kenneth cranham ( born 12 december 1944 ) is a scottish-born film , television , radio and stage actor .

he is popularly known for his work in hellbound : hellraiser ii and valkyrie .

kenneth cranham

kenneth cranham shows off his award at last night ' s ceremony . picture : getty
even when they read out kenneth at the awards ceremony , i still thought , ‘oh they must mean kenneth branagh’ .
there is only one drawback to interviewing kenneth cranham , but it is not one to dismiss lightly .
kenneth cranham ( born 12 december 1944 ) is a scottish film , television , radio and stage actor .
secondary school in brixton , london , left 1961 to follow acting career . kenneth cranham biography ( 1944– )
we speak to olivier award - winner kenneth cranham about the father at everyman theatre . © pamela raith photography .
kenneth cranham was born on december 12 , 1944 in dunfermline , fife , scotland . he is an actor , known for
kenneth cranham : ' i got £2k a show for harvey moon . now it ' s £400 a week in theatre '
flying high : kenneth cranham is best remembered in television ' s shine on harvey moon . picture : chris jackson / getty
anne - marie duff and kenneth cranham are to star in the first west end show from marianne elliott’s new theatre company .
we spoke to the father star kenneth cranham moments after he won the best actor award at the olivier awards 2016 with mastercard .
the acclaimed actors will lead simon stephens’s drama heisenberg : the uncertainty principle on to the stage of wyndham’s theatre . pictured , kenneth cranham
anne - marie duff , 46 , and kenneth cranham , 72 , are to star as may - december lovers in a new play .
oscar winner mark rylance and sherlock star benedict cumberbatch both lost out last night as kenneth cranham took home the olivier award for best actor .
congratulations to kenneth cranham and david moorst , who were among the winners at yesterday’s critics circle theatre awards held at the prince of wales theatre .
loot , with sheila ballentyne , simon ward , kenneth cranham and michael bates . opened 27 september 1966 photograph : john haynes / lebrecht music & art
‘joe [ orton ] ’s writing would have got better and better . he was just beginning’ … kenneth cranham . photograph : graeme robertson for the guardian
kenneth cranham tells us why he was tearful picking up his olivier award for best actor and on ‘snogging’ mark rylance . . report by jennifer cordingley . test
discussing his olivier award - winning role in the father , soglos chats to actor kenneth cranham ahead of the show ' s closing run at everyman theatre in cheltenham .
greg hicks , sally dexter , kenneth cranham , lia williams and alun armstrong are among the stars of the autumn season at theatre royal bath ' s ustinov studio .
cranham was born in dunfermline , fife , scotland , the son of lochgelly - born margaret mckay cranham ( née ferguson ) and ronald cranham , a london - born civil servant . his first wife was actress diana quick . he has two daughters : nancy cranham with actress charlotte cornwell , and kathleen cranham with his second wife , actress fiona victory .
' cranham is an interesting mixture - a south london geezer , yet also a rich - voiced thespian . ' cranham on stage with jim sturgeon
rada alumnus kenneth cranham won best actor for his performance in florian zeller’s the father , shortly to transfer to the duke of york’s theatre from 24 february for a limited run .
two parts fruity - voiced luvvie , one part rough - cut cockney , kenneth cranham has been part of the furniture on stage and screen since leaving rada in the 1960s .
having enjoyed a lifelong career in acting , kenneth cranham has arguably bagged his biggest role at the age of 72 , starring in the multi award - winning play , the father .
cranham was born in dunfermline , fife , scotland , the son of lochgelly - born margaret mckay cranham ( née ferguson ) and ronald cranham , an english civil servant . [ 2 ] [ 3 ] his first wife was actress diana quick . he has two daughters : nancy cranham with actress charlotte cornwell , and kathleen cranham with his second wife , actress fiona victory . [ 2 ]
cranham was born in dunfermline , fife , scotland , the son of lochgelly - born margaret mckay cranham ( née ferguson ) and ronald cranham , a london - born civil servant . [ 2 ] [ 3 ] his first wife was actress diana quick . he has two daughters : nancy cranham with actress charlotte cornwell , and kathleen cranham with his second wife , actress fiona victory . [ 2 ]
next , kenneth cranham and lia williams will perform in florian zeller ' s moliere award - winning play , the father ( le père ) , which runs from 16 october to 15 november .
other critics’ circle award winners included kenneth cranham , who won the best actor award for what judges called “the role of a lifetime” . the award was presented by the guardian theatre critic michael billington for cranham’s role as 80 - year - old andre in the alzheimer’s drama the father .
joe and kenneth got on very well when they were linked in making mischief together . joe created “edna welthorpe” who would write letters of complaint to people , and he and kenneth were both given prison sentences for defacing library books . but soon their paths became divergent . joe started to become very successful , while kenneth’s writing and art career stalled . they would be invited to smart dinners and parties , where kenneth , ever more insecure and paranoid , would behave badly .
cranham was born in dunfermline , fife , scotland , the son of lochgelly - born margaret mckay cranham ( née ferguson ) and ronald cranham , a london - born civil servant . secondary school in brixton , london , left 1961 to follow acting career . his first wife was actress diana quick . he has two daughters : nancy cranham with actress charlotte cornwell , and kathleen cranham with his second wife , actress fiona victory .
kenneth cranham was born on december 12 , 1944 in dunfermline , fife , scotland . he is an actor , known for layer cake ( 2004 ) , valkyrie ( 2008 ) and hellbound : hellraiser ii ( 1988 ) .
judi dench added to her awards collection with the best shakespearean performance prize for her role as paulina in kenneth branagh’s the winter’s tale .
we caught up with the father star kenneth cranham to get his reaction to winning the critics ' circle theatre award for best actor . for more about the father visit http : / / www . officiallondontheatre . co . u . . .
- a pocket full of rye ( 2008 ) . . . rex fortescue ( as ken cranham )
lochgelly also had two cinemas , as the actor kenneth cranham , who was born there , vividly remembers . there was the cinema deluxe and the opera house – the
opry hoose
– where the double features changed three times a week .
i was genuinely surprised . i know three publications said that i deserved it but i didn’t really think about it . and even when they read out kenneth at the awards ceremony , i still thought , ‘oh they must mean kenneth branagh’ . so no , it was a genuine shock .
central to his recovery was the elegant , oxford - educated diana , who nursed him back to health . she was formerly married to the actor kenneth cranham and had a seven - year relationship with albert finney which endured despite his well - publicised infidelities .
kenneth cranham was a teenager when joe orton cast him in a radio play and the pair became close friends . fifty years after the great playwright’s murder , he remembers a flat full of cream cakes , 400 performances of loot and the whitest t - shirt he ever saw
duff and cranham will perform in simon stephens’ play heisenberg : the uncertainty principle , which premiered on broadway last year .
he also remembers being on stage in the west end version of joe orton’s loot when he heard that the 34 - year - old playwright had been murdered by his lover kenneth halliwell . it was a blow , because orton had been a friend and mentor to the young cranham .
this 2015 revival of the father , which now returns to bath to play the main house , sees kenneth cranham , rebecca charles , colin tierney and jade williams reprise their original roles first seen at the ustinov studio in 2014 , joined by new cast members claire skinner and jim sturgeon .
- a genius like us : a portrait of joe orton ( 1982 ) . . . himself ( as ken cranham )
kenneth cranham ' s film credits include layer cake , trauma , blackball , man dancin ' , shiner , gangster no . 1 , women talking dirty , deep in the heart , rpm , the boxer , under suspicion , chocolat , stealing heaven , robin and marian , up pompeii and oliver !
brian f . o’byrne – who played rhys’ father steve jones in the drama – will take on a leading role alongside timothy spall and kenneth cranham . david hayman , alex norton , ian puleston - davies , geoff bell and nasser memarzia will take on the gang members at the heart of the heist .
kenneth cranham stars as 80 - year - old ex - tap dancer andre in florian zeller ' s remarkable and ambiguous play which astonished critics at its london run at the tricycle in may . featuring a witty and devastating performance from cranham , the play puts the audience in the confused shoes of andre , who is increasingly unable to tell whether he can trust his own daughter . the father opens in its west end transfer this month .
cranham in the father . the actor ' s next role will be in the bbc ' s 2016 adaptation of war and peace .
kenneth cranham ' s numerous stage credits include an inspector calls and the cherry orchard ( national theatre ) , the homecoming ( almeida ) and west end productions of entertaining mr sloane , loot , the birthday party and gaslight . lia williams was recently seen in the west end in a revival of harold pinter ' s old times .
cranham ' s mother had got the dux medal in school , and on ve day the newsreels caught her in the crowd in london .
for those of a certain age it is impossible to think of cranham , now filming maleficent with angelina jolie , without recalling shine on harvey moon , the itv comedy drama which ran for four series from 1982 . ( a fifth aired in 1995 , but without cranham . )
cranham had particular reason to be delighted by the programme ' s scottish welcome as he was born in dunfermline in 1944 to a scots mother , margaret mackay ferguson . the family moved to lochgelly when he was two then mum , dad ( now back from the war for good ) , and kenneth left for essex , then london .
at some point , kenneth became suspicious that something was going on between joe and i ( there wasn’t ) and became unpleasant to me . loot had won best play at the evening standard theatre awards in 1966 , and a scene was shown on television . afterwards , kenneth said “you all looked so pretty” and turned to me and added “which was strange for you because you’re very ugly really” .
cranham , meanwhile , is filming four - part itv drama hatton garden , about the infamous safe deposit box robbery , for director paul whittington .
, his boyfriend , who was everything rolled into one : a mentor , literary pathfinder and a terrible maiden aunt . they had met at rada in 1951 . kenneth was seven years older and in the early years , supported him financially . at joe’s centre was his concern for the quality and future of his writing , and kenneth shared that . they were both line - by - line obsessed with joe’s work .
winning best actor in the 2016 olivier awards , kenneth chats to soglos about how the play has changed his life , the importance of tackling strong topics in the theatre , and the responses he has received from audiences .
now that flying blind has had its premiere , cranham can turn his attention to maleficent , a new take on the age - old tale of sleeping beauty . with angelina jolie in the title role , and cranham as king henry , the fantasy drama , out in 2014 , also stars miranda richardson and peter capaldi .
“he’s a wonderful director , very kind , he’s very perceptive , he lets you find your performance and he directs further on down the line” , cranham , from dunfermline , said .
he and duff haven’t worked together before , but they share a mutual passion . . . for elvis presley . ‘the king does get a mention in the play , ’ cranham revealed .
orton was murdered in 1967 by his partner , kenneth halliwell , shortly before loot transferred with cranham to broadway . “joe’s writing would have got better and better . he was just beginning . ” pinter , the next big presence in cranham’s career , was one of the readers at orton’s funeral . “when i was in the homecoming , i asked him , ‘what can you tell me about max ? ’ he said , ‘the thing about max is he’s a liar and he’s a butcher . ’” and of aston in the caretaker , pinter said : “he’s a gent . when he comes home with the tramp at the start , he hasn’t talked to another person for 10 years . at the end , he’s not going to talk to anyone for another 20 . ” cranham looks gobsmacked even now . “they’re notes and a half , they are . ”
cranham , a sprightly 71 and dressed today in his customary spotted blue cravat , has another reason for feeling time ' s winged chariot : he is about to reprise his eponymous role in florian zeller ' s west end smash hit the father . cranham ' s character , andre , has alzheimer ' s ; and the play ' s short , disconnected scenes place the audience right inside his fracturing , disorientated mind . the role has just won cranham a critics ' circle award ( “my first ever award ! ” he acknowledges gleefully , if surprisingly ) and the play is returning to the west end before embarking on a uk tour . yet although it is sparking memories of nursing his own father , who had parkinson ' s , cranham isn ' t finding playing an elderly , befuddled soul depressing : far from it .
cranham has continued to visit scotland regularly , both as a professional – on stage at the traverse , or in the fringe – and privately to tour the islands , visiting north and south uist and the orkneys .
cranham can remember men gathering in the streets in their dark blue suits and flat caps , in a town that was part of the west fife constituency known as
little moscow
. it was in the town library that cranham read george orwell for the first time . for
grand
outings , the family would take the ferry to edinburgh , or go to dunfermline glen , the grounds andrew carnegie bought for the town .
a month before joe was killed by kenneth , we all went to see the desert song , a 1920s operetta . we had gone to mock it , although joe behaved rather well because he didn’t want to upset all the old ladies in the audience who thought it was marvellous . afterwards , we went to the seven stars restaurant in the west end , which was popular with actors , and holiday snaps from joe and kenneth’s recent trip to morocco were passed round , some of which were of joe’s cock . it was remarkable for the time – the chemist boots would have printed them for him .
cranham stopped holidaying in lochgelly in his later teens , when he started having girlfriends . the town ' s cinemas have long since gone ; the deluxe went first , when it was turned into a drycleaner ' s .
it’s a relevant admission given that cranham’s latest role , andre in florian zeller’s hit play the father , has dementia . the short , pinteresque scenes , often out of sequence , are confusing and thus allow the audience to sympathise with andre’s condition . “he knows he’s forgetting things but he doesn’t see why this is such a big deal , ” says cranham . “he can’t understand why everyone wants to be with him all the time . ”
yet at tulse hill school ( where he was a contemporary of ken livingstone ) , cranham was fortunate enough to have teachers , including the future playwright ray jenkins , who put on plays from the newly opened royal court and spotted cranham’s potential . he was accepted at rada , where i assume his blokeishness might have been appealing to the well - heeled female students . “what ? ” he snorts incredulously . “i don’t think so ! ”
veteran british character actor kenneth cranham’s film credits include : gangster no1 by paul mcguigan , the boxer by jim sheridan , chocolate by claire denis and prosperos book by peter greenaway . television credits include some of britain’s favourite drama series : - inspector morse , bergerac , lovejoy and kavanagh qc . theatre credits include such plays as the novice by richard eyre ; an inspector calls by stephen daldry and geography of a horse dreamer by sam shepherd . two men went to war is his first headlining starring role in a feature film .
for bbc radio 4 ' s afternoon play , cranham played ds max matthews in the three - play series the interrogation by roy williams and starred as thomas gradgrind in bbc radio ' s 2007 adaptation of dickens ' hard times .
it was sheila ballantine who had a sense that something terrible would happen . one night , joe was away in leicester overseeing a production of entertaining mr sloane and kenneth came to the theatre on his own , which he’d never done before . he was on a collection of prescription drugs and seemed in a bad way .
the father is an extraordinarily powerful play , and the actor tells me he wept when he first read the script . the resulting performance is one of the best you’ll see on stage this year – with cranham playing andre as part patriarch , part silly old sod , part frightened little boy . in just a bewildered expression or a short burst of baffled rage , cranham somehow conveys the entire life of the man – at birth , at 20 , at 70 .
it was very popular in scotland ,
says cranham about the tale of mum , dad , mum - in - law , son and daughter .
i always thought it was because it was very like the broons .
after the war ron cranham went to night school , took four a levels , got a degree from the london school of economics and became a civil servant . the family moved to london , but it took time to find a home .
which leads us back to harvey moon . it was a drama ahead of its time , says cranham , showing parents who had separated and tensions within a family . besides a strong cast , which included elizabeth spriggs as harvey ' s mum and linda robson as his daughter , harvey moon had a lot of heart and a dash of politics besides . cranham fondly recalls one of harvey ' s speeches , on the glory of the nhs . no wonder scotland took to it .
for bbc radio 4 ' s afternoon play , cranham played ds max matthews in the three - play series the interrogation by roy williams and starred as
thomas gradgrind
in bbc radio ' s 2007 adaptation of dickens ' hard times .
in retrospect , the little fife town and its cinemas were grist to the mill for any artist , writer or actor in the making , cranham says .
it was pure escapism , it was captivating , in the form of flights of fantasy .
kenneth cranham is in melancholic mood . at 7 . 15am on the day we met , he ' d lost his friend william gaskill , the royal court ' s legendary artistic director who ' d directed cranham in several productions during the 1960s and 1970s , including edward bond ' s saved . the day , before he ' d attended a memorial service for alan rickman . a couple of years ago he also said goodbye to roger lloyd pack , whom he first met at rada . “i read a quote the other day that said , ' i ' m of an age now that the people i love , most of them are dead , but that hasn ' t lessened their existence , ' ” he says , nursing a bloody mary at his local in islington , north london . “i thought , yes , that ' s what it ' s like . ”
join kenneth cranham , winner of the 2016 olivier award for best actor , as he looks back on more than 50 years in theatre , shares memories of his unique relationship with leicester - born playwright joe orton , and discusses his favourite leading roles from hal in orton’s loot ( 1966 ) to andré in florian zeller’s the father ( 2015 - 16 ) , winner of three moliere awards , including best play . this event , chaired by emma parker and featuring orton’s sister , leonie orton barnett , is organised in conjunction with the university of leicester to mark the 50 th anniversary of the london premiere of loot .
we heard about joe’s murder and kenneth’s suicide the day after it happened . more information kept emerging – that the bodies were together , that kenneth had bludgeoned joe’s head with a hammer . we were doing a performance of loot that night . simon and i drove in to do the show and as we were coming past sadler’s wells , the car in front of us ran over a dog and the wheel of the car crushed the dog’s head . everything felt as if it was happening in slow motion . it was like being underwater . then we had to go on stage that night and do this farce . i didn’t feel quite there , and i could almost taste blood . of course , the theatre was packed .
cranham was born in the small scottish town of lochgelly to parents he describes as upper lower class going on lower middle . his father served with the royal engineers ; his mother was a librarian with a passion for judy garland . lochgelly didn ' t have much , but it did have two cinemas and the young cranham would go every night . “i ' d pick up a fish supper on the way back . they were magical times . ” later his parents moved to camberwell in south london , where cranham failed his 11 - plus ( “but so did roger lloyd pack” ) . he didn ' t do too well at his o - levels either , but by that point he had played macbeth at school , “which is about six o - levels by itself” , and was intent on becoming an actor .
the play opens with georgie ( duff ) approaching a stranger in a train station and planting a kiss on his neck . the neck happens to belong to a butcher called alex ( cranham ) ; and the kiss sets off a chain reaction of emotions between the disparate pair .
he describes the royal court of the mid - sixties as a wild place where audiences would be confrontational if they didn’t like something . in one performance , cranham had to utter the line “am i dying ? ” , to which one peeved theatregoer replied , “i bloody hope so ! ”
best of all was when cranham played stanley opposite pinter as the terrifying goldberg in a tv production of the birthday party . “i said : ‘harold , i don’t know who stanley is . ’ he said : ‘funny . all the stanleys say that . ’” cranham remembers picturing endless stanleys disappearing towards the horizon like easter island statues . “pinter was an only child , you know . i was on my own until i was 10 , so many of my games were of the imagination . if you’re going to write or act , a spell as an only child is very useful . ”
in 2016 , cranham won the olivier award for best actor in a play for his role as andre in florian zeller ' s the father . the play originated at the theatre royal bath ' s ustinov studio in the autumn of 2014 , before touring the country and transferring to the west end in the summer of 2015 , and returning to the duke of york ' s theatre in spring 2016 . the play received an unprecedented five star review from every leading national press publication , and cranham ' s performance was described as
the performance of his life
( whatsonstage . com ) .
in 2016 , cranham won the olivier award for best actor in a play for his role as andre in florian zeller ' s the father . the play originated at the theatre royal bath ' s ustinov studio in the autumn of 2014 , before touring the country and transferring to the west end in the summer of 2015 , and returning to the duke of york ' s theatre in spring 2016 . the play received an unprecedented five star review from every leading national press publication , and cranham ' s performance was described as
the performance of his life
( whatsonstage . com ) .
cranham can trace his love of cinema to lochgelly , where he went to the town ' s two cinemas most nights . otherwise , it was school that fed his hunger for acting . he went to a school that had teachers with an interest in the bold drama and radical literature of the time .
enneth cranham has been thinking a lot about old age recently . “i don’t feel old , ” says the actor , a robust - looking 70 , “but i have got to a stage where i don’t remember someone’s name . i have to give myself clues so that i can get the name back . ”
things could get pretty aggressive behind the scenes , too – it didn’t help that the royal court cast and crew shared the same drinking den as chelsea barracks . on one occasion , cranham recalls how the actor victor henry laid in wait with a broken bottle for ian mckellen when the rising star had usurped his role .
that night sparked a determination to revive loot . in 1966 , it opened at the jeannetta cochrane theatre in holborn before moving to the criterion theatre in the west end . it got rave reviews and went on to win several awards . i played hal . when joe and kenneth came to the first night , i remember the pride with which they walked down the street . my mother and father were walking in front of them and my mother was mouthing : “are they homosexuals ? ”
recently cranham was on location in southern morocco : “they say when you drown , your life flashes before you . in southern morocco , it trundles by very slowly . you can see it all quite clearly . everything is overlapping now . ” he rummages in his case to give me a copy of a postcard orton sent him from morocco in 1966 ( “the villa is v . posh . not me at all … but i’m v . happy” ) and pulls out some miniature collages of old photos from his archives . one shows images from a mid - 1970s revival of entertaining mr sloane , in which beryl reid and harry h corbett competed for the sexual favours of cranham ( as the amoral young stud sloane ) .
cranham is one of britain ' s best - known actors , renowned for bringing alive film and tv character roles varying in style from the sinister mobster jimmy price in matthew vaughn ' s crime - thriller layer cake to the enigmatic preacher pastor finch in the multi - award - winning screen adaptation of jeanette winterson ' s novel oranges are not the only fruit .
after a run in london , cranham went with the play to broadway , turning in 796 performances in total . i wonder how gruelling it is to be on stage night after night in such a part . every stage actor who plays a big role never stops working on it , says cranham . it ' s a way of keeping things fresh .
you create a blueprint of your best performance and you ' re happiest the night you surpass that blueprint . that won ' t happen that often but it will happen . it ' s like sculpting , you keep refining . when you have a piece that is yours , that is just you , that becomes obsessive , you think about it all the time .
cranham has no need to rely on reflected glory , though : he has enough of his own . he was a friend to joe orton , then to harold pinter . both playwrights regarded him as a skilful interpreter of their writing . during the 1966 revival of the macabre farce loot , orton returned from his mother’s funeral in leicester with an unusual addition to the prop cupboard . “there’s a scene where my character has to catch his mum’s false teeth and use them as castanets , ” cranham recalls . “on that occasion , i cupped my hands and saw them turning in the air above me , almost in slow motion . i could tell these weren’t the usual glossy ones . these were mildewed . they were joe’s mum’s . ”
cranham trained at the national youth theatre of great britain and rada . he starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama shine on harvey moon . he also appeared in layer cake , gangster no . 1 , rome , oliver ! and many other films . cranham was cast as the deranged dr . philip channard and his cenobitic alter - ego in the horror film hellbound : hellraiser ii . among many stage credits are west end productions of entertaining mr sloane , loot , an inspector calls ( both transferring to broadway ) , the ruffian on the stair , the birthday party and gaslight ( at the old vic ) . for his role as inspector goole in an inspector calls , he was nominated for a laurence olivier award .
cranham trained at the national youth theatre of great britain [ 1 ] and rada . he starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama shine on harvey moon . he also appeared in layer cake , gangster no . 1 , rome , oliver ! and many other films . cranham was cast as the deranged dr . philip channard and his cenobitic alter - ego in the horror film hellbound : hellraiser ii . among many stage credits are west end productions of entertaining mr sloane , loot , an inspector calls ( both transferring to broadway ) , the ruffian on the stair , the birthday party and gaslight ( at the old vic ) . for his role as inspector goole in an inspector calls , he was nominated for a laurence olivier award .
his wife , the actress fiona victory , whom he met on the set of harvey moon , where she played his son ' s headmistress , is coming up to glasgow to see him this week . roger lloyd pack (
trigger
in only fools and horses ) , cranham ' s oldest acting friend who was with him at rada , will also be in the audience .
the tale of a soldier returning from the second world war to london ' s east end , and as cockney as a wee cock sparra born inside a bow bell , shine on harvey moon ( with cranham as harvey ) regularly had viewing figures of more than 13 million , with the highest numbers in scotland . go figure , as they don ' t say in stepney or saltcoats .
during rehearsals , cranham started thinking of his relationship with his own parents . “my father nursed my mother for seven years until she died and after that , when he was in his eighties , we were lucky to go travelling several times together . the problem was that i never asked questions about their lives . i took a notebook when we went off but it never seemed appropriate somehow . ”
recently , cranham says that he has experienced the odd lull in his schedule . “the problem is that there is usually only one old part in any story . when i had my young career and my career when i was playing dads , i was going up against actors who were exactly my age . now , in my old career , i am up against actors in their sixties , seventies and even eighties . ”
we became friends outside the theatre . we would meet up at simon ward’s house , or at joe and kenneth’s bedsit in islington . i remember going there one day and listening to the soundtrack of the musical pal joey . they’d bought tons of old - fashioned cream cakes . the walls were covered in a collage of images – there were renaissance pictures , and one image of a baby being born out of the heart of africa . the montages look striking in photos of joe at home , but when you were actually there they were very vivid and you felt a bit attacked by it .
born december 12 , 1944 , in dunfermline , fife , scotland ; son of ronald and margaret m ' kay ( maiden name , ferguson ) cranham ; married diana quick ( an actress ; divorced ) ; married fiona victory ( an actress ) ; children ( with charlotte cornwell ; an actress ) : nancy . addresses : agent : markham & froggatt , julian house , 4 windmill st . , london w1p 1hf , england .
cranham is an interesting mixture . for all his emotional intelligence , he’s a toughie – a south london geezer ( he’s played several thugs in his long career ) , yet also a rich - voiced thespian with a fondness for ripe theatrical anecdotes . thick - set , with a large , lived - in face and dark , watchful eyes , he has a heavyweight presence : you can see why he’s so appealing to casting directors .
a couple of years later , when i had joined the royal court theatre , the ruffian on the stair was put on one sunday night and again , i played wilson . the play was a great success . all the powerful people were there – theatre producers oscar lewenstein and michael white , and agent peggy ramsay . joe’s fortunes though had taken a bit of a dip . he’d had a great success with his first performed stage play entertaining mr sloane , but the touring version of his next , loot , did not do well . however , now joe and kenneth sensed that success would be theirs again .
cranham trained at the prestigious royal academy of dramatic art , and his west end credits range from entertaining mr sloane to gaslight ; he got his film breakthrough in the musical oliver ! . but , while he found his greatest fame as a demobbed corporal trying to reconstruct his life and bombed - out home in post - war england in the acclaimed 1980s tv series shine on harvey moon , his own childhood was shaped by post - war scotland .
cranham was born on 12 december , 1944 , in dunfermline infirmary . his father , ron , a public schoolboy from london , was 19 when the second world war broke out , and joined the royal engineers . he was sent to cowdenbeath to train , where lochgelly - born margaret worked as a librarian . soon she was also in uniform . they were posted together near manchester , where margaret was arrested for smoking on a railway platform . she was something of a rebel , who had proudly flashed her army knickers to her girlfriends .
it was the drama teachers at cranham ' s london school who persuaded him to act in shakespeare rather than play football in his free time . but in lochgelly , he says :
i didn ' t do anything else that would feed into that . i wasn ' t seeing any theatre . the first thing i wanted to do , as a boy , was to be a skier , because i had seen film footage of somebody skiing . when you see moving images , it ( takes you into a ] dream world .
of his two daughters , one , aged 18 , says she would like to follow him into acting . with her dad in london , at least she won ' t have to go the traditional actors ' route of living in awful digs while they learn their craft .
i ' ll look after her ,
says cranham . he ' s certainly an example to follow when it comes to staying in work for nearly five decades . it ' s all a question of timing and keeping up with the changes , he says .
the 67 - year - old was speaking in edinburgh ahead of the film festival premiere of flying blind , a bbc films co - production and his third movie this year after maleficent and suspension of disbelief . directed by katarzyna klimkiewicz , it ' s a british drama about an aviation scientist , played by helen mccrory , who is engaged in secret state work when she finds herself the object of a foreign student ' s affections . cranham , playing her father , is among those wondering if mccrory is doing the right thing in becoming friends with the stranger .
he is in scotland this week to narrate stravinsky ' s the soldier ' s tale with the bbc scottish symphony orchestra .
it ' s fantastically alarming , because as i do it , ( it ] is going straight out on radio 3 ,
he says . part of the bbc sso ' s russian winter series , performed at glasgow ' s city halls , it is the story of a man who makes a pact with the devil , with the 64 - year - old cranham playing the combined roles of the soldier , the devil and narrator .
“the play is self - energising : it resonates on a universal level , ” he says , showing me a crumpled , affecting letter from a stranger who had been moved to write to cranham about his own father ' s battle with senility , after seeing the play . “too many of us know the situation : what are we going to do about dad ? but also , i had been settling down into a series of character roles such as firs in the cherry orchard [ at the national in 2011 ] . now i ' m back playing a leading man again . ”
cranham doesn’t think that the much - discussed debate over posh actors – the hiddlestons and the redmaynes – and the lack of opportunity for those from less well - off backgrounds is much to worry about . “it goes in cycles , ” he says , shaking his head . “when i was young , the older character actors who were playing at the national were all posh . then people such as tom courtenay and albert finney came along and changed all that . i was in the next generation and fantastically fortunate to be born when i was born . looking back now , i took it all for granted . ”
in 2016 , he won the olivier award for best actor in a play for his role as andre in florian zeller ' s ' the father ' . the play originated at the theatre royal bath ' s ustinov studio in the autumn of 2014 , before touring the country and transferring to the west end in the summer of 2015 , and returning to the duke of york ' s theatre in spring 2016 . the play received an unprecedented five star review from every leading national press publication , and cranham ' s performance was routinely described as ' the performance of his life ' ( whatsonstage . com ) ' .
from school he went to the national youth theatre and rada . from shakespeare to pinter , from orton to chekhov , it would be quicker to list what cranham hasn ' t done in the theatre or who he hasn ' t met . if he has any advice to young actors it is to look out for remarkable writing .
if you can , try not to get yourself manacled financially so that you have to do some terrible old rubbish early on . try to get yourself a cv of decent stuff , some good writing . i was very lucky in that i was around for the right period . a lot of it is timing .
the astonishment with which the father has been greeted has not , however , passed him by . “my agent said , ‘it’s not a play , it’s an experience . ’” everything in it is ever - so - slightly skew - whiff . strangers wander into the home of pyjama - clad andre , addressing him as an intimate . single roles are shared among various actors in a subtly changing set , so that the viewer , like the lead character , can never be certain of anything . where the traditional alzheimer’s narrative encourages pity , the father never allows us to know more than andre . “if i get it right , ” says cranham , “you should be on his side . ”
we are at the tricycle theatre in north - west london . wearing a black jacket and knotted blue silk scarf coupled with navy tracksuit bottoms , cranham resembles a mythical beast : the top half of noël coward , the bottom half of danny dyer . his mouth is framed by bright white bristles , his hair short , spiky and silver . he is 70 but gets cast older . “when they hire someone in their 80s , they tend to fall asleep on trains and miss the matinee . ” not that he is claiming spring - chicken status : “my memory’s not what it was . ” doesn’t that suit playing andre ? “no ! you need to give people their cues . ” he pushes out a blast of rasping laughter .
glamorous the court may have been , but it was also part of a theatre scene fashioning a bleak new vision of england through the strange , violent imaginations of joe orton , bond and pinter . “to be suited and booted and get to speak lines like something from a jacobean tragedy , ” marvels cranham of plays such as loot , the caretaker and entertaining mr sloane , all of which he starred in . shakespeare never did it for him : “too much fat . whereas you get the opening sequence in the birthday party , with the landlady and stanley , and it ' s like a dark donald mcgill postcard . and when you come from the 1950s the only sexual expression you could find was in seaside postcards . those orton and pinter plays : they spoke of what i knew . ”
cranham , who is two parts fruity - voiced luvvie , one part rough - cut cockney , has been part of the furniture on stage and screen since leaving rada in the 1960s . he ' s best known for the television period drama shine on harvey moon , which ran on itv from 1982 to 1985 , but he has also appeared in a string of british films , such as layer cake , hot fuzz , gangster no 1 , made in dagenham and the bbc ' s oranges are not the only fruit . he even popped up a couple of sunday nights ago as uncle mikhail in the bbc ' s war and peace . “i wasn ' t going to take it because it was such a small part , but then all of barnsbury [ the part of islington that he lives in ] saw it , so that was ok . ”
denise gough in people , places and things , which first showed in the national’s dorfman theatre and is due to transfer to the west end in the spring . photograph : pr image
it was called “career changing” , “ astonishing ” , and “emotionally shattering” and now denise gough’s memorable performance in people , places & things at the national theatre has won her a top award from theatre critics .
gough was named best actress at a lunchtime ceremony for the critics’ circle theatre awards 2015 in london .
she won the best newcomer prize in the same awards three years ago , for desire under the elms at the lyric hammersmith , but has admitted nearly giving up on acting after a year of rejections before she got the national part .
“times were really tough , ” she told the sunday times . “and i was thinking , i can’t afford to go on living like this . in my mid - 20s , i was , like , fuck it , i’ll do waitressing . but i found it too depressing . i was helping my sister out with her kids , but it was mortifying to be charging my sister to look after my own nephews and nieces because i was broke . ”
then came the role as a recovering addict in duncan macmillan’s play , which first showed in the national’s dorfman theatre and is due to transfer to the west end in the spring .
there were three awards for the royal court theatre including best new play , going to martin mcdonagh’s black comedy hangmen , which is enjoying a west end run at wyndham’s theatre . the play also won anna fleischle the best designer award .
the theatre’s third prize went to the actor david moorst , who won the jack tinker award for best newcomer for his role in violence and son .
judges gave the best musical award to bend it like beckham , based on the film of the same name . it was a production critics loved but was not enjoyed in sufficient numbers by the public . it is due to close in march after a nine - month run .
the other awards went to robert icke , winning best director for his version of oresteia at the almeida , three hours 40 minutes of gripping greek tragedy that made a surprise transfer to the west end ; and the most promising playwright prize went to james fritz for four minutes twelve seconds at hampstead theatre downstairs and trafalgar studios .
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mr . sloane , entertaining mr . sloane , duke of york ' s theatre , london , 1976
tommy , gangster no . 1 ( also known as gangster nr . 1 ) , pagoda film , 2000
also appeared in the clot , heart of the high country , and making waves .
corporal jack salt ( a sapper ) , danger u . x . b . , thames television , 1979
gus mercer , el c . i . d . , granada television , 1989
also appeared in the bell , the black and blue lamp , thecontractor , donkey ' s years , dunrulin , normal services , the sin bin , a sort of innocence , and the vision thing .
at the end of the second world war , the little mining town of lochgelly in fife boasted a miner ' s institute , a library , a fish and chip shop and an italian ice - cream bar , mazzonis .
the latter had a stylish art - deco shopfront and an interior of peppermint - green marble and chrome , with a jukebox that played 78s .
the only acting i knew when i was a boy came from lochgelly ,
he recalls .
with a double bill , people would live their lives in the cinema . you would even see babies being breastfed in the audience .
he spent a string of childhood stays in lochgelly with his relatives . the stories of his mother , margaret mackay ferguson , and his aunt , who had down ' s syndrome , living with his grandparents in a tiny two - bedroom flat on lochgelly ' s dundas street , are the stuff of memoirs . most of all , though , he remembers the cinemas :
when i was in lochgelly as a boy , i went to the cinema every night – and on sundays i used to go to cowdenbeath and see something there .
the acting career that was inspired in part by those films has been remarkably diverse . they ' ve run from his first tv role in coronation street to memorable dramas such as prospero ' s books and a starring role as dr philip channard in hellbound : hellraiser ii , a cult hit about to get its 20th - anniversary dvd release in the us .


gillian may armstrong ( born 18 december 1950 ) is an award-winning australian feature film and documentary director , who specializes in period drama .

her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists .

gillian armstrong

gillian armstrong was born on december 18 , 1950 in melbourne , victoria , australia as gillian may armstrong . she is a director and producer , known for
gillian armstrong on the set of my brilliant career . image courtesy of hlamgt .
director gillian armstrong : ‘orry deserved a film . photograph : tim baure / supplied
navigating the documentaries of gillian armstrong here you can find some information on armstrong’s documentaries . only some of the links work though .
collins , felicity , “the films of gillian armstrong” , the moving image , no . 6 , 1999
“an interview with gillian armstrong” , urltoken . note : this page no longer seems to be there .
with the headline : at tea with : gillian armstrong ; a lucky director ' s daring career .
' gillian armstrong ' , in internet movie database ( imdb ) , amazon . com , urltoken . details
collins , felicity , the films of gillian armstrong , st . kilda , victoria , australia , 1999 .
gillian armstrong didn ' t just open the door for female directors , she ripped it right off the hinges .
stratton , david ,
gillian armstrong ,
in international film guide ( london , hollywood ) , 1996 .
swebster , andy ,
filmography : gillian armstrong ,
in premiere ( new york ) , november 1997 .
gillian armstrong , director of
women he ' s undressed .
photo by tim baure / courtesy wolfe video
' armstrong , gillian ' , the australian women ' s register , national foundation for australian women , urltoken . details
grieve , a . ,
gillian armstrong returns to eden ,
in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , may 1987 .
, held from 3 - 21 august . kate jinx will be in discussion with gillian armstrong after the screening on 11 august
collins , felicity , “the films of gillian armstrong” , the moving image , no . 6 , published by atom , australia , 1999
gillian armstrong returns to eden ,
an interview with a . grieve , in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , may 1987 .
harker , p . ,
gillian armstrong and three times three ,
in cinema papers ( melbourne ) , november , 1988 .
jo kennedy as jackie mullins – a singer with ‘that little something extra’ – in gillian armstrong’s 1982 rock musical starstruck . photograph : nfsa
mordue , mark ,
homeward bound : a profile of gillian armstrong ,
in sight and sound ( london ) , autumn 1989 .
in gillian armstrong ' s film women he ' s undressed , costume designer orry - kelly is played by darren gilshenan ( centre ) .
more than 99 . 9 percent of people with the first name gillian are female .
photo : with 1979 ' s my brilliant career , gillian armstrong became the first australian woman to direct a feature film in almost 50 years .
gillian armstrong’s films are showing at the 2017 melbourne international film festival : starstruck on 11 august and high tide on 13 august . more details .
the brilliant career of gillian armstrong ,
an interview with mary hardesty , in dga ( los angeles ) , september - october 1995 .
gillian armstrong says her last theatrical feature , death defying acts , starring catherine zeta - jones and guy pearce , was not a happy experience .
director gillian armstrong writes about the screening of a new preservation print of her 1992 film ' the last days of chez nous ' at the nfsa .
armstrong , gillian : interviewed by graham shirley : oral history , 22 november 2011 - 11 january 2012 , 1050278 ; national film and sound archive . details
gillian armstrong was born on december 18 , 1950 in melbourne , victoria , australia as gillian may armstrong . she is a director and producer , known for my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , not fourteen again ( 1996 ) and little women ( 1994 ) . she is married to john pleffer . they have two children .
armstrong , gillian : interviewed by margaret pomeranz at popcorn taxi : 21 . 11 . 2001 , 21 november 2001 , 522597 ; national film and sound archive . details
gillian armstrong’s starstruck is an energetic rock musical comedy , with a kitsch aesthetic that feels like ladies and gentlemen , the fabulous stains , but if the protagonist were cyndi lauper .
award - winning director gillian armstrong has achieved success as the director of my brilliant career , oscar and lucinda , little women , charlotte gray and the last days of chez nous .
gillian armstrong : i said , who is orry - kelly , i am ashamed to admit . i had never heard of him . ( laughs ) i have since made up for that !
the pioneering women program at this year’s miff contains not one , but two films directed by reputed filmmaker gillian armstrong : the musical starstruck ( 1982 ) and the drama high tide ( 1987 ) .
with the great gillian armstrong set to interview the dressmaker director , jocelyn moorhouse , on stage as part of sydney’s vivid festival , we name - check a collection of our favourite australian female filmmakers .
director gillian armstrong says she has not made a feature film in almost a decade because the best drama writers have moved to tv and
12 - year - old executives
are running movie studios .
’s senior film historian , graham shirley , reflects on gillian’s films and career ahead of this weekend’s repeat screenings of her engaging films .
gillian armstrong was a guest at miff2017 and featured on the pioneering women : in conversation talking pictures event . her films starstruck ( 1982 ) and high tide ( 1988 ) played as part of the pioneering women program .
featuring interviews with tony kushner , ousmane sembene , jeanette winterson , andres serrano , faye myenne ng , vernon reid , gillian armstrong , andrew macnair , laurie carlos , srinivas krishna , mira schor , and barbara hammer .
here , revered australian film director gillian armstrong talks about being amongst the “chosen few” at film school ; her amazement at learning of unsung australian cinema hero orry - kelly ; and the importance of costume design on any director’s work .
i caught up with gillian armstrong during a break in her busy schedule . we discussed hollywood ' s golden days , falling way - down research rabbit holes , and how bette davis became kelly ' s on - set co - conspirator .
gillian armstrong adds her own personal flair to the proceedings by having actor darren gilshenan portray orry - kelly . this brings life to the film in what otherwise could have been just a collection of film clips or archival interviews . let it be known… orry - kelly was a gay man and as jane fonda in the documentary put it so directly , “he was out . ” here for the rage monthly is an in - depth , thoughtful and fun interview with director gillian armstrong .
armstrong , g . ( 2012 ) . social media to boost student employability . the guardian .
spoke by armstrong by phone from sydney , days before her film ' s stateside dvd debut .
when director gillian armstrong was studying film in 1968 there was no australian film industry . a series of smart moves , lucky turns and an abundance of creative talent landed her in the front seat of the industry just as it was taking off again .
asked her age , gillian armstrong does not immediately answer . she pushes her smooth blond hair away from her face with blunt , sensible fingers and smiles . she takes her time .
just say early 40 ' s ,
she finally replies .
shocking then to realize that this flourishing of australian women directors came after a near fifty year gap , a gap that began after paulette mcdonagh’s now lost 1933 film two minute silence and finally ended in 1979 with gillian armstrong’s debut film my brilliant career .
or gillian armstrong , making documentaries is like writing detective stories . “you try to find out about this person and then get him right . ” yet even for the accomplished director , following the trail of costume designer orry - kelly was a challenge .
he was incredibly famous in the 1930s and 40s . whenever he came back to australia it was ' our orry from hollywood . . . ' once that golden age faded so did his fame . - - director gillian armstrong on designer orry - kelly
' edens lost ' - screenplay by seymour from the novel by sumner locke elliott . annotated drafts of screenplay and associated correspondence , 1981 - 82 , with gillian armstrong , sumner locke elliott and margaret fink . annotated copy of paperback version of the novel
this weekend , arc cinema has two screenings of the first two documentaries produced by gillian armstrong with the stars of love , lust and lies at age 14 in smokes and lollies ( 1976 ) and age 18 fourteen’s good , eighteen’s better ( 1980 ) .
an example of the tongue - in - cheek approach taken by gillian armstrong in
women he ' s undressed
: a boy plays the young orry - kelly . kiama is the port town where o - k grew up . photo courtesy wolfe video
armstrong believes there is currently a need for affirmative action for women in senior roles in the industry .
in 2001 armstrong directed the feature film charlotte gray , starring cate blanchett . based on the novel by sebastian faulks , it is another of armstrong ' s films that centres around a strong female protagonist .
gilliam armstrong’s 1971 graduating short film the roof needs mowing , from the vca film and television film archive .
acclaimed australian director gillian armstrong’s latest documentary women he’s undressed honors the work and life of another aussie ; film fashion designer orry - kelly . his name might not ring any immediate bells , but any admirer of classic hollywood movies has surely seen his costume designs over the years .
tags : based on a book , biography , drama , films by women , gillian armstrong , my brilliant career , rebecca hirsch garcia , romance , women directors theme week bookmark the permalink . follow comments with the rss feed for this post . both comments and trackbacks are closed .
gillian armstrong is talking about her dislike for documentaries . it’s not , er , entirely what i was expecting , given that she has forged an internationally acclaimed , award - winning path in the genre and she is in fact talking to me on the eve of premiering a new one .
gave birth to her 1st child , a daughter billie armstrong , with her husband john pleffer . [ 1986 ]
one of australia’s best known filmmakers , gillian armstrong , has been one of the most respected women in her field since making 1979’s unapologetically feminist period film , my brilliant career . along with praise for armstrong and her star , then - newcomer judy davis , the film earned an oscar nomination for best costume design . since then , armstrong has made a career out of telling stories about modern , intelligent , complicated women from the past in films such as little women and oscar and lucinda , both of which also earned nominations for costume designs .
armstrong confessed to one plus one that she was among the many australians who had not heard of the gregarious hollywood legend .
gillian armstrong was the first woman in australia to direct a feature length film since the mcdonagh sisters in the 1930s . her debut film , my brilliant career ( 1979 ) was an outstanding achievement for a first time director and was met with critical and popular acclaim . an adaptation of miles franklin ' s autobiographical novel about an independent woman , set in the 1890s , it was the first of armstrong ' s many films with strong female characters .
armstrong has made a significant contribution to the australian film industry and culture and is a role model and inspiration to all filmmakers . “at her best” , molly haskell has written , “gillian armstrong cuts closer to the core of women’s divided yearnings than any other director . ” ( 20 ) we have much to learn from her and our film culture has been greatly enriched by her . she should be interviewed , documented and celebrated as an australian artist and treasure .
martin and her husband baz were the only australians armstrong uncovered who recognised orry - kelly’s genius . “after strictly ballroom they were asked to edit an issue of vogue australia and they did a story on orry , ” armstrong says . “catherine’s a huge fan . ”
ms . armstrong has only been seated for a few minutes but it is already a shock to be reminded that she is of average height . gillian armstrong seems tall .
that ' s exactly what one of the foreign journalists at the news conference i just came from said !
she laughs as she settles into a chair with her back to the room .
you ' re so small ! you ' re so young ! you ' re so pretty !
armstrong : absolutely , and that was what i told her , that she looked stunning in those films . and i meant it .
australian film makers series . gill armstrong talks with mike carlton . , 19 april 1979 , 5725 ; national film and sound archive . details
david armstrong , house on edgewood street , 1996 , gelatin silver print , 40 × 30 inches . all photos courtesy matthew marks gallery .
her debut feature - length film my brilliant career kickstarted armstrong ' s career and became one of many films she made with strong female leads .
born in melbourne in 1950 , armstrong attended a local high school before studying at swinburne technical college where she discovered and pursued her passion for film .
armstrong says she has a couple of scripts and drama projects
on the go
but she is in no rush to get another production out .
there’s a fantastically surreal moment early on in women he’s undressed , a new documentary from celebrated filmmaker gillian armstrong that attempts to unravel why so few australians know the name of orry - kelly , the three - time oscar - winning costume designer extraordinaire responsible for such sartorial excellence as worn by ingrid bergman in in casablanca , marilyn monroe in some like it hot and bette davis in jezebel .
gillian armstrong’s debut my brilliant career was the first australian feature to be directed by a woman in nearly half a century and set the path for an outstanding international career . as she looks forward to a festival screening not just of her own films but daughter billie pleffer’s graduating film from the victorian college of the arts , she explains why she’s become a vocal advocate for more women in the industry .
armstrong discusses orry - kelly , the premiere costume designer of hollywood ' s golden age , and stories from behind the scenes of classic - film sets .
little women
grew on me . at first , i was grumpy , thinking it was going to be too sweet and devout . gradually , i saw that gillian armstrong ( whose credits include
my brilliant career
and
high tide
) was taking it seriously . and then i began to appreciate the ensemble acting , with the five actresses creating the warmth and familiarity of a real family .
producer margaret fink invited armstrong to direct my brilliant career , based loosely on a book by miles franklin . the story centres around sybilla , whose ambition it is to become a writer . “i have always known that i should be a writer , ” she states , perhaps echoing armstrong’s own desire for a creative career .
armstrong cast two unknowns in the lead roles : sam neill as harry beecham and judy davis as sybilla melvin . the film launched davis’ career . armstrong’s choice of unknowns was cause for concern with those funding the film but she was vindicated after the release of the film . however , armstrong upset her critics when sybilla refused to marry harry , despite several proposals from him . greater union ( the company who distributed and exhibited the film and so had a significant financial interest in the film ) , were worried that the female audience would be dissatisfied . so armstrong added a line at the end with sybilla saying “i’m so near loving you , ” implying some sort of ambiguity . the conflict between career , creativity and marriage is a developing theme in armstrong’s work and this is merely her first commentary on it .
i have an 11 year old grand - daughter who is interested in being a film director , she has actually entered tropfest junior for the first time this year and i would really like a contact with m / s gillian armstrong via email to request that she contact my grand - daughter as a source of inspiration . can you help with the email contact ? ? regards , ( m / s ) norma alexander jp
as our time winds down gillian armstrong speaks a fact that is true regardless of color or gender . it remains the driving force of artists , and given all the restrictions , unseen biases , the crapshoot of getting anything made , it has to be the driving force :
i am still passionate about the work . if it doesn ' t play out the way you want , you have to find another way .
with her passion for australian stories , armstrong believes real life is better than fiction , and is driven to ask questions about who we are and what shapes us .
i spoke with armstrong at this year’s tribeca film festival about discovering orry - kelly , his remarkable career , and the importance she places on costumes as a filmmaker .
armstrong says she has no qualms with the script writers moving across to the small screen as she is a huge fan of shows like olive kitteridge and the bridge .
beyond that ms . armstrong is not quite sure what she would like to do .
i have some scripts i ' m reading - - i haven ' t decided ,
she says noncommittally . will it be in hollywood ? ms . armstrong , whose hollywood experiences have not been an unmitigated joy , won ' t say .
despite such challenges , armstrong ' s husband , john pleffer , is her rock , who comfortably performed the role of father and house husband before the term became mainstream .
armstrong , g . ( 2012 ) . # twittercritter : extending the reach of studio . in association of architectural educators conference . nottingham trent university , nottingham , uk .
speaking to armstrong now , it ' s hard to imagine her as the young , inexperienced director that broke onto the scene with my brilliant career . during her first screening at cannes , armstrong was so certain her film would bomb that she bolted out of the theatre . since then , she has established herself as a successful working director .
with my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , gillian armstrong became the first australian woman in 50 years to direct a film . let ' s just pause and hold onto that statistic .
there were three sisters in the 1930 ' s who used family money to do society dramas . one was a producer , one was a director and one starred , so i wasn ' t the first woman to do it in australia ,
she notes archly .
reilly jj , armstrong j , dorosty ar , emmett pm , ness a , rogers i , et al . early life risk factors for obesity in childhood : cohort study .
played by then unknown jo kennedy in her debut role , jackie mullens is the lead character in gillian armstrong’s 1982 rock musical extravaganza starstruck – the film maker’s second feature after my brilliant career . released in local cinemas around the same time as puberty blues , mad max and the still too - little - seen monkey grip , starstruck made a splash at the box office – but has been all too hard to get a hold of in the post - vhs years .
following the success of my brilliant career , armstrong directed the australian rock - musical starstruck ( 1982 ) which proved her ability to tackle more contemporary and experimental subject matter and styles .
gillian’s five documentaries on three adelaide women ( kerry , josie and diana ) , starting with smokes and lollies in 1976 and now with love lust and lies , symbolises the change to australia since the 70s . a thematic cousin to the british seven up ! series of documentaries that began in 1964 , gillian’s is the only set of australian films that has gone back to the same people five times to capture not only a snapshot of those people at the time of filming but also the changes to them , their lives , lifestyles , attitudes , children and partners between each film .
armstrong ' s last film was the 2007 british - australian co - production , death defying acts , which starred guy pearce as harry houdini and catherine zeta - jones as mary mcgarvie .
gillian armstrong : well , the first thing was when damien approached me and i said , “who’s orry - kelly ? ” he gave me this outlet and i saw the list of wardrobe he had made in films . my first reaction was , “oh my god , i can’t believe it’s the same person who did all these iconic films . yes , i’ve seen them but i put them somewhere in the back of my mind… 42 nd street and casablanca , auntie mame and so on .
since then i have seen all of armstrong’s films as they were released and have run retrospectives of her australian films for my friends and family , though i was unaware of her work in documentary or that she has worked extensively in the us . this research is an opportunity to revisit films of my childhood and to explore the influence armstrong has had on australian cinema and culture .
. “one of the key things about being a visual artist is actually trying to remember , or to not lose , what you had in the beginning , ” armstrong told filmink in 2006 .
is , well , pretty much brilliant . based on the epochal book by miles franklin , the film tells of sybylla melvyn ( judy davis ) , an early 20th century burgeoning female writer who chooses her career over marriage . the film remains gillian armstrong’s best and most fully realised work , while its feminist themes ( coupled with the fact that it was the first australian feature film directed by a woman in nearly fifty years ) set the tone for the director’s own groundbreaking career , which includes fine australian works such as
in 1975 , armstrong began the first in a series of documentaries following the lives of three working class girls from adelaide over several decades – a concept similar to michael apted ' s seven up films .
1910 - 1969 , an american in paris , behind the screen : how gays and lesbians shaped hollywood , cary grant , cary grant gay , documentary , full service : my adventures in hollywood and the secret sex live of the stars , gillian armstrong , good stuff : a reminiscence of my father , les girls , mrs . soffel , my brilliant career , orry - kelly , randolph scott , randolph scott gay , scotty bowers , some like it hot , the last days of chez nous , women he ' s undressed
comprises over 600 pieces of correspondence pertaining to personal and business matters ; notebooks ; research notes ; drafts of published and unpublished screenplays , novels , and plays including the one day of the year ; reviews ; newspaper clippings ; photographs ; printed material ; papers relating to alan seymour ' s travels and domestic life . major correspondents include seymour ' s sisters , nieces , nephews , ron baddeley , sumner locke elliot , margaret fink , gillian armstrong , michael thornbill , katharine brisbane , brandon lunney , shiela geddes and laurence collinson .
it is easy to imagine that armstrong was filled with a similar feeling as she crafted her debut film . women filmmakers today still face an uphill battle having their work financed and distributed . at this point in time , gender parity for directors , at least in the u . s . , seems like an unrealistic dream . but at the time in which armstrong was filming , it wasn’t even a matter of a few women directors fighting to get in the room to pitch their ideas to studios or struggling for financing . in armstrong’s case , there was very little australian cinema to speak of and a gap of nearly 50 years separating her from the last feature length australian film directed by a woman . like her audacious main character , armstrong carved her work out of pure ambition , uncertain of the future but willing to try .
in 1994 , armstrong achieved her greatest hollywood success with little women , starring winona ryder , susan sarandon , gabriel byrne , christian bale , claire danes and kirsten dunst . this adaptation of louisa may alcott ' s novel of the same name was one of the most popular films of the year , and emphasises armstrong ' s focus on portraying the intimate lives of strong female characters and their relationships with one another .
ms . armstrong was unimpressed with the accolades and unimpressed with herself :
i know that making a film is a team effort , and it was only my second film . why would i want the stress and strain with a whole lot of strangers ?
ms . armstrong turned down every hollywood offer , staying in australia to make a deliberately small film about a teen - ager trying to become a rock star .
of course , i was 11 or 12 then , but the novel seems to have grown up in the meantime - - or maybe director gillian armstrong finds the serious themes and refuses to simplify the story into a
family
formula .
little women
may be marketed for children and teenagers , but my hunch is it will be best appreciated by their parents . it ' s a film about how all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when we ' re young , and how , through a series of choices , we narrow our destiny .
as high - tech companies start offering women the chance to put their fertility on ice , christine armstrong talks to a range of high - flying mothers about whether it ' s best to have children early or late .
armstrong : right . she was a woman who would throw off her hat and gloves and run outside , getting her dress dirty . and that was somewhat true of judy davis’s character in my brilliant career as well .
oscar and lucinda is based on the book by australian writer peter carey and celebrates , yet again , the collaboration between armstrong , beauman , turnbull , arrighi and simpson . armstrong describes it as “an epic and odd love story that also deals with faith and fate and chance . ” ( 14 ) it begins with the lush production values of little women , demonstrating the breadth of experience these filmmakers bring to their collective craft . the cast support the story well , and armstrong once again shows her intuition for picking stars by casting ralph fiennes ( before he became famous for the english patient [ anthony minghella , 1996 ] ) as oscar , and cate blanchett as lucinda .
armstrong’s films demonstrate a diversity and breadth of story - telling . she has alternated between shooting in australia and the us , between period and contemporary drama , films for theatrical release and television and also between documentary and drama .
when i made my first feature film , being a woman was all anyone ever asked me about . it really , really annoyed me and i found it quite sexist in the end . i thought , ‘you know what – i’m just me and this is a gillian armstrong film’ . not all women are going to do the same films and the same stories , and i was really put in this box , because it was a feminist story in a lot of ways , they thought that’s all i ever wanted to talk about . so yes , initially it was frustrating to talk about .
armstrong ' s first feature length film , my brilliant career ( 1979 ) , an adaptation of miles franklin ' s novel of the same name , was the first australian feature length film to be directed by a woman for 46 years . armstrong received six awards at the 1979 australian film awards ( previously the australian film institute awards , or afi ' s ) , including best director and the film was nominated for an academy award in best costume design .
her research interests are in the use of big data consumer analytics and have been supported by a range of research funders ( daera , invest ni ) . gillian has published in a range of academic journals , including the international small business journal , the journal of small business and enterprise development and was part of the ref 2014 business and management studies unit of assessment .
armstrong has directed eight feature length dramas , two feature length documentaries and many short films . i will briefly describe the feature films of most importance to the australian film industry . further information is available through references listed in the bibliography .
the scones appear , finally . ms . armstrong scoops up some strawberry jam and a bit of whipped cream and sighs .
there ' s nothing like a fresh scone ,
she says before returning to the business at hand .
what ' s happened to drama in the last 12 years , is that all the drama writers have left the feature industry and gone to tv and [ are ] writing for hbo , showtime and netflix ,
armstrong says .
“if they’d had an oscar for costume design before 1949 , he definitely would have outdone catherine , ” armstrong bets . “all those early films he did with bette , they would have been ringing it in . that was bad luck . ”
gillian is currently head of the department of accounting , finance and economics within the ulster university business school . the department has a strong professional practice focus , whilst also ensuring active engagement in applied research . it has a staffing complement of 30 academic staff and works closely with the professional and financial services sectors to actively support the supply of skills and the attractiveness of northern ireland as a location to do business . the department’s professional accreditations and reputation for high quality teaching and student support continues to secure long standing partnerships with overseas universities , particularly in china . long standing partnerships have been established with dongbei university of finance and economics ( dufe ) , south china agricultural university ( scau ) and more recently , with hebei geo university ( hui ) , where gillian is a visiting professor .
it turns out that the pedigree behind the footage is rather illustrious . gillian armstrong of my brilliant career , oscar and lucinda and charlotte gray fame helmed the women he ' s undressed . while exploring her current concentration on documentaries , talk led to the many minor infringements that women directors endure that can accumulate to become unseen hurdles in their quest to direct film . at a time when only 6 % of films are directed by women and only one woman has won a best director oscar , ( kathryn bigelow ) , the conversation resonated , and may help to shine a light on entrenched mindsets and issues that have nothing to do with gender .
will the success of
little women
mean that she now has that power ? ms . armstrong answers carefully .
i haven ' t spoken to my lawyer so i don ' t know . but certainly promotional success gives artistic power .
whilst mainly known for her feature length work , armstrong has also had considerable success as a documentary film maker . unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst ( 2006 ) , earned armstrong a nomination for the grand jury prize at the 2006 sundance film festival . additionally , her series of films that have documented the lives of three women she first met as teenagers in adelaide in 1975 for smokes and lollies has continued with four subsequent documentaries , all of which have been met with positive reviews .
despite the difficulty and randomness of this film , armstrong presents a warm , compassionate view of the lives of these women and their daughters . by the final film , she has started interviewing the next generation of children , who are by now teenagers , and the film is so emotionally compelling that one wonders how she can stop here . armstrong says this film is the final part of the series , but perhaps one day her own daughters will continue the story of the teenagers and their lives . ( 9 )
born in melbourne in 1950 , armstrong attended her local high school before going to swinburne technical college , originally intending to study theatre design ; however she soon found her passion in film . after completing her degree at swinburne , armstrong moved to sydney to pursue work in the film industry . despite some early setbacks she gained valuable experience as an assistant editor at kingcroft . her further education was completed when she was one of 12 students selected as the inaugural class at the australian film and television school in sydney .
“at the end of the ' 60s , suddenly there was easy rider and midnight cowboy , ” armstrong says . “everything was gritty , with ripped blue denim and handheld cameras . the golden age was gone and dead , bette davis and barbara stanwick were passé . ”
armstrong was always modest when discussing her achievements but there can be no denying that she was a trailblazer for women in the film industry . prior to her success , many women were encouraged towards continuity or administrative roles . armstrong herself had to battle with many in the male dominated industry in the 1970s and 1980s . she has spoken of her frustration at all the males in her graduating class at swinburne receiving job offers from film australia and the abc . when she asked the abc for work they were only interested in her typing speed .
kelly ' s personal life and career were each fascinating in their own right . armstrong would struggle to pack it all into a 99 - minute film .
the amount of work he ' s done was also extraordinary ,
she added . for her film , armstrong had the unenviable task of narrowing down kelly ' s 300 film resume - - including casablanca , some like it hot , and les girls - - to a few movies that best represent him .
so to really choose the top , i think we chose , finally about 20 - 25 films ,
she said . throw in kelly ' s celebrity relationships - - bette davis and cary grant to name a few - - and his battles with drinking and you have what armstrong describes as ,
a very rich story .
embarking on a detective - like mission to uncover every detail of orry - kelly’s life , armstrong and her team poured over letters , interviews and biographies from contemporaries including davis , with whom he forged an enduring relationship . she considered him her right arm at warner bros .
perhaps best known for her 1994 adaptation of little women , armstrong continues to work in film to this day , and has directed cinematic luminaries like cate blanchett , catherine zeta - jones , kirsten dunst , and diane keaton . by anyone’s standards she has had a brilliant career .
armstrong ' s research wasn ' t limited to dusty old books . she also watched countless hours of classic films in search of imagery that best represents kelly ' s talents . armstrong stated ,
i had to start selecting clips that i thought , ' well this would be great to show his talent in this area or that area . ' i did a lot of movie watching and finally caught up with a lot the classics of the golden age . a lot of them i had never seen all the way through . that was very enjoyable .
made on a tiny budget and heavily subsidized by the australian film commission , the award - winning the singer and the dancer was a precocious study of the toll men take on women ' s lives that marked the onset of armstrong ' s mature style . on the strength of this and one hundred a day , producer margaret fink offered armstrong the direction of my brilliant career . daunted at first by the scale of the project and a lack of confidence in her own abilities , she accepted because she
thought it could be bungled by a lot of men .
the movie may leave sybylla and the audience forever waiting and wondering as to whether she was able to write her way to a better life . but in terms of armstrong and her career , the answer is much clearer . my brilliant career became a seminal part of what was later termed the australian new wave ( a movement that also included george miller and his mad max series , the first film of which coincidentally was also released in 1979 ) . armstrong and the film went on to play in competition at the cannes film festival , something that to this day is exceedingly rare for women directors . the film would go on to be nominated for an oscar , a bafta , a golden globe and win several awards at the australian film institute ( afi ) awards including best director for armstrong making her the first of many female best director afi winners .
armstrong , g . ( 2016 ) . reusing rumours : a review of research citing barriers to adaptive reuse stemming from building code . in proceedings of the aasa 2016 9th international conference : project to practice : innovating architecture ( pp . 7 pages ) . university of technology , sydney .
you don ' t get your good marks ,
she says bitterly ,
and it gets taken over .
she retreated to australia to make
the last days of chez nous ,
on a very low budget .
and ,
says ms . armstrong triumphantly ,
i had total control over it .
the film , which won a number of awards in australia , did well in most of the united states .
except ,
adds ms . armstrong ,
new york - - thank you vincent canby , who hated it .
armstrong also spoke to costume and set designer catherine martin , who eclipsed kelly in 2014 as the australian with the most oscars in their career . martin credits kelly with setting the path for her and other award - winning australian costume designers kym barrett and michael wilkinson , who appear in the film . indeed there have been numerous successful australian costume designers who followed kelly including janet patterson and luciana arrighi , who both worked with armstrong . armstrong herself set out to be a costume or set designer . “i realised i only had about six ideas . i tried them out in art school and that was the end . ” instead she channeled her love of design into her films , from her breakout hit my brilliant career to oscar and lucinda and little women through to her acclaimed documentary unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst , and now women he’s undressed .
despite the success of these more commercial films , it was armstrong ' s lesser - known documentary unfolding florence : the many lives of florence broadhurst ( 2006 ) which earned her the most critical recognition during the 2000s and a nomination for the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival .
at that time ms . armstrong was single , had no children , and told one interviewer that she thought directing and children were incompatible because directing required such an enormous commitment . today she says she has two daughters , 6 and 9 , and a husband whose name she will not reveal .
i was thrilled to sit down with armstrong last month on the eve of the sydney film festival 2015 , where her new film women he’s undressed made its world premiere – and opens in cinemas across australia this week . to hear more from the filmmaker herself , read our full chat below .
in many ways little women is the convergence of armstrong’s film making experiences . armstrong says , “little women is a film i was personally affected by when watching it , but i don’t think my approach to the film was in any way consciously different to that of any of my other films . ” ( 13 ) it includes all of her themes and motifs from earlier films , including scenes of children playing the piano together , oranges , cherished kittens , a desire for some other better life and unrequited love . jo and sybilla both lean on gates at the threshold of their family homes .
it is the story of unrequited love , restrained passion and friendship between men and women , which i believe is at the heart of all armstrong films . sybilla can never marry harry , anymore than jo could marry laurie . and lucinda is fated to lose oscar with no more than a kiss between them . they will love each other dearly but never be more than friends or mates . of her own partner , armstrong says , “i’ve been lucky that i’ve had a partner who has really made the sacrifice . it is thanks to his generosity that i’ve achieved the balances . ” ( 17 )
over and over , armstrong praises her actors and her production crew . she tells me that , as with karvan’s surfing lessons , jo kennedy had to learn to walk the tightrope for starstruck . to armstrong , every person on the set is an equal , so i asked her how she felt about the evolution of women’s roles in the film industry . armstrong refuses to be categorised as a ‘woman director’ it’s a label that she has been entangled with since she directed her first feature , my brilliant career , forty years ago . quite rightly , she feels as though the term itself is sexist , and discourages people from asking her about her work as a person . still , she acknowledges that the industry has a long way to go . “to think we’ve only increased the number of women directors so slightly , something is definitely wrong . ” there are times when she wishes she could have been credited as g . armstrong instead , if only to avoid unconscious bias . “unconscious bias is a poison” , she says seriously . “when my first features came out , all anyone ever asked me was : what was it like to be a ‘woman director’ ? well , actually , that hasn’t changed . ”
( 1973 ) , with its striking , well - composed black - and - white images and an atmosphere that compellingly drew audiences back into the sydney of the early 1930s . out of all 12 students , i think that gillian was always the most thorough when it came to preparing for a shoot . her attention to detail was highly impressive , and i remember one veteran cameraman telling me he had never before worked with a director so decisively able to express what they wanted .
armstrong and her team were thrilled with the discovery , quickly polishing them up to shoot for the film . but the director confesses they’d hoped to find a much - gossiped about memoir the costume designer was rumoured to have been writing . in it , kelly was said to spill the beans on his long - standing but secret friendship with actor cary grant . their relationship is at the heart of the film . “it’s a story about friendship and loyalty , ” says armstrong . “it’s a story about two young mates starting out and helping each other , it’s about fame , money , power and homophobia . ”
her quest not to be seen as more or less , but simply to be able to demonstrate her talent , reflects kelly’s story . an openly gay man at a time when studios demanded that their heads of costumes departments be married , orry never hid his sexuality . that he was close friends with archie leach – the two arrived in new york together and shared an apartment for years – has led to much speculation . gillian doesn’t back away from the implications that some may draw .
so there was something , as we started to explore and find out about who was orry - kelly , he kept reminding me so much of my oldest best friend . we met at swinburne in the dark room when we were both learning photography , when we were both 18… . he died too young , four years ago . he was a wonderful photographer , an exhibition of his work was at the national portrait gallery . ( see gillian’s own portrait in the exhibition here . )
her first american film ,
mrs . soffel
( 1984 ) , featured diane keaton as a turn - of - the - century warden ' s wife who abandons her children and respectability to go on the road with an escaped convict ( mel gibson ) . ms . armstrong was pleased with the film , but although it was a critical success it was not a hit at the box office . her next american film ,
fires within ,
was a disaster that ms . armstrong describes as
a total waste of my life .
when the film did not do well with a preview audience it was recut .
“this man deserves to be known in his own country , ” armstrong says , hoping women he’s undressed and an up - coming book will help to restore orry - kelly’s legacy . “the original premise was simple , ‘how did this person from nowhere make it in hollywood ? ’ but we found out so much more . ”
saying no is not hard for ms . armstrong , who has been doing so ever since
my brilliant career
established her as a force to be reckoned with . the movie , about a young australian woman at the turn of the century who rejects love for literary ambition , was a hit . hollywood came calling .
when
starstruck
opened in new york in 1982 , janet maslin of the new york times noted its
dizzy , impudent high - spirited glory
and opined that ms . armstrong
may be an original .
ms . armstrong seemed set on proving it . she went around giving interviews dressed in a large fuzzy blue sweater dress decorated with colored beads , a black and white polka dot blouse , black tights and blue suede shoes . her blond hair was cut in a punk shag . faced with the tailored woman in subdued brown silk who now sits across the table pouring tea , it is hard to imagine . other things have also changed .
“with orry there was a great deal of input into the character , and that’s what bette really liked about him , and why they became a team , ” armstrong says . “they had to fight against the studio , because they always wanted to make her look glamorous in inch - thick makeup and bleach her hair like jean harlow .
due to her tenacity and talent , armstrong broke down barriers and led the way for other women to participate in the film industry and is often credited as an inspiration for many women , not only directors but composers , designers and cinematographers . she continues to enjoy her own brilliant career and has a new feature film due in 2013 .
a struggle with alcoholism , exacerbated by his conscription at 46 into the us army during wwii , may have taken the shine off his later years – he was also fired from wb for punching out an executive - but armstrong notes that in the dying days of his career , the curtain was coming down on the end of an era .
what she also has is a man around the house .
my girls have a fantastic dad ,
she says .
he ' s taken leave when i ' m shooting . it helps .
she also thinks it helps to have a producer who ' s a woman : when ms . armstrong ' s younger daughter started school during pre - production for
little women ,
the producer , denise di novi , said ,
you ' ll always regret it if you ' re not there for her first day of school .
ms . armstrong flew home .
and denise said , ' no male producer would ever have allowed you to go . '