Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in Trainspotting (1996), Gosford Park (2001), Intermission (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), No Country for Old Men (2007), Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Brave (2012), the Black Mirror episode "Hated in the Nation" (2016), Line of Duty (2021) and Operation Mincemeat (2021).
Kelly Macdonald | |
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Born | (1976-02-23) 23 February 1976 (age 46) Glasgow, Scotland |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1996–present |
Spouse | Dougie Payne
(m. 2003; sep. 2017) |
Children | 2 |
For the 2005 television film The Girl in the Cafe, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.
For her performance in the 2007 film No Country for Old Men, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
She went on to star for five seasons in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014) as Margaret Thompson, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and two nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
Macdonald was born on 23 February 1976 in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Neilston. Her parents divorced when she was young. She was raised along with her brother David, by her mother, who was a garment industry sales executive. Macdonald attended Eastwood High School from 1989 to 1993.[1]
Macdonald's career began while working as a barmaid in Glasgow.[2] She saw a leaflet advertising an open casting session for Trainspotting and decided to audition, winning the part of Diane,[3] the underage seductress to Ewan McGregor's Renton. Other roles include Mary O'Neary in Two Family House,[4] and an actress playing Peter Pan in Finding Neverland.[5] She had major roles in Robert Altman's British period piece Gosford Park,[6] where she played an aristocrat's maid, and in Intermission (2003), as Deirdre.[7]
On radio, she portrayed Mary in the 1999 BBC radio drama Lifehouse, based on Pete Townshend's abandoned rock opera, some of the songs for which were released on The Who's album Who's Next.[8] On television, her highest profile roles have been in two BBC dramas, the Paul Abbott serial State of Play (2003),[9] and the one-off Richard Curtis piece The Girl in the Café (2005).[10] Both of these were directed by David Yates, and both also starred Bill Nighy. For her performance in The Girl in the Café, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film in 2006,[11] and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.[12]
Macdonald had a supporting role in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men (2007), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[13] It was reported that she had to fight her agent to be considered for the role, but Macdonald later denied the story.[14]
Other films where she had supporting roles include Choke (2008), the film adapted by Clark Gregg from the 2001 Chuck Palahniuk novel, as Paige Marshall; In the Electric Mist (2009) (based on James Lee Burke's In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (1993), as Kelly Drummond, alongside Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman; and Skellig (2009), as Louise.[15] She played the lead in The Merry Gentleman (2008).[16]
In 2011, she played the "Grey Lady" (revealed to be Helena Ravenclaw) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the final instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise. She replaced Nina Young, who originally played the role. In 2012, she provided the voice of Merida, the heroine of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, and played Dolly in Anna Karenina. She starred in the romantic comedy film The Decoy Bride, which was released in 2012.[17]
From 2010 until its ending in 2014, she starred in the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire as Margaret Thompson, the wife of Prohibition-era Atlantic City crime boss Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). She appeared in all five seasons of the series. In 2011, she and the rest of the show's cast were awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2016, she starred in Ricky Gervais' Special Correspondents as Claire Maddox,[18] and Swallows and Amazons as Mrs. Walker.[19] In 2016, she played the lead role in "Hated in the Nation", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror for which she received critical acclaim.[20] On 3 November 2016 Macdonald was featured in the trailer for Danny Boyle's T2 Trainspotting confirming she would reprise her role as Diane from the original film, which she did. In 2017, she co-starred opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC film The Child in Time. Macdonald played the guest lead in the sixth series of the BBC's police drama Line of Duty.[21]
In August 2003, Macdonald married musician Dougie Payne, bassist of soft rock band Travis. They have two sons. They moved back to their hometown of Glasgow in 2014, after living in London and New York City.[22][23] They separated in 2017.[24]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1996 | Trainspotting | Diane Coulston | Film debut |
1996 | Dancing, Some Days | Sharon | Short film[25] |
1996 | Stella Does Tricks | Stella McGuire | |
1997 | Dead Eye Dick | Wendy | Short film |
1998 | Cousin Bette | Hortense Hulot | |
1998 | Elizabeth | Isabel Knollys | |
1999 | Splendor | Mike | |
1999 | Entropy | Pia | |
1999 | The Loss of Sexual Innocence | Susan | |
1999 | My Life So Far | Elspeth Pettigrew | |
1999 | Tube Tales | Emma | Segment: "Mr. Cool" |
2000 | Two Family House | Mary O'Neary | |
2000 | House! | Linda | |
2000 | Some Voices | Laura | |
2001 | Strictly Sinatra | Irene | |
2001 | Gosford Park | Mary Maceachran | |
2003 | Intermission | Deirdre | |
2004 | Finding Neverland | Peter Pan | |
2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Reporter Jin Jenz | |
2005 | All the Invisible Children | Jonathan's wife | Segment: "Jonathan" |
2005 | Nanny McPhee | Evangeline | |
2005 | Lassie | Jeanie | |
2005 | A Cock and Bull Story | Jenny | |
2007 | No Country for Old Men | Carla Jean Moss | |
2008 | The Merry Gentleman | Kate Frazier | |
2008 | Choke | Paige Marshall | |
2009 | In the Electric Mist | Kelly Drummond | |
2011 | The Decoy Bride | Katie Nic Aodh | |
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | Helena Ravenclaw | |
2012 | Brave | Princess Merida | Voice |
2012 | Anna Karenina | Dolly Oblonskaya | |
2016 | Special Correspondents | Claire Maddox | |
2016 | Swallows and Amazons | Mrs. Walker | |
2016 | The Journey Is the Destination | Duff | |
2017 | T2 Trainspotting | Diane Coulston | |
2017 | Goodbye Christopher Robin | Olive Rand | |
2018 | Puzzle | Agnes | |
2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Princess Merida | Voice |
2018 | Holmes & Watson | Mrs. Hudson | |
2019 | Dirt Music | Georgie Jutland | |
2021 | Operation Mincemeat | Jean Leslie | |
2022 | I Came By | Lizzie Nealey | |
TBD | Typist Artist Pirate King | Sandra Panza | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1996 | Flowers of the Forest | Amy Ogilvie | Television film |
2003 | Brush with Fate | Aletta Pieters | Television film |
2003 | State of Play | Della Smith | 6 episodes |
2005 | Alias | Kiera MacLaine/Meghan Keene | Episode: "Ice" |
2005 | The Girl in the Café | Gina | Television film |
2009 | Skellig | Louise/Mum | Television film |
2010–2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Margaret Thompson | 45 episodes |
2016 | Black Mirror | DCI Karin Parke | Episode: "Hated in the Nation" |
2017 | The Child in Time | Julie | Television film |
2019 | The Victim | Anna Dean | Television miniseries |
2019 | Giri/Haji | DC Sarah Weitzmann | Main role |
2019 | Urban Myths | Princess Margaret | Series 3, Episode 8 : "Mick and Margaret" |
2020 | Truth Seekers | Jojo74 | Episode: "The Ghost of the Beast of Bodmin" |
2021 | Line of Duty | DCI Joanne Davidson | Main role, Series 6 |
2022 | Ten Percent | As herself | Guest appearance : Season 1, Episode 1 |
TBD | Never Let Me Go | Juliette |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2012 | Brave | Merida | Voice |
Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
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1997 | Trainspotting | BAFTA Scotland Awards | Best Film Actress | Nominated |
2000 | Two Family House | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Female Lead | Nominated |
2002 | Gosford Park | Online Film Critics Society | Best Cast | Won |
Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated | ||
Satellite Awards | Best Cast – Motion Picture | Won | ||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won | ||
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated | ||
Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Ensemble Cast | Won | ||
2003 | Empire Awards | Best British Actress | Nominated | |
2006 | The Girl in the Café | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Won |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
2008 | Choke | Sundance Film Festival | Special Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Ensemble Cast | Won |
No Country for Old Men | Online Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated | ||
London Film Critics' Circle | Supporting Actress of the Year | Won | ||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Won | ||
2011 | Boardwalk Empire | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | ||
Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
2012 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | |
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | ||
Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Brave | Annie Awards | Outstanding Voice Acting in a Feature Production | Nominated | |
2017 | Goodbye Christopher Robin | British Independent Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
2019 | The Victim | British Academy Scotland Awards | Best Actress Television | Won |
2021 | Line of Duty | Nominated | ||
Audience Award | Nominated | |||
Eastwood High School, where she was a pupil, has a drama studio and theatre named in her honour.[1]
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