# Patricia Clarkson on screen and stage

Patricia Clarkson is an American actress who made her film debut in Brian De Palma's mob drama The Untouchables (1987), followed by a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's The Dead Pool (1988). After appearing in minor roles in the early and mid-1990s, she garnered critical attention for her portrayal of a drug-addicted actress in the independent drama High Art (1998). She appeared in numerous supporting roles in such films as The Green Mile (1999), The Pledge (2001), Far from Heaven (2002), and Dogville (2003).
She received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role in the 2003 drama film The Station Agent, as well as a nomination for Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Pieces of April. Clarkson also appeared as a recurring guest star on the HBO series Six Feet Under from 2002 to 2005, and won two Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance. Other credits from the 2000s include Good Night, and Good Luck with David Strathairn (2005), Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling (2007), and Elegy with Penélope Cruz (2008). She also appeared in Woody Allen films Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and Whatever Works (2009).
In 2010, Clarkson had a supporting role in Martin Scorsese's thriller Shutter Island, followed by roles in the comedies Easy A and Friends with Benefits. She subsequently portrayed the villainous Ava Paige in The Maze Runner (2014) and its two sequels. In 2017, she won a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Sally Potter's drama The Party, and guest-starred on the Netflix series House of Cards. She co-starred with Amy Adams on the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects in 2018, for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film.
Clarkson's theater career started in 1986 where she was the replacement for the role of Corrinna Stroller in The House of Blue Leaves. She played both roles of Nan and Lina in the 1997 play Three Days of Rain. She returned to theater in 2014, playing the role of Madge Kendal in a Broadway production of The Elephant Man, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress.

## Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | The Untouchables | Catherine Ness | |
| 1988 | The Dead Pool | Samantha Walker | |
| 1988 | Rocket Gibraltar | Rose Black | |
| 1988 | Everybody's All-American | Leslie Stone | |
| 1990 | Tune in Tomorrow | Aunt Olga | |
| 1995 | Pharaoh's Army | Sarah Anders | |
| 1995 | Jumanji | Carol Anne Parrish | |
| 1998 | Playing by Heart | Allison | |
| 1998 | High Art | Greta | |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | Melinda Moores | |
| 1999 | Wayward Son | Wesley | |
| 1999 | Simply Irresistible | Lois McNally | |
| 2000 | Falling Like This | Caroline Lockhart | |
| 2000 | Joe Gould's Secret | Vivian Marquie | |
| 2001 | The Safety of Objects | Annette Jennings | |
| 2001 | The Pledge | Margaret Larsen | |
| 2001 | Wendigo | Kim | |
| 2002 | Welcome to Collinwood | Rosalind | |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Eleanor Fine | |
| 2002 | Heartbreak Hospital | Lottie Ohrwasher | |
| 2002 | The Baroness and the Pig | The Baroness | |
| 2003 | Dogville | Vera | |
| 2003 | The Station Agent | Olivia Harris | |
| 2003 | All the Real Girls | Elvira Fine | |
| 2003 | Pieces of April | Joy Burns | |
| 2004 | Miracle | Patti Brooks | |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | Shirley Wershba | |
| 2005 | The Dying Gaul | Elaine Tishop | |
| 2006 | The Woods | Ms. Traverse | |
| 2006 | All the King's Men | Sadie Burke | |
| 2007 | No Reservations | Paula | |
| 2007 | Lars and the Real Girl | Dr. Dagmar Bergman | |
| 2007 | Married Life | Pat Allen | |
| 2008 | Blind Date | Janna | |
| 2008 | Phoebe in Wonderland | Miss Dodger | |
| 2008 | Elegy | Carolyn | |
| 2008 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Judy Nash | |
| 2009 | Whatever Works | Marietta Celestine | |
| 2009 | 2081 | Narrator | Short film |
| 2009 | For the Love of Movies | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2009 | Cairo Time | Juliette Grant | |
| 2010 | Shutter Island | 2nd Rachel Solando | |
| 2010 | Legendary | Sharon Chetley | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Willa Jenkins | |
| 2010 | Easy A | Rosemary Penderghast | |
| 2011 | Friends with Benefits | Lorna | |
| 2011 | One Day | Alison Mayhew | |
| 2013 | The East | Sharon | |
| 2014 | The Maze Runner | Ava Paige | |
| 2014 | Last Weekend | Celia Green | |
| 2014 | Learning to Drive | Wendy Shields | |
| 2014 | October Gale | Helen Matthews | |
| 2014 | Annie | Focus group woman | Cameo |
| 2015 | Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Ava Paige | |
| 2017 | The Party | April | |
| 2017 | The Bookshop | Mrs. Violet Gamart | |
| 2018 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Ava Paige | |
| 2018 | Jonathan | Dr. Mina Nariman | |
| 2018 | Delirium | Brody | |
| 2018 | Out of Blue | Detective Mike Hoolihan | |
| 2019 | Almost Love | Ravella Brewer | |
| 2022 | Monica | Eugenia | |
| 2022 | She Said | Rebecca Corbett | |
| 2024 | Lilly † | Lilly Ledbetter | Completed |
Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Elizabeth Haller | Episode: "The Choice" |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Deborah Wade | Episode: "Breakpoint" |
| 1990 | Tales from the Crypt | Suzy | Episode: "Mute Witness to Murder" |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Laura Winthrop | Episode: "By Hooker, By Crook" |
| 1990 | The Old Man and the Sea | Mary Pruitt | Television film |
| 1991 | Davis Rules | Cosmo Yeargin | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | Blind Man's Bluff | Dr. Virginia Hertz | Television film |
| 1992 | An American Story | Barbara Meade | Television film |
| 1992 | Legacy of Lies | Pat Rafael | Television film |
| 1992 | Four Eyes and Six Guns | Lucy Laughton | Television film |
| 1993 | Caught in the Act | Meg | Television film |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Lizzie Perkins | Miniseries |
| 1994 | She Led Two Lives | Desiree Parnell | Television film |
| 1995–1996 | Murder One | Annie Hoffman | 23 episodes |
| 1996 | London Suite | Diana Nichols | Television film |
| 1998 | The Wedding | Della McNeil | Television film |
| 2000 | Wonderland | Mrs. Tammy Banger | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Frasier | Claire French | 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Carrie | Margaret White | Television film |
| 2002–2005 | Six Feet Under | Sarah O'Connor | 7 episodes |
| 2007 | American Masters | Narrator | Episode: "The American Dream" |
| 2009–2011 | Saturday Night Live | Mother | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Parks and Recreation | Tammy Swanson I | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | The Dust Bowl | Hazel Lucas Shaw | Television documentary |
| 2012 | Five | Mia Knowles | Television film |
| 2015 | Broad City | Timothy's Mom | Episode: "St. Mark's" |
| 2016 | American Dad! | Meredith Fields (voice) | Episode: "The Dentist's Wife" |
| 2016 | Nature | Narrator | Episode: "Hummingbirds" |
| 2017–2018 | House of Cards | Jane Davis | 13 episodes |
| 2018 | Sharp Objects | Adora Crellin | 8 episodes |
| 2020 | American Experience | Additional voices | Episode: "The Vote" |
| 2022 | State of the Union | Ellen | 10 episodes |
| 2022 | Green Eggs and Ham | Pam-I-Am (voice) | 10 episodes |
| 2022 | Gray | Cornelia Gray | 8 episodes; also producer |

## Stage

| Year | Title | Roles | Venue |
| 1986 | The House of Blue Leaves | Corrinna Stroller (replacement) | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| 1989 | Eastern Standard | Phoebe Kidde | John Golden Theatre |
| 1995 | Raised in Captivity | Bernadette Dixon | Vineyard Theatre |
| 1996 | The Ride Down Mount Morgan | Leah | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| 1997 | Three Days of Rain | Nan and Lina | New York City Center |
| 1998 | The Maiden's Prayer | Libby | Vineyard Theatre |
| 2004 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | Kennedy Center |
| 2014 | The Elephant Man | Mrs. Kendal | Booth Theatre |
| 2024 | Long Day's Journey Into Night | Mary Tyrone | Wyndham's Theatre |