Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 27 May 1977),[1] sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a British actress. She has won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC's 2005 adaptation of Bleak House and "N" in Channel 4's 2008 adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare. She is also known for her roles as DCS Patricia Carmichael in BBC One crime drama Line of Duty (2019–present) and as Kelly Major in Code 404 (2020–present). From 2016 to 2021, Maxwell Martin played the lead role in BBC TV comedy Motherland for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.
Anna Maxwell Martin | |
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Born | Anna Charlotte Martin (1977-05-27) 27 May 1977 (age 45) Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2001–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Her theatre work includes the role of Lyra Belacqua in the production of His Dark Materials (2003–2004) at the National Theatre.
Anna Charlotte Martin was born in Beverley on 27 May 1977 to Rosalind (née Lugassy)[2] and Ivan Martin.[3] Her father was managing director of a pharmaceutical company and her mother was a research scientist. Her mother gave up her job to bring up Anna and her elder brother Adam. She attended Beverley High School where she appeared in school plays. After she left school, Maxwell Martin studied history at Liverpool University.[3]
Maxwell Martin joined the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) after completing her studies at Liverpool. She added the name Maxwell (her grandfather's name) to her surname to distinguish her from another member with the same name when she joined Equity.[citation needed]
Maxwell Martin first came to prominence on the London stage playing the leading role of Lyra in the National Theatre's production of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. She was then cast in the part of Bessie Higgins in the BBC television adaptation Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South in 2004, and made a guest appearance in the 2005 series of Doctor Who. She played Esther Summerson, the central character in the 2005 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens's Bleak House, for which she won the Best Actress BAFTA Television Award in 2006.[4]
In January 2006, Maxwell Martin took part in a reading of The Entertainer at the Royal Court Theatre, and in February and March she appeared in Laura Wade's Other Hands, directed by Bijan Sheibani at the Soho Theatre. She is the narrator of the CD version of The Foreshadowing, a children's book about the First World War by Marcus Sedgwick, which was published in May 2006. In the same year she worked on I Really Hate My Job, directed by Oliver Parker and, from October 2006 to April 2007, played Sally Bowles in Bill Kenwright and Rufus Norris's West End production of Cabaret at the Lyric Theatre.[citation needed]
She played Cassandra Austen in Becoming Jane, a 2007 film about the early life of the novelist Jane Austen, starring American actress Anne Hathaway in the title role. At the end of the year she played the gaoler's daughter in Lee Hall's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, a multimillion-pound production by Box TV for BBC One, and was the joint narrator (with Anton Lesser) of the CD version of Tamar, a children's book about the Second World War by Mal Peet, which was published in December 2007.[5]
In 2008, she starred in the BBC Two drama White Girl and with Naomie Harris in Channel 4's adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare, for which she won her second Best Actress BAFTA Television Award in 2009.[6]
From July to October of that year, she appeared with Dame Eileen Atkins in The Female of the Species at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. She also appeared in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel Crooked House. In July 2009 she appeared in the BBC Two drama Freefall, and played Neil Armstrong's wife, Janet, in Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, an ITV1 drama documentary to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.[5]
In February 2010, she played freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke in On Expenses, a BBC Four satirical drama, and later played Isabella in Shakespeare's Measure For Measure at the Almeida Theatre.[citation needed]
In February 2011, she played Sarah Burton in a three-part BBC adaptation of Winifred Holtby's novel South Riding.[7] On 12 July 2011, she played Kay Langrish in a BBC Two dramatisation of The Night Watch.[8][9] Beginning in September 2012, she starred in the drama mini-series The Bletchley Circle (2012–2014). On 4 September 2012, she appeared in Jimmy McGovern's Accused.
In December 2013 she returned to the world of Jane Austen, starring as Elizabeth Darcy in the BBC Christmas season drama Death Comes to Pemberley, a three-part television adaptation of the P. D. James novel of the same name which continues the events of Austen's Pride and Prejudice six years after Darcy and Elizabeth's marriage, with a murder mystery plot involving the same characters.[5]
In 2015, she played Mary Shelley in ITV drama series The Frankenstein Chronicles.[10] She also starred in the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None as Ethel Rogers.
In 2017, she played the lead role in sitcom Motherland. The show returned for a second series in 2019 and another in May 2021.
In 2019, she played Beelzebub, leader of the denizens of Hell, in the Amazon Prime TV serial Good Omens, based on the book by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. In the same year she joined the cast of Line of Duty during its fifth series playing DCS Patricia Carmichael, a role she reprised in series six.[11]
In 2021, she played the co-lead role in Hollington Drive an ITV television drama series that began broadcasting on 29 September 2021. Created and written by Sophie Petzal, the series follows two sisters, Theresa (Anna Maxwell Martin) and Helen (Rachael Stirling), and their families as they grapple with the potential crime of their children.
Maxwell Martin was married to film director Roger Michell after his divorce from Kate Buffery. The couple have two daughters.[12] In April 2020, Maxwell Martin announced that the couple had separated.[13] Michell died in September 2021.[14]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
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2002 | Midsomer Murders | Arabella Heywood | TV series (1 episode: "Murder on St. Malley's Day") |
Eddie Loves Mary | Interviewee | Short | |
2004 | Enduring Love | Penny | Film |
North & South | Bessie Higgins | TV mini-series | |
2005 | Doctor Who | Suki Macrae Cantrell | TV series (1 episode: "The Long Game") |
Bleak House | Esther Summerson | BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress | |
2006 | The Other Man | Christine | Short |
The Wind in the Willows | Gaoler's Daughter | TV film | |
2007 | I Really Hate My Job | Madonna | Film |
Becoming Jane | Cassandra Austen | Film | |
2008 | White Girl | Debbie | TV film |
Poppy Shakespeare | N | BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress | |
2009 | Free Agents | Sophie | TV series (3 episodes) |
Freefall | Mandy Potter | TV film | |
Moonshot | Janet Armstrong | TV film | |
2010 | On Expenses | Heather Brooke | TV film |
2011 | South Riding | Sarah Burton | Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress |
CBeebies Bedtime Stories | Herself | TV series (5 episodes) | |
The Night Watch | Kay Langrish | TV film | |
2012 | Accused | Tina Dhakin | TV series (1 episode: "Tina's Story") |
2012–2014 | The Bletchley Circle | Susan Gray | TV series (5 episodes) |
2013 | Death Comes to Pemberley | Elizabeth Darcy | TV mini-series |
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa | ACC Janet Whitehead | Film | |
Philomena | Jane | Film | |
2014 | The Life of Rock with Brian Pern | Jess Hunt | TV mini-series |
The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies | Janine | TV 2-part mini-series | |
2015 | And Then There Were None | Ethel Rogers | TV 3 part mini-series |
Midwinter of the Spirit | Reverend Merrily Watkins | TV 3 part mini-series | |
The Frankenstein Chronicles | Mary Shelley | TV series (4 episodes) | |
2016 | Reg | Sally Keys | TV film[15] |
Chubby Funny | Sally | Film | |
Motherland | Julia | TV pilot | |
2017 | Tracey Ullman's Show | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |
2017–2021 | Motherland | Julia | Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance |
2018 | Urban Myths | Agatha Christie | TV series (1 episode: "Agatha Christie") |
Mother's Day | Wendy Parry | TV film | |
2019 | Good Omens | Beelzebub | TV series |
Ilkley | DCI Brough | Main role | |
2019–present | Line of Duty | DCS Patricia Carmichael | TV series |
2019 | The Personal History of David Copperfield | Mrs Strong | Film |
2020–present | Code 404 | Kelly Major | TV series |
2020 | The Duke | Ms. Gowling | |
2021 | The Irregulars | Edith Dubois | TV Series |
Hollington Drive | Theresa | ITV drama series | |
2022 | Mandy | Eva | Comedy series (1 Episode: "SpaceMandy") |
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Herself (Star Guest Announcer) | Series 18, Episode 5 | |
Who Do You Think You Are? | Herself | Series 19, Episode 4 | |
TBC | A Spy Among Friends[16] | TV series; In post-production | |
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: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | The Little Foxes | Alexandra | Donmar Warehouse | |
2001–2 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Lucy | RSC at the Sadler's Wells Theatre | |
2002 | The Coast of Utopia | Alexandra/Maria/Tata | Royal National Theatre | |
2003 | Honour | Sophie | Royal National Theatre | |
2003 | Three Sisters | Irina | Royal National Theatre | |
2003–4 | His Dark Materials | Lyra | Royal National Theatre | |
2004 | Dumb Show | Liz | Royal Court Theatre, West End | |
2006 | Other Hands | Hayley | Soho Theatre[17] | |
2006–7 | Cabaret | Sally Bowles | Lyric Theatre, West End[18] | |
2008 | The Female of the Species | Molly Rivers | Vaudeville Theatre, West End[19] | |
2010 | Measure for Measure | Isabella | Almeida Theatre[20] | |
2013 | Di and Viv and Rose | Rose | Hampstead Theatre[21] | |
2014 | King Lear | Regan | Royal National Theatre[22] | |
2015–6 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Young Vic[23] | |
2017 | Consent | Kitty | Royal National Theatre[24] | |
2021 | Constellations | Arlene | Vaudeville Theatre, West End[25] | |
Sophie Heawood (26 August 2018), "Interview—Anna Maxwell Martin", The Observer.
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