodes of McDonald & Dodds in 2020. In 2021, Scanlon played Ma opposite Bradley Walsh’s Pop in The Larkins. In March 2022, she received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film After Love (2020).[11]
Personal life
Scanlan and her husband Neil live in South Croydon, London.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Girl with a Pearl Earring | Tanneke |
| 2005 | A Little Trip to Heaven | Josie |
| 2005 | Kinky Boots | Trish |
| 2006 | Notes on a Scandal | Sue Hodge |
| 2007 | Stardust | Mormo |
| 2007 | Grow Your Own | Barbara |
| 2008 | The Other Boleyn Girl | Mary's Midwife |
| 2009 | In the Loop | Roz |
| 2011 | Hot Hot Hot | Mary-Ann |
| 2013 | The Invisible Woman | Catherine Dickens |
| 2014 | Get Santa | Ruth |
| 2014 | Testament of Youth | Aunt Belle |
| 2015 | The Bad Education Movie | Susan Poulter |
| 2016 | Bridget Jones's Baby | Cathy |
| 2017 | How to Talk to Girls at Parties | Marion |
| 2017 | Tulip Fever | Mrs. Overvalt |
| 2018 | Pin Cushion | Lyn |
| 2019 | How to Build a Girl | Mrs. Belling |
| 2020 | After Love | Mary |
| 2022 | This is Christmas | Linda[13] |
| TBA | Wicked Little Letters |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Jane Eyre | Bessie | |
| 2000 | Spaced | Tina | |
| 2000 | Coming Soon | Claudia | |
| 2001 | My Family | Dental Assistant | |
| 2001 | Fun at the Funeral Parlour | Mrs Marion Boubes | |
| 2005–2012 | The Thick of It | Terri Coverley | Main role |
| 2009 | Home Time | Mrs Pitman | |
| 2009–2012 | Getting On | Sister Den Flixster | Also written by Scanlan |
| 2011 | Doc Martin | Dr Diana Dibbs | |
| 2012 | Stella | Nancy | |
| 2013 | Heading Out | Toria | |
| 2013 | Death Comes To Pemberley | Mrs Reynolds | |
| 2013–2014 | Big School | Mrs Janine Klebb | |
| 2014 | Puppy Love | Nana V | Main Role |
| 2014 | The Killings of Copenhagen | Clara Trout | |
| 2014 | Rev. | Jill Mallory | |
| 2014 | Mapp and Lucia | Ursula "Ursy" Pillson | |
| 2015 | Fungus the Bogeyman | Mildrew | |
| 2015–2018 | No Offence | DI Vivienne Deering | Main role |
| 2016 | Hooten & the Lady | Penny McQuinn | |
| 2017 | Requiem | Janice Gray | Main role |
| 2017 | Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams | Su | |
| 2018 | Sally4Ever | Stella | |
| 2018 | The Woman in White | Mrs Vesey | |
| 2018 | I'll Get This | Herself | Dinner guest; 1 episode |
| 2018–2019 | Hold the Sunset | Sandra | 2 series |
| 2019 | The Accident | Angela Griffiths | |
| 2020 | Dracula | Mother Superior | |
| 2020 | McDonald & Dodds | Kelly Mulcreevy | 2 episodes |
| 2021–present | The Larkins | Ma Larkin | |
| 2022–present | Y Golau | Sharon | |
| 2022 | Gentleman Jack | Isabella "Tib" Norcliffe | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Avenue 5 | Johanna |
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ BBC Comedy Blog: The Thick of It's Joanna Scanlan on playing Terri
- ^ FT.com: Joanna Scanlan, one of Britain's great comic actors
- ^ Saner, Emine (21 February 2022). "'All that Hollywood glamour doesn't feel like me at all': Joanna Scanlan on self-doubt, sexism and being the red-hot favourite at the Baftas". The Guardian.
- ^ Womensfilmandtelevisionhistory (7 March 2014). "Joanna Scanlan and the Invisibility of Women".
- ^ Saner, Emine (27 January 2014). "Joanna Scanlan: 'Depression was like turning around a liner across the ocean'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ Veronica Lee (10 February 2013). "Joanna Scanlan: From bumbling Whitehall press officer in The Thick of It to lifestyle coach in Heading Out". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ "BBC - Press Office - The Thick Of It Joanna Scanlan biography". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ . BAFTA. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ . Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 22 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "Getting On stars create new American sitcom This Land is Ours". British Comedy Guide. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ "Baftas 2022: The Power of the Dog wins best picture and director". The Guardian. 13 March 2022.
- ^ Mance, Henry (25 November 2015). "interview: Joanna Scanlan, one of Britain's great comic actors". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ "Kaya Scodelario and Alfred Enoch to star in Sky rom-com This Christmas". Radio Times.
External links
- Joanna Scanlan at IMDb