Samantha Morton

At 46 years old, Samantha Morton has this physical status:

Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress.

Morton has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a British Independent Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award; in addition, she has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a British Academy Film Award. Morton, a native of Nottingham, joined the Central Junior Television Workshop and began her career in British television in 1991.

She appeared in Soldier Soldier and Cracker, as well as in the ITV series Band of Gold from 1995 to 1996.

Emma (1996), Jane Eyre (1997), and the well-received Under the Skin (1997), she made the change to film with lead roles in Emma (1996), Emma (1996), and the Academy Award and Best Supporting Actress. Morton debuted on the independent film scene in the early 2000s and received her second Academy Award nomination for her role in In America (2003), this time in the Best Actress category.

Her role in the sci-fi thriller Minority Report (2002), which was a commercial success, was followed by Myra Hindley's biographical portrayal in Longford (2006), Deborah Curtis in Control (2007), and Mary, Queen of Scots in Elizabeth (2007).

Morton received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for her role in Longford.

Morton made her directorial debut with the television film The Unloved (2009), earning the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama.

The Messenger (2009), John Carter (2012), Decoding Annie Parker (2013), and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) are among the acting credits listed above.

By the late 2010s, she had often ventured into television, appearing in the television series The Last Panthers (2015), Rillington Place (2016), Harlots (2017–present), and The Walking Dead (2019–present).

Early life

Samantha Jane Morton was born in Nottingham's Clifton area on May 13, 1977, the third child of Pamela (née Mallek), a factory worker, and Peter Morton. She is of Polish/Irish descent. She has six half-siblings from her parents' marriages leading up to their 1979 divorce. She lived with her father until she was eight years old, when she was declared a ward of court because neither of her parents could care for her and her siblings. Her father was an abusive alcoholic and her mother was in a tense union with her second husband; as a result, she never lived with her parents again.

Foster care and children's homes were both in and out of foster care and children's homes over the next nine years. She attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School and volunteered in the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was 13, and was soon offered small-screen roles in Soldier Soldier and Boon. She assaulted an older girl who had been harassing her under the effects of drugs. She was found guilty of carrying out threats to kill and was sentenced to 18 weeks in a attendance center.

Personal life

Morton dated actor Charlie Creed-Miles, whom she met on the set of the film The Last Yellow in 1999. They broke up when Morton was 15 weeks pregnant with their daughter, actress Esmé Creed-Miles, born on February 5, 2000.

When shooting a music video for the band the Vitamins, Morton encountered filmmaker Harry Holm (son of actor Ian Holm). Edie, their daughter, was born on January 4, 2008, and their son, Theodore, was born in 2012. They live in Monyash, Derbyshire.

Morton admitted in early 2008 that she had been "close to death" after being struck by a piece of 17th-century plaster that fell on her head (damaging her vertebral artery). She was in the hospital for three weeks following the tragedy. In order to learn to walk again, she was removed from the public spotlight and took an 18-month break from film acting.

Morton wrote an open letter in 2011 wishing that her stepfather would get back in touch with her after being estranged for many years. However, it was revealed shortly afterward that her stepfather had died of prostate cancer four years before.

Morton received an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from Nottingham Trent University on July 20, "in recognition of her internationally successful acting career," the university announced.

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Career

Clare Anderson, as the first appearance of Lucy Gannon's Soldier Soldier and then Mandy in an episode of Boon, was soon to be offered small-screen roles, as well as Mandy in an episode of Boon. Both were ITV Central productions. Morton went to London at the age of sixteen and was rejected by many drama schools, including RADA. She first attended Clarendon College of Performing Arts in 1991 to earn a BTEC degree, but later left due to personal reasons. She appeared in Peak Practice and in an episode of Cracker at the Royal Court Theatre for the debut and then began her television career. She appeared in Kay Mellor's lucrative Band of Gold (1995–96).

More television roles followed, including roles in period dramas like Emma and Jane Eyre. Emma was a film adaptation of the novel of the same name that was published in 1815 about youthful passions and the dangers of misconstrued romance. Critics generally liked the film, and it was broadcast on ITV in late 1996, earning an estimated 12 million viewers. Morton portrayed a Yorkshire orphanage who becomes a governess to a teenage French teen and falls in love with the brooding lord of the manor. The 1997 film, along with her previous small-screen projects, premiered on ITV.

She played Iris, a woman struggling with the death of her mother in the independent drama Under the Skin (1997), directed by Carine Adler. Writers loved the film, with The Guardian placing it at number 15 on its list of the Best British Films 1984–2009 list. Janet Maslin of The New York Times said Morton "embodies the role with fiery and with a raw yet waifesque presence"; and James Berardinelli wrote that the actress "forces us to believe Iris as a living, breathing individual." She received the Best Actress Award at the 1998 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards and was nominated for the Best Female Achievement in a British Independent Film by the BIFA.

Woody Allen starred her in Sweet and Lowdown, a romantic drama about a fictional jazz guitarist in the 1930s (played by Sean Penn) who describes himself as the country's second best guitarist. Morton played Hattie, a mute laundress, and Penn's love interest. The film was released in September 1999, to widespread critical acclaim and moderate success at the box office in the arthouse market. George Perry of BBC.com described her as a "adoring mute who suffers [...] [...] She uses her eyes to convey meaning, reviving silent cinema techniques." Morton received an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for her role, which was particularly surprising considering that she does not say a single word of dialogue in the film. During a 2007 interview with The Guardian, she said that her Oscar nomination meant "incredible things for me [United States]. I'm grateful for that. It means that [...] I'm able to help the industry."

Morton will appear in the small scale drama Jesus' Son, which received little notice and praise from critics. For her appearance, she received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. Dreaming of Joseph Lees, Catherine Linstrum's interpretation of a story set in rural England in the late 1950s, was her second film in 1999; for her role, she received the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. Sara Coleridge, the wife of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, appeared in the biographical drama Pandaemonium (2000), directed by Julien Temple. In the category of Best Actress, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. Morton appeared in Larry Mullen's Anton Corbijn-directed promotional video for U2's "Electrical Storm" and sang of Ruby in the Canadian animated film Max & Ruby from 2002 to 2003.

Morton, who played a senior precog in Steven Spielberg's science fiction drama Minority Report, opposite Tom Cruise, found greater fame and success. Despite critics' assertions that she was "slightly typecast" in her role as "feral, near-mute survivor" in Minority Report's role, the Minority Report's income was US$358 million. She was named Best Supporting Actress and Best British Actress at the Saturn Award and the Empire Award for Best British Actress. Morvern Callar's next film, she played a grieving young woman from Scotland who decides to leave Spain following her boyfriend's suicide. As part of a positive review, Peter Travers wrote for Rolling Stone, "Mormone bolsters this character study with poetic force and buoyant feeling," and she was given the Best Actress Award at the 5th British Independent Film Awards and the 7th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Morton played the matriarch of an immigrant Irish family struggling to start a new life in New York in the free drama In America (2003), directed by Jim Sheridan. The film "an achingly personal and beautifully observed account of the immigrant journey" in America received widespread critical acclaim, according to Terry Lawson of Detroit Free Press. Morton "reveals the strength of her silences, her silence [and] her presence," Roger Ebert said, though A.O. The "blunt, inarticulate power of her emotion [at the heart of the drama," Scott of The New York Times found the "blunt, inarticulate power of her feeling [...] at the center of the drama." In the category of Best Actress, her performances earned her nominations for the Academy Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.

Morton appeared in the dystopian film Code 46, directed by Michael Winterbottom and Tim Robbins, and she played the wife of a man who witnessed a deadly crash in the drama Enduring Love, opposite Rhys Ifans and Daniel Craig. Critics were split on the new film, arguing that Morton did not have enough time on screen. Despite this, she was nominated for the Best Supporting Award at the 2004 British Independent Film Awards. During the British colonization of New Zealand, she portrayed herself as a young Irish woman finding herself on both directions of the conflicts between British and Maori. At the New Zealand box office, the film was a box office hit, with revenues approaching NZ$1 million in the country. She was nominated for the New Zealand Screen Award for Best Leading Actress for her role. She appeared in the comedy The Libertine, alongside Johnny Depp, and the film Lassie, both of which were first released in 2005.

Myra Hindley, the Moors murderer, appeared in the television film Longford in 2006. The film, which was shot between 1967 and 1997, depicts the friendship between the child murderer and Lord Longford, the politician who spent years calling for her release (mostly unsuccessfully). Longford was a critical success, and it premiered with 1.7 million viewers. Morton, on the other hand, had been strongly chastised by the relatives of the children killed by Hindley and Ian Brady, but she maintained, "It is my job as a performer to raise concerns [...] we're afraid to look at." At the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, she was named Best Supporting Actress, and she was named in the 65th Golden Globe Awards.

In 2007, Morton appeared in four feature films. In the dramatic Mister Lonely, she portrayed a struggling police officer in the romantic drama Expired, as well as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. Morton appeared in the biographical film Control, where she appeared as Deborah Curtis, wife of bandmate Ian Curtis, whose biography Touching from a Distance formed the basis of the film. Critics praised the film. Morton was "fully convincing as a plucky teenage bride," Roger Ebert said, and Variety magazine found her appearance to be "astonishing" and "sympathetic." She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, according to Control. Elizabeth: The Golden Age, her last film of 2007 was another biopic, in which she played Mary, Queen of Scots.

In Charlie Kaufman's postmodern drama Synecdoche, New York (2008), she appeared alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, and Emily Watson. Hazel, one of the women in a theatre director's life (Hoffman), whose intense dedication to a realistic stage production begins to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. Morton's character changed from 30 to 64 throughout the story, and she used full-face prosthetic makeup. She found out she was pregnant during the filming, which had a 24-hour work schedule. The film was a box office bomb, but critics lauded it, making it one of the year's top ten lists. Morton and her co-stars were eventually recognized for the Best Ensemble Achievement award at the 18th Gotham Independent Film Awards. She appeared in The Daisy Chain, an Irish horror film about a couple who died after their daughter's death and adopt an orphanaged child, only to become embroiled in a string of bizarre events. It premiered at the 16th Raindance Film Festival (London, October 2008), and it was followed on DVD in 2010.

Morton played Oliva Patterson, a widow whose husband was killed in Iraq in the directorial debut of Jesus' Son screenwriter Oren Moverman's The Messenger (2009). She was drawn to the "feminine" side of the story and discovered her role as "one of the first characters [she has] had] spent a long time] as her brother and grandfather were both soldiers in the military forces. The Messenger and Morton's critical reception had been unanimously favorable, with Claudia Puig of USA Today stating that Morton "as always, gives a subtle, excellent job." At the 14th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the 25th Independent Spirit Awards, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Morton's other project of 2009 was her directorial debut, the semi-autobiographical Channel 4 drama The Unloved, which follows an eleven-year-old girl (played by Molly Windsor) growing up in a children's home and shown through her eyes. Morton wrote the story in collaboration with Tony Grisoni, and The Unloved premiere was broadcast on May 17, 2009, attracting nearly 2 million viewers. In September 2009, it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Morton's "intense" and "vivid" dramatic film was lauded by Michael Deacon of The Daily Telegraph. In 2010, Morton received a BAFTA for her work.

Morton returned in 2012 after a three-year absence from television to a focus on her personal life and family. Sola in the science fiction film John Carter, based on A Princess of Mars, received mixed praise and fell at the box office, but she remained the voice of Sola. In the thriller Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg, she played a chief of theory. The Guardian's "misjudged" role earned her the Best Actress award in a Canadian Film Award, according to her. She appeared as a jury member at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.

Morton was the first voice of the artificially intelligent operating system in the 2013 romantic science fiction film Herman was directed by Spike Jonze, but Scarlett Johansson replaced her in post-production. She is, on the other hand, credited as an associate producer. Morton appeared in the independent drama Decoding Annie Parker (2003), opposite Helen Hunt, portraying a woman with breast cancer. Critically, the film was limited to limited theaters and received mixed feedback. However, Betsey Sharkey of Los Angeles Times said the actress "gives Parker such compassion for a warm humanity that you feel compelled to stick with her through the growing horrors." At the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival, she was named Best Actress Golden Space Needle Award.

Morton starred in The Harvest (also 2013) as a tyrant mother caring for her sick son in a secluded setting. Several commentators, including Peter Debruge (Variety) and Nikola Grozdanovic (Indiewire), compared Katherine's role to Kathy Bates' Annie Wilkes (1990). At the 2014 BloodGuts UK Horror Awards, her appearance earned her a Best Actress Award nomination.

Miss Julie (2014), Liv Ullmann's film adaptation, portraying Kathleen, the fiancée of a vain (Farrell) who is seduced by the daughter of an Anglo-Irish aristocracy (Chastain). The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was limited to release in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. Miss Julie was rated average by reviewers, but the cast received acclaim. Matton's Kathleen was "the most convincing character" of the film, according to David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, who called it a "ponderous, stately affair."

Morton appeared in Cider with Rosie, a made-for-television adaptation of Laurie Lee's book The Last Panthers, inspired by the legendary Balkan jewel robbers the Pink Panthers, in 2015. Morton characterized her as a "very honest, [...] strong woman" and referred to her as a "female Bond." "Morton may be a difficult sell as someone so hard-boiled at first, but the taciturn, untouchable edifice she showcases has just enough poison at the edges to make it a contender for a six-hour miniseries."

Morton appeared in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), a spin-off from the Harry Potter film series, starring J. K. Rowling. In the film, she played Mary Lou Barebone, the leader of a fanatical group whose aims include detecting and killing wizards and witches. Fantastic Beasts became Morton's most popular and widely seen film at the international box office.

Rillington Place (also 2016), based on serial killer John Christie's murder of many people in London during the 1940s and early 1950s, she narrated the three-part television crime drama Rillington Place, based on the life of serial killer John Christie, who murdered many women in London during the 1940s and early 1950s. Ethel, Morton's wife, was played opposite Tim Roth in Christie's Ethel. Morton became entangled by their romance, and thought that "the psychologic component of love" in the story "actually enhanced [her] acting chops" was a challenge, but that "to play someone so submissive" as Ethel was "intuitive." Critics loved the miniseries as it premiered on BBC One and was warmly received by commentators. Morton was found to be "strong" in her "difficult role," according to The Guardian, she "gave a good, nuanced appearance" as "a woman trapped under her husband's spell."

Morton has appeared in the Hulu period drama series Harlots, beginning in 2017. Margaret Wells, the madam of a low-class brothel who is on a quest to raise her fortunes, is depicted by the actress. Critics and fans alike have been very encouraging. "While the job does not afford Morton the opportunity to stretch her acting muscles as, for example, Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown, she lends depth and moral tension to a woman who could easily be a pantomime dame in the wrong hands," the Telegraph revealed.

Morton was cast in the role of Alpha in The Walking Dead in July 2018, marking her first appearance in February 2019. Alpha is the devilish leader of the Whisperers, a slew of zombie survivors who — as a measure of self-concealment — wear skins stolen from the undead.

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