Sinéad Moira Cusack is an
IrishIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
stage, television and film actress. She has received two
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations: once for
Best Leading ActressThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
in
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
(1985), and again for
Best Featured ActressThis is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
in
Rock 'n' RollRock 'n' Roll is a play by British playwright Tom Stoppard that premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.-Plot summary:The play is concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the socialist movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia between the Prague Spring of...
(2008).
Background
Cusack was born
Jane Moira Cusack, the daughter of Maureen Cusack (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Kiely) and
Cyril CusackCyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
, both actors. She is the sister of actresses
Sorcha CusackSorcha Cusack Born in Dublin on 9 April 1949, She has made many film and television appearances including The Bill, Casualty , the 1973 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and the worldwide hit movie Snatch as the traveller mother of Mickey played by Brad Pitt...
,
Niamh CusackNiamh Cusack is an Irish actress. The daughter of late Irish actor Cyril Cusack, she is the sister of Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, and half sister of Catherine Cusack. Cusack played Dr Kate Rowan in the television drama series Heartbeat...
and half-sister to
Catherine CusackCatherine Cusack is a British actress. She is the half-sister of the actresses Sinéad Cusack, Sorcha Cusack and Niamh Cusack, and the fourth daughter of the actor Cyril Cusack and his second wife Mary Rose Cunningham's only child...
.
Career
Her first acting roles were at the
Abbey TheatreThe Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
in
Dublin. In 1970, she starred with
Peter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
in the
filmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
HoffmanHoffman is a 1970 British film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Peter Sellers, Sinéad Cusack, Jennifer Ruth Dunning and Jeremy Bulloch....
. In 1971, she guest starred in an episode of
The Persuaders!The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
(starring
Tony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
and
Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
) as Jenny Lindley, a wealthy heiress who suspects that a man claiming to be her dead brother is in fact an impostor.
In 1975, she moved to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and joined the
Royal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. She made her Broadway debut in 1984 performing in repertory with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Starring opposite
Derek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, she played Roxane in
Anthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
' translation of
Edmond RostandEdmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
's
Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
(having taken the role over from
Alice KrigeAlice Maud Krige is a South African actress. Her first feature film role was as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the 1981 Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire...
, who played Roxane through the play's London run) and Beatrice in William Shakespeare's
Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, directed by
Terry HandsTerence David Hands is an English theatre director. He ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for 20 years during one of its most successful periods.-Early years:...
. The production of
Cyrano de Bergerac was later filmed in 1985.
Much Ado was first produced at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1982-83, then moved to London's Barbican Theatre for the 1983-1984 season where it was joined by
Cyrano, before both plays came to New York's Gershwin Theatre from October 1984 to January 1985, for which Cusack received a
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for her performance as Beatrice, and costar
JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
won the award for his Benedick. During this period, Cusack and her husband,
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
, appeared in a "Shakespeare Winter's Eve", a major fundraiser for the
Riverside Shakespeare CompanyThe Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...
in New York, along with other members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Following the Broadway run, the plays toured the US, making stops in Washington DC and Los Angeles. She appeared in the 1992 film adaptation of
Graham SwiftGraham Colin Swift FRSL is a British author. He was born in London, England and educated at Dulwich College, London, Queens' College, Cambridge, and later the University of York. He was a friend of Ted Hughes...
's novel
WaterlandWaterland is a 1983 novel by Graham Swift. It is considered to be the author's premier novel and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize .In 1992, the book was made into a film version....
, alongside her husband
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
.
One of her best known stage roles was
Our Lady of Sligo in 1998, in which she played the principal role of Mai O'Hara in performances in Ireland, on
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and at the
National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. She also starred in the 2004 BBC miniseries
North and South in a scene-stealing role as Mrs. Thornton, and in the 2006 film
V for VendettaV for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. It is an adaptation of the V for Vendetta comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd...
.
She was awarded the 1998
Evening Standard AwardThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
for Best Actress and the 1998 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress. In 2006, she starred in the BBC sitcom
Home Again.
Along with other actresses, including Paola Dionisotti,
Fiona ShawFiona Shaw, CBE is an Irish actress and theatre director. Although to international audiences she is probably most familiar for her minor role as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films, she is an accomplished classical actress...
,
Juliet StevensonJuliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
and
Harriet WalterDame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
, Cusack contributed to a book by Carol Rutter called
Clamorous Voices: Shakespeare's Women Today (1994). The book analyzed modern acting interpretations of female Shakespearean roles.
She is currently starring in the TV series
CamelotCamelot is a historical-fantasy-drama television series which premiered on April 1, 2011. It was co-produced by the Starz cable network and GK-TV which began production during the summer of 2010...
.
Personal life
She married
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
in 1978, and they have two sons, Samuel James (Sam), born 16 September 1978, and Maximilian Paul (known as
Max IronsMaximilian Paul Diarmuid "Max" Irons is an English film actor and model. He is perhaps most noted for his leading role in Red Riding Hood....
), born 17 October 1985.
Prior to marrying Irons, Cusack gave birth to a son in 1968 and placed the child for adoption. Cusack and her son, revealed to be the Irish politician
Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett is an Irish politician who is currently a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency.Boyd Barrett is a former member of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and chair of the Irish Anti-War Movement and is frequently cited in the Irish media...
, have since been reunited. Cusack campaigned for Boyd Barrett when he stood unsuccessfully in Ireland's 2007 general election as the
People Before Profit AllianceThe People Before Profit Alliance is an Irish political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.-Overview:It was established by the Socialist Workers Party...
's candidate for
Dún Laoghaire constituencyDún Laoghaire is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
. She also joined him in the count centre as he awaited the outcome of the 2011 general election, at which he was elected to
Dáil ÉireannDáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
.
Sinead Cusack is a patron of the
Burma Campaign UKBurma Campaign UK founded in 1991 is a London based Non Governmental Organisation that aims to achieve the 'restoration of human rights and democracy in Burma . BCUK campaigns on behalf of the Burmese pro-democracy movement and is the largest campaigning organisation for Burma in Europe...
, the London based group campaigning for human rights and democracy in Burma.
In 1998 Cusack was named, along with her husband
Jeremy IronsJeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
, in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
In August 2010 Cusack signed the "Irish artists' pledge to boycott Israel" initiated by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Filmography
- Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed Alfred the Great's struggle to rid Wessex of the invading Danes, in the 870s AD. It starred David Hemmings in the title role.-Plot:...
(1969)
- Hoffman
Hoffman is a 1970 British film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Peter Sellers, Sinéad Cusack, Jennifer Ruth Dunning and Jeremy Bulloch....
(1970)
- Tam Lin (1970)
- Revenge
Revenge is a 1971 British thriller film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Joan Collins, James Booth and Sinéad Cusack. A family seek brutal revenge on the man who attacked their daughter.-Cast:* Joan Collins - Carol Radford...
(1971)
- The Last Remake of Beau Geste
The Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 American historical comedy film. It starred and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the novel Beau Geste, a frequently-filmed story of brothers and their adventures in the French Foreign Legion. The humor is...
(1977)
- Dublin Murders (1985)
- Rocket Gibraltar
Rocket Gibraltar is an American film released in 1988, directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Burt Lancaster and Patricia Clarkson. In the movie, an aging patriarch reunites his entire family for his birthday, but personal and social problems abound.-Cast:...
(1988)
- Venus Peter
Venus Peter is a 1989 British drama film directed by Ian Sellar and produced by Christopher Young for Young films. The film is an adopation of the novel A Twelvemonth and a Day by Christopher Rush. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It was filmed on...
(1989)
- Waterland
Waterland is a 1992 film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Graham Swift. The film starred Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, Ethan Hawke, and John Heard.-Plot:...
(1992)
- Bad Behaviour
Bad Behaviour is a 1993 British comedy film directed by Les Blair and starring Stephen Rea, Sinéad Cusack and Philip Jackson. The film depicts an Irish couple living with their family in North London.-Cast:* Stephen Rea - Gerry McAllister...
(1993)
- The Cement Garden
The Cement Garden is a 1993 British drama film directed by Andrew Birkin, based on the novel of the same name. It was entered into the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival where Birkin won the Silver Bear for Best Director.-Plot:...
(1993)
- Sparrow
Sparrow is a 1993 Italian drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli. It is an adaptation of Giovanni Verga's novel, Storia di una capinera and was filmed in Sicily in 1993...
(1993)
- Uncovered
Uncovered is a 1994 film based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Flanders Panel. It was directed by Jim McBride. The leading actress was Kate Beckinsale as the main character Julia.-Plot:...
(1994)
- Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty is a 1996 drama film directed by Academy Award-winning Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and written by Bertolucci and Susan Minot. It stars Liv Tyler, D.W. Moffett, Jeremy Irons, and Rachel Weisz...
(1996)
- The Nephew
The Nephew is a 1998 film directed by Eugene Brady, which tells the story of a young biracial American man, Chad Egan-Washington .-Plot:...
(1998)
- Passion of Mind
Passion of Mind is a 2000 American psychological drama film starring Demi Moore. It was the first English-language film from Belgian director Alain Berliner, best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose.-Plot:...
(2000)
- My Mother Frank
My Mother Frank is a multi-award-winning Australian film released in 2000.-Plot outline:David Kennedy is preparing to go to university. His mother, Francis is a widow and has very little social life. David tells her that she should get out more and much to his surprise, Frank enrolls at the same...
(2000)
- Dream (2001)
- I Capture the Castle
I Capture The Castle is a 2003 film directed by Tim Fywell. It is based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Dodie Smith and was adapted to screenplay by Heidi Thomas...
(2003)
- Mathilde
Mathilde is a 2004 drama film written and directed by Nina Mimica and starring Jeremy Irons, Nutsa Kukhianidze and Sinéad Cusack. It was a co-production between several different countries. A young girl attempts to kill a UN peacekeeper after the war in Croatia, leading to an investigation into the...
(2004)
- North and South (TV serial) (2004)
- V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a 2005 dystopian thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. It is an adaptation of the V for Vendetta comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd...
(2006)
- The Tiger's Tail
The Tiger's Tail is a 2006 Irish film directed by John Boorman. It stars Brendan Gleeson and Kim Cattrall. The story focuses on the modern Celtic Tiger Irish economy of the late 20th century.-Plot:...
(2006)
- Eastern Promises (2007)
- Cracks
Cracks is an independent drama film starring Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, and Imogen Poots, which was released theatrically in the UK and Ireland on December 4, 2009...
(2009)
External links