If Miriam Margolyes had never appeared in a single film, she would still have a special place in the history of British television. While attending Oxford University, she appeared on the game show University Challenge, and, after getting a question wrong during a live broadcast, had the dubious distinction of being the first person to say "fuck" on the British airwaves. Luckily for filmgoers, though, she didn't let the shame destroy her career, and has gone on to become one of the most sought-after character actresses in the English film industry. A veteran of a number of television gigs, like former That Gal! Natasha Richardson, she was a regular on The Black Adder (including a memorable portrayal of Queen Victoria), but it's on film where she's shone the brightest. The diminutive Margolyes stands only five feet tall, and doesn't have the toned body that would have made her a superstar, but her forceful personality, distinctively pitched voice (she was Fly the Sheepdog in the Babe films), and great versatility have secured her a place in British cinema history in a number of roles that it's hard to imagine anyone else doing. Equally at home with drama or comedy, and able to convey unladylike, rip-snorting hilarity with as much ease as she can towering rage or deep sympathy, the openly lesbian Margolyes got her start in theatre and is frequently cited by the gay press in the U.K. as one of the country's most prominent 'out' personalities. She's enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic among critics, even if her name isn't on the tip of every casting director's tongue; she's won Best Supporting Actress awards from both BAFTA and the Los Angeles Critics Circle. And while the public may not immediately be able to recall her name, her face, with its tight mouth and bulging eyes, is immediately memorable to everyone who sees her. Recently, Margolyes has announced her decision to become an Australian citizen; if she goes through with it, England will lose one its most talented actresses.
Where to see Miriam Margolyes at her best:
LITTLE DORRIT (1988)
Miriam Margolyes had already been acting for over twenty years, and making movies for a dozen, when Christine Edzard cast her as Flora Finching in her film adaptation of this Charles Dickens novel. It turned out to be her breakthrough role; she stole every scene she was in and won a Best Supporting Actress award from the L.A. Critics Circle. The part has stayed with her; she's currently touring in a one-woman show called Dickens' Women in which Flora has pride of place.
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993)
When Martin Scorsese gave Margolyes the role of Mrs. Mingott in his Edith Wharton adaptation, she was fifty-two years old — the age at which an actress who'd worked as hard as she had should start to get the recognition she deserved. And as the sole comic character in the rather grim drama of manners, she finally did: it won her wide acclaim in the United States for the first time in her career, and back home, it netted her a Best Supporting Actress honor from BAFTA. Her terrific performance in The Age of Innocence signaled a career renaissance.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2002)
It's hardly the best of the Harry Potter films, but any role in the blockbuster franchise is a healthy paycheck, and Margoyles certainly deserved one when she took on the role of Hogwarts herbologist Prof. Pomona Sprout. It would have been easy enough to just cash the check and sleepwalk through the part, but Margoyles, as she does with her best comic roles, sinks her teeth into it, getting the most mileage she can out of every moment she's on screen as the dowdy witch.
— Leonard Pierce