Jenny Agutter
| Jenny Agutter | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jennifer Ann Agutter 20 December 1952 Taunton, Somerset, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse | Johan Tham (m. 1990) |
| Children | Son |
| Website | |
| official website | |
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.
She played Alex Price in An American Werewolf in London, Jessica 6 in Logan's Run, Joanne Simpson in Child's Play 2 and Jill Mason in Equus. Since the 1990s, she has worked in sound recording, and she is a patron of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. After a break from acting she has appeared in several television series since 2000, including the British series Spooks.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Agutter is the daughter of Catherine (née Lynam) and Derek Brodie Agutter, a former British Army officer and entertainment organiser.[2] As a child, she lived in Dhekelia (Cyprus) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaya). She was discovered at Elmhurst Ballet School when a casting agent looked for a young English-speaking girl for a film. She did not get the part, but he recommended her to the producers of East of Sudan (1964).
[edit] Career
[edit] Television and film
Agutter came to television audiences as Kirsty in the twice-weekly BBC series, The Newcomers. Kirsty was the daughter of the new managing director, but Agutter could appear only during school holidays and was listed in credits as Jennifer. Later she played Roberta in The Railway Children and played the same part in Lionel Jeffries' 1970 film of the book. Her ingenuousness led to a more serious role in the thriller I Start Counting (1969). She also won an Emmy for her television role as Fritha in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Snow Goose (1971).
Agutter transitioned successfully to adult roles, beginning with Walkabout (1971), playing a teenage schoolgirl lost with her younger brother in the Australian outback. She auditioned for the role in 1967 but funding problems delayed filming until 1969. The delay meant Agutter was 16 at the time of filming, and the director took advantage of her coming of age by including nude scenes.[3] Among them was a five-minute skinny-dipping scene, which was cut from the original US release.[4] She said at the 2005 Bradford Film Festival at the National Media Museum that she was shocked by the film's explicitness but is on good terms with director Nicolas Roeg.[5]
Agutter moved to Hollywood at 21 and appeared in a number of films over the next decade, including The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Logan's Run (1976), Equus (1977) (for which she won a BAFTA as Best Supporting Actress), Sweet William (1980), and An American Werewolf in London (1981).
Since 1990, Agutter has brought up her son and her work has been in sound recordings and supporting charities, notably the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, of which she is a patron (she is also a carrier of the disease).[6] She was a guest in series 6 of Red Dwarf, and appeared in the TV series TECX, The All New Alexei Sayle Show, and And the Beat Goes On. In 2000, she made her third appearance in The Railway Children, produced by Carlton TV and this time playing the mother. In 2002, Agutter featured in the BBC television series Spooks and in 2007, she starred in the first episode of the new series of David Jason's ITV television series Diamond Geezer. In 2007, she also guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio drama The Bride of Peladon.
Agutter has stated that the innocence of the characters she played in early films, combined with the costumes and nudity in later adult roles such as Logan's Run (1976), Equus (1977) and An American Werewolf in London (1981), are "perfect fantasy fodder".[7][8]
[edit] Theatre
She has appeared in numerous theatre productions since her stage debut in 1970, including stints at the National Theatre in 1972/3, the title role in a derivation of Hedda Gabler at the Roundhouse in 1980, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982/3.
[edit] Personal life
Agutter remained single until 1989,[9] when at an arts festival in Bath, she met Johan Tham, a Swedish hotelier who was a director of Cliveden Hotel in Buckinghamshire. They married on 4 August 1990.[10] Their son Jonathan was born on 25 December 1990. They live in London. Agutter owns a second home in Cornwall at the Lizard (the most southerly point on the English mainland).
[edit] Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | East of Sudan | Asua | |
| 1966 | A Man Could Get Killed | Linda Frazier | |
| 1968 | Gates to Paradise | Maud | |
| 1968 | Star! | Pamela Roper | |
| 1969 | I Start Counting | Wynne | |
| 1970 | The Railway Children | Bobbie Waterbury | |
| 1970 | The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens | TV film | |
| 1971 | Walkabout | Girl | |
| 1971 | The Snow Goose | Frith | Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1972 | Shelley | Mary Shelley | BBC series |
| 1976 | Logan's Run | Jessica 6 | |
| 1976 | The Eagle Has Landed | Molly Prior | |
| 1977 | Equus | Jill Mason | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 1977 | The Man in the Iron Mask | Louise de la Vallière | TV film |
| 1977 | The Six Million Dollar Man ("Deadly Countdown" episode, parts 1 & 2) | Dr. Leah Russell | |
| 1978 | China 9, Liberty 37 | Catherine Sebanek | |
| 1979 | The Riddle of the Sands | Clara | |
| 1980 | Sweet William | Ann Walton | |
| 1981 | Othello | Desdemona | |
| 1981 | The Survivor | Hobbs | Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1981 | An American Werewolf in London | Nurse Alex Price | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress |
| 1984 | Secret Places | Miss Lowrie | |
| 1985 | Love's Labour's Lost | Rosaline | Television |
| 1985 | Magnum, P.I. | Krista Villeroch | Television |
| 1987 | Dark Tower | Carolyn Page | |
| 1989 | King of the Wind | Hannah Coke | |
| 1990 | Child's Play 2 | Joanne Simpson | |
| 1990 | Darkman | Burn Doctor | uncredited cameo |
| 1992 | Freddie as F.R.O.7 | Daffers | |
| 1993 | Red Dwarf ("Psirens" episode) | Prof. Mamet | Television |
| 2000 | The Railway Children | Mother | ITV |
| 2001 | The Parole Officer | Victor's Wife | |
| 2002 | At Dawning | Escaping woman | |
| 2002 | Spooks | Tessa Phillips | Television |
| 2004 | Number One Longing, Number Two Regret | Kenosha | |
| 2004 | The Alan Clark Diaries | Jane Clark | BBC TV series |
| 2005 | New Tricks (Series 2, episode 1) | Yvonne Barrie | BBC TV Series |
| 2007 | Diamond Geezer | Vanessa | ITV series |
| 2007 | Irina Palm | Jane | |
| 2008 | The Invisibles | Barbara Riley | BBC TV series |
| 2009 | Monday Monday | Jenny Mountfield | ITV1 TV series |
| 2009 | Glorious 39 | Maud Keyes | |
| 2011 | Outside Bet | Shirley Baxter | |
| 2012 | Call the Midwife | Sister Julienne | BBC TV Series |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Council member |
[edit] References
- ^ "Jenny Agutter". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/jenny_agutter.shtml. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ "Jenny Agutter Film Reference biography". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/47/Jenny-Agutter.html. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ Nowra, L. (2003). Walkabout. Sydney: Currency Press & Canberra: ScreenSound Australia, National Screen and Sound Archive, pp. 17–18; ISBN 9780868197005.
- ^ "Creative Spirits". Creativespirits.info. http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/walkabout.html. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ Jenny Agutter: A Charmed Career, 2006. Directed by Tony Earnshaw. National Museum of Photography, Film & Television.
- ^ Patrons [Cystic Fibrosis Trust]
- ^ McLean, G., 2002. My life in front of the lens. The Guardian, [internet] 22 February. Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/feb/22/artsfeatures2 and archived at http://www.webcitation.org/5jBN0KSUl.[Accessed 21 August 2009].
- ^ Crace, J., 1997. Interview: Almost forever young. The Independent, [internet] 8 December. Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-almost-forever-young-1287588.html and archived at http://www.webcitation.org/5jBNM9E2z. [Accessed 21 August 2009].
- ^ "BBC". BBC.co.uk. 2001-07-30. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/jenny_agutter.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ "Jenny Agutter". NNDB. http://www.nndb.com/people/368/000026290/. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
[edit] External links
- Jenny Agutter's Official Website
- BBC – Spooks – Jenny Agutter biography
- Jenny Agutter at the Internet Movie Database
- BBC Drama Faces – Jenny Agutter
- Jenny Agutter biography and credits at BFI Screenonline
- Interview in SAGA magazine May 2008
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
