Patricia Hodge
Encyclopedia
Patricia Ann Hodge is an English
actor
.
on Weelsby
Avenue in Grimsby
and then St. Helen's School
, Northwood, Middlesex
; before attending Maria Grey College (became West London Institute of Higher Education
in 1976 then the Twickenham campus of Brunel University
from 1995–2005), Twickenham
to train as a teacher. She undertook teaching drama in a primary school for a year, whilst also applying to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
,. She started at LAMDA when she was 22, being awarded on graduation the Eveline Evans Award for Best Actress.
on Pippin
. However, she found when applying for television work she had become classed as a theatre actress. Having made the break-through in the role of Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown in Rumpole of the Bailey
, she found when trying to make the occasional return to theatre work that she had been classed as a television actress. Finding the need to have a flexible career to care for her young children, Hodge made the decision to focus her career on the stage, and hence is mainly seen on television in focus parts and singular roles in-between chosen different theatre roles.
She has appeared in roles as diverse as in The Naked Civil Servant
opposite John Hurt
, as Margaret Thatcher
in The Falklands Play
, and in 2007 as Betty, the wife of tycoon Robert Maxwell
, in the BBC TV drama Maxwell opposite David Suchet
. She took the female lead in the 1983 film, Betrayal
(based on Harold Pinter
's play Betrayal
), a roman à clef
derived from the playwright's affair with broadcaster Joan Bakewell.
She was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in a television adaptation of Anita Brookner
's Hotel du Lac
in 1987, and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the production of Money at the Royal National Theatre
. Hodge is an Honorary Graduate (DLitt) of Brunel University
and one of the founder members of the Brunel Club.. Since 2009, she has played a comedy role in the BBC sitcom Miranda
, as the mother of the eponymous main character. She is joint President of Grimsby's Caxton Theatre.
. The couple have two children: Alexander Richard Charles (born March 1989); and Edward Frederick James (born January 1992).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion (née Phillips), Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar SchoolWintringham School
Oasis Academy Wintringham is a secondary school on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. It is just the A16 Peaks Parkway just south-west of the A46 crossroads next to the Lisle Marsden CE in Wellow and on the Grimsby/Cleethorpes boundary...
on Weelsby
Weelsby
Weelsby is located in the Weelsby Road area of eastern Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. Previously separate from Grimsby, Weelsby Woods and Weelsby Hall lie within the area, as does the Grimsby Tennis Centre, Peaks Lane fire station, Saint Andrews Hospice, Saint Hughs Hospital and the...
Avenue in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and then St. Helen's School
St. Helen's School
St. Helen's School, founded in 1899, is a selective independent day school in Northwood, North West London for girls aged three to eighteen. It is also the sister school of Merchant Taylors' School. It previously accepted boarders but as of Autumn 2009 the school is no longer a boarding school, and...
, Northwood, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
; before attending Maria Grey College (became West London Institute of Higher Education
West London Institute of Higher Education
The West London Institute of Higher Education was located in Isleworth, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it merged with Brunel University.- Establishment :...
in 1976 then the Twickenham campus of Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
from 1995–2005), Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
to train as a teacher. She undertook teaching drama in a primary school for a year, whilst also applying to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
,. She started at LAMDA when she was 22, being awarded on graduation the Eveline Evans Award for Best Actress.
Career
After graduation, she concentrated on theatre work and 18 months later worked with Bob FosseBob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
on Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
. However, she found when applying for television work she had become classed as a theatre actress. Having made the break-through in the role of Phyllida (Trant) Erskine-Brown in Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
, she found when trying to make the occasional return to theatre work that she had been classed as a television actress. Finding the need to have a flexible career to care for her young children, Hodge made the decision to focus her career on the stage, and hence is mainly seen on television in focus parts and singular roles in-between chosen different theatre roles.
She has appeared in roles as diverse as in The Naked Civil Servant
The Naked Civil Servant
The Naked Civil Servant is the title of two biographical works, both based on the life of Quentin Crisp:*The Naked Civil Servant is Crisp's 1968 autobiographical book...
opposite John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
, as Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
, and in 2007 as Betty, the wife of tycoon Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
, in the BBC TV drama Maxwell opposite David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
. She took the female lead in the 1983 film, Betrayal
Betrayal (1983 film)
Betrayal is a film adaptation of Harold Pinter's 1978 play of the same name. With a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Pinter, the film was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by David Jones. It was critically well received, praised notably by New York Times film critic Vincent Canby and by...
(based on Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's play Betrayal
Betrayal (play)
Betrayal is a play written by Harold Pinter in 1978. Critically regarded as one of the English playwright's major dramatic works, it features his characteristically economical dialogue, characters' hidden emotions and veiled motivations, and their self-absorbed competitive one-upmanship,...
), a roman à clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
derived from the playwright's affair with broadcaster Joan Bakewell.
She was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in a television adaptation of Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner CBE is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill, a suburb of London.-Early life and education:...
's Hotel du Lac
Hotel du Lac
Hotel du Lac is a 1984 Booker Prize winning novel by English writer Anita Brookner.-Plot:Romantic novelist Edith Hope is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, where her friends have advised her to retreat following an unfortunate incident...
in 1987, and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the production of Money at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. Hodge is an Honorary Graduate (DLitt) of Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
and one of the founder members of the Brunel Club.. Since 2009, she has played a comedy role in the BBC sitcom Miranda
Miranda (TV series)
Miranda is a BBC television series co-written by and starring comedienne Miranda Hart, which first aired on BBC Two on 9 November 2009. The situation comedy also features Sarah Hadland, Tom Ellis, Patricia Hodge, James Holmes and Sally Phillips...
, as the mother of the eponymous main character. She is joint President of Grimsby's Caxton Theatre.
Personal life
Hodge married music publisher Peter Douglas Owen on 31 July 1976 in TonbridgeTonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
. The couple have two children: Alexander Richard Charles (born March 1989); and Edward Frederick James (born January 1992).
Television roles
- 1975 The Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender Means is a novella written in 1963 by Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice.-Plot introduction:...
- 1975 The Naked Civil ServantThe Naked Civil ServantThe Naked Civil Servant is the title of two biographical works, both based on the life of Quentin Crisp:*The Naked Civil Servant is Crisp's 1968 autobiographical book...
- 1978-90 Rumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
- 1978 Edward and Mrs SimpsonEdward and Mrs SimpsonEdward & Mrs. Simpson is a seven-part British television series that dramatises the events leading to the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson....
- 1979 The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (TV series)The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, "Involvement" - 1979-82 Holding the Fort
- 1979-80, 1981 The Other 'ArfThe Other 'ArfThe Other 'Arf is a British television ITV sitcom series broadcast from 1980 to 1984. It stars John Standing as upper class Conservative politician Charles Latimer, MP, who begins a relationship with working class cockney Lorraine Watts .The series was produced by ATV , and was screened...
- 1980 NannyNanny (TV series)Nanny is a BBC television series that ran between 1981 and 1983. In this historical drama, Wendy Craig stars as nanny Barbara Gray, caring for children in 1930s England. When Barbara Gray leaves the divorce court she has no money, no job just an iron will and a love for children. The third series...
- 1981 Winston Churchill: The Wilderness YearsWinston Churchill: The Wilderness YearsWinston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 30s...
- 1983 Jemima Shore InvestigatesJemima ShoreJemima Shore is a fictional character created by Antonia Fraser, and is portrayed as TV's consummately professional investigative journalist...
- 1984 Hay FeverHay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
- 1986 The Death of the HeartThe Death of the HeartThe Death of the Heart is a 1938 novel by Elizabeth Bowen set between the two world wars. It is about a sixteen year old orphan, Portia Quayne, who moves to London to live with her half-brother Thomas and falls in love with Eddie, a friend of her sister-in-law.-Plot summary:At the beginning of the...
- 1986 The Life and Loves of a She-DevilThe Life and Loves of a She-DevilThe Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1983 novel by British feminist author Fay Weldon about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover...
- 1986 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes "The Second StainThe Adventure of the Second Stain"The Adventure of the Second Stain", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes....
" - 1986 Robin of SherwoodRobin of SherwoodRobin of Sherwood , was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel...
, "The Pretender" - 1986 Hotel du LacHotel du LacHotel du Lac is a 1984 Booker Prize winning novel by English writer Anita Brookner.-Plot:Romantic novelist Edith Hope is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, where her friends have advised her to retreat following an unfortunate incident...
- 1988 Heat of the Day
- 1989 Inspector MorseInspector Morse (TV series)Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
: "Ghost in the Machine" - 1989 The Shell SeekersThe Shell SeekersThe Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read...
- 1989 Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian FlemingSpymaker: The Secret Life of Ian FlemingSpymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming is a 1990 TV biographical film of the life of Ian Fleming, creator of the popular James Bond spy character, retracing his playboy youth, his expulsion from various colleges, his experiences as a newspaper writer and his tour of duty for the British...
- 1991 Rich Tea and Sympathy
- 1992 The Cloning of Joanna MayThe Cloning of Joanna MayThe Cloning of Joanna May is a 1989 science fiction novel by Fay Weldon.- Plot introduction:Joanna May was once married to Carl May, the wealthy CEO of a nuclear energy corporation, but they have been divorced for ten years after Joanna was caught in an incidental love affair. Since then, Carl May...
- 1996 The Legacy of Reginald Perrin
- 2002 The Falklands PlayThe Falklands PlayThe Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
- 2002 Waking the DeadWaking the Dead (TV series)Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series...
"Special Relationship" - 2003 Sweet MedicineSweet MedicineSweet Medicine is an ITV drama series from 2003 about a family doctor's surgery in the Peak District of northern England. Intended as a replacement for the hit medical drama Peak Practice, it was not a success. Only one ten-episode series was made, despite moderate audience figures...
- 2006 MarpleMarple (TV series)Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
"The Sittaford Mystery" - 2007 HustleHustle (TV series)Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
- 2007 Maxwell
- 2009 MirandaMiranda (TV series)Miranda is a BBC television series co-written by and starring comedienne Miranda Hart, which first aired on BBC Two on 9 November 2009. The situation comedy also features Sarah Hadland, Tom Ellis, Patricia Hodge, James Holmes and Sally Phillips...
Films
- The Disappearance, 1978
- Rosie Dixon - Night NurseRosie Dixon - Night NurseRosie Dixon - Night Nurse is a 1978 British comedy film directed by Justin Cartwright and starring Debbie Ash, Carolyne Argyle, Beryl Reid and John Le Mesurier. It was based on a novel by Christopher Wood. A new student nurse arrives at a hospital, attracting interest from the staff with comedic...
, 1978 - The Waterloo Bridge Handicap, 1979
- The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man (film)The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...
, 1980 - Heavy MetalHeavy Metal (film)Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian fantasy-animated film directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine....
, 1981 - Riding High, 1981
- BetrayalBetrayal (1983 film)Betrayal is a film adaptation of Harold Pinter's 1978 play of the same name. With a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Pinter, the film was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by David Jones. It was critically well received, praised notably by New York Times film critic Vincent Canby and by...
, 1983 - Behind Enemy Lines, 1985
- Dust to Dust, 1985
- Skin, 1986
- 92 Grosvenor Street, 1987
- Sunset, 1987
- Falcon's Maltester, 1987
- Thieves in the Night, 1988
- Just Ask for DiamondJust Ask for DiamondJust Ask for Diamond is a 1988 British comedy crime film directed by Stephen Bayly and starring Colin Dale, Saeed Jaffrey and Dursley McLinden. A pair of brothers are paid to take care of a confectionary box, but soon come under pressure from various people seeking its contents...
, 1988 - Before You Go, 2002
Stage
- No-One Was Saved, 1971
- Rookery Nook, 1972
- Popkiss, 1972
- Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1973
- Pippin, 1973
- Hair, 1974
- The Beggar's Opera, 1975
- Pal Joey, 1976
- Look Back in Anger, 1976
- Then and Now, 1979
- The Mitford Girls, 1981
- As You Like It, 1983
- Benefactors, 1984
- Lady in the Dark, 1988
- Noël and Gertie, 1989–90
- Shades, 1992
- Separate Tables, 1993
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1994
- A Little Night Music, 1995
- Money, 1999–2000
- "Summerfolk", 1999–2000
- "Noises Off" 2001-02
- "His Dark Materials", 2003–04
- Dream Me a Winter, 2006 (part of the Old VicOld VicThe Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
's '24 Hour Plays') - Boeing Boeing, 2007
- The Country Wife, 2007–08
- "The Clean House", 2008
- Calendar Girls, 2008
- The Breath of Life, 2011