Sophie Ward
Encyclopedia
Sophie Ward is an English actress and the daughter of actor, Simon Ward
.
. Other early films included Return to Oz
, Little Dorrit
and A Summer Story, and she also portrayed the unattainable love object in the video of Roxy Music
's song "Avalon". Often cast as an icy, distant Victorian
or an unattainable object of desire, Ward's choice of roles in the 1980s and early 1990s did not offer much variation. During the 1990s she turned her acting energies to stagework, with considerable acclaim and success. She has appeared in several Glasgow Citizens' Theatre productions including Private Lives
(as Amanda), Don Carlos
(as Queen Elizabeth) and most strikingly in Hamlet
as Ophelia. Her most recent films are Out of Bounds
(2003), in which she co-stars with Sophia Myles
and Celia Imrie
, and Book of Blood
(2008), co-starring Jonas Armstrong
and Reg Fuller.
Her television work includes the acclaimed mini-series A Dark Adapted Eye with Helena Bonham Carter
as the perfectly poised yet ultimately doomed Eden and the sweeping fantasy, Dinotopia
. More recently, Sophie had the recurring role of Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat. In 2008, Sophie joined the cast of Holby City
in a recurring role as Sophia Byrne, sister of surgeon Joseph Byrne.
.
Ward has a degree in Literature and Philosophy from The Open University. She has two sons by her former husband, Paul Hobson, a veterinary surgeon
: their marriage broke down in 1996 and she became involved with Rena Brannan, a female Korean-American writer. Ward had long been considered a 'Face of the 1980s' as a Vogue
model.
The previous year, Ward had appeared in the television film A Village Affair
, in which she played a bored housewife who leaves her husband for another woman. Ward was quoted as saying that her experience making A Village Affair helped clarify her own feelings regarding her sexuality, but also delayed her decision to come out
, as she did not want it to appear as if she were jumping on the bandwagon of the film's theme.
In August 2000, Ward and Brannan were married in a well-publicized ceremony held in London, before same-sex civil partnerships
were legalized in Britain. The couple and Ward's children live near Stroud, Gloucestershire
.
* Winner Best Actor (Female)
* Oscar Best Short Film
Simon Ward
Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
.
Career
One of Ward's early film roles was in the film Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
. Other early films included Return to Oz
Return to Oz
Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
, Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....
and A Summer Story, and she also portrayed the unattainable love object in the video of Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
's song "Avalon". Often cast as an icy, distant Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
or an unattainable object of desire, Ward's choice of roles in the 1980s and early 1990s did not offer much variation. During the 1990s she turned her acting energies to stagework, with considerable acclaim and success. She has appeared in several Glasgow Citizens' Theatre productions including Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
(as Amanda), Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
(as Queen Elizabeth) and most strikingly in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
as Ophelia. Her most recent films are Out of Bounds
Out of Bounds (2003 film)
Out of Bounds is a 2003 British psychological thriller starring Sophia Myles and Sophie Ward. It is the directorial debut of Merlin Ward, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...
(2003), in which she co-stars with Sophia Myles
Sophia Myles
-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
and Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
, and Book of Blood
Book of Blood
Book of Blood is a 2008 British Mystery-Drama-horror film directed by John Harrison and stars Jonas Armstrong, Sophie Ward and Doug Bradley.-Plot:...
(2008), co-starring Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong is an Irish-actor, raised in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, best known for his appearances on television in the United Kingdom, where he played the title role in the BBC One drama series Robin Hood.-Career:...
and Reg Fuller.
Her television work includes the acclaimed mini-series A Dark Adapted Eye with Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as the perfectly poised yet ultimately doomed Eden and the sweeping fantasy, Dinotopia
Dinotopia
Dinotopia is a fictional utopia created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is the setting for the book series with which it shares its name. Dinotopia is an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sentient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist peacefully as a single symbiotic...
. More recently, Sophie had the recurring role of Dr Helen Trent in long-running ITV drama Heartbeat. In 2008, Sophie joined the cast of Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
in a recurring role as Sophia Byrne, sister of surgeon Joseph Byrne.
Personal life
Ward's sister Kitty is married to stand-up comedian Michael McIntyreMichael McIntyre
Michael Hazen James McIntyre is an English stand-up comedian. He is well known for appearing at many British stand-up comedy events and for several roles on television stand-up programmes such as Live at the Apollo and his own show, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow...
.
Ward has a degree in Literature and Philosophy from The Open University. She has two sons by her former husband, Paul Hobson, a veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgeon is a term used to describe:*The full title of a vet, who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals, in the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth countries**See also Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom...
: their marriage broke down in 1996 and she became involved with Rena Brannan, a female Korean-American writer. Ward had long been considered a 'Face of the 1980s' as a Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
model.
The previous year, Ward had appeared in the television film A Village Affair
A Village Affair
A Village Affair is the name of a novel by prolific English romance author Joanna Trollope. The story concerns a housewife and mother who embarks on an affair with a female acquaintance. It was televised by ITV starring Sophie Ward, Kerry Fox and Nathaniel Parker ....
, in which she played a bored housewife who leaves her husband for another woman. Ward was quoted as saying that her experience making A Village Affair helped clarify her own feelings regarding her sexuality, but also delayed her decision to come out
Come Out
Come Out may refer to:*Come Out , a music piece by Steve Reich*Coming out, disclosing one's homosexuality or bisexuality.*"Come Out", a song by Camper van Beethoven from New Roman Times...
, as she did not want it to appear as if she were jumping on the bandwagon of the film's theme.
In August 2000, Ward and Brannan were married in a well-publicized ceremony held in London, before same-sex civil partnerships
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage...
were legalized in Britain. The couple and Ward's children live near Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
.
Film
- Little DorritLittle Dorrit (film)Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur...
- 1985 - AriaAriaAn aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
- 1985 - Return To OzReturn to OzReturn to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
- 1985 - Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
- 1985 - A Summer StoryA Summer StoryA Summer Story is a 1988 British drama film directed by Piers Haggard, with the script written by Penelope Mortimer, and starring James Wilby, Imogen Stubbs and Susannah York. In 1922, a man recalls the love affair he enjoyed with a woman before the First World War. The film is based on the John...
- 1986 - Young ToscaniniYoung ToscaniniYoung Toscanini is a 1988 Italian-French English-language biographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring C. Thomas Howell and Elizabeth Taylor. It charts the early career and romances of the conductor Toscanini....
- 1988 - A Demon In My ViewA Demon in My ViewA Demon in my View is a novel by British author Ruth Rendell. First published in 1976, it won the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year, gaining Rendell the first of six Dagger awards she received during her career, more than any other writer....
- 1989 - Una vita scellerata (film on Benevenuto Cellini) - 1989
- Seduction of a Priest - 1990
- Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë's Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was a 1992 feature film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights directed by Peter Kosminsky....
- 1992 - Crime & PunishmentCrime & PunishmentCrime & Punishment is a 2002 reality television spin-off of the Law & Order franchise. It premiered on NBC on Sunday, June 16, 2002, and ran through the summers of 2002, 2003, and 2004.-Description:...
- 1993 - The Big FallThe Big FallThe Big Fall is a 2005 Lebanese short animation, written and directed by the Lebanese director Antoine Waked.-Synopsis:It's dark. It's raining. The streets are empty. A contract killer goes for his next victim...
- 1996 - Bella DonnaBella Donna'Bella Donna or Belladonna is a name or alias used by two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe....
- 1998 - Crime and PunishmentCrime and Punishment (2002 film)Crime and Punishment is a 2002 film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name. The film starred Crispin Glover and Vanessa Redgrave and was directed by Menahem Golan.-Plot:...
- 2002 - Out of BoundsOut of Bounds (2003 film)Out of Bounds is a 2003 British psychological thriller starring Sophia Myles and Sophie Ward. It is the directorial debut of Merlin Ward, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...
- 2003 - Book of BloodBook of BloodBook of Blood is a 2008 British Mystery-Drama-horror film directed by John Harrison and stars Jonas Armstrong, Sophie Ward and Doug Bradley.-Plot:...
- 2008 - Jane EyreJane Eyre (2011 film)Jane Eyre is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. The screenplay is written by Moira Buffini based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë...
- 2011
Television
- Too Old To Fight - 1981
- A Time Of Indifference - 1987
- Casanova - 1987
- Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery - 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 - The Strauss Dynasty - 1990
- Class of '61Class of '61Class of '61 is a 1993 television film produced by Steven Spielberg as a projected television series about the American Civil War. The film was filmed in Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta and was the first collaboration between Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.-Plot:The film...
- 1991 - Events At Drimaghleen - 1991
- A Dark Adapted Eye - 1992
- Taking Liberty - 1993
- A Village AffairA Village AffairA Village Affair is the name of a novel by prolific English romance author Joanna Trollope. The story concerns a housewife and mother who embarks on an affair with a female acquaintance. It was televised by ITV starring Sophie Ward, Kerry Fox and Nathaniel Parker ....
- 1994 - Chillers: Prophecy - 1994
- MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis - 1994
- LegacyLegacy (TV series)Legacy is an American western drama series starring Brett Cullen which aired on UPN for eighteen episodes from 1998-1999. The series is set on a Kentucky horse farm soon after the American Civil War. Cullen's character of Ned Logan is the 42-year-old widowed patriarch of the family...
- 1999 - The Inspector Lynley MysteriesThe Inspector Lynley MysteriesThe Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...
- 2001 - DinotopiaDinotopiaDinotopia is a fictional utopia created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is the setting for the book series with which it shares its name. Dinotopia is an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sentient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist peacefully as a single symbiotic...
- 2002 - Heartbeat - 2004
- Holby CityHolby CityHolby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
- 2008 - Land GirlsLand Girls (2009 TV series)Land Girls is a British television period drama series, first broadcast on BBC One on 7 September 2009. Land Girls was created by Roland Moore and commissioned by the BBC to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. The programme was BBC Daytime's first commission of a...
*- 2009 Series 1 - Inspector Lewis (Dark Matter) - 2010
- Land GirlsLand Girls (2009 TV series)Land Girls is a British television period drama series, first broadcast on BBC One on 7 September 2009. Land Girls was created by Roland Moore and commissioned by the BBC to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. The programme was BBC Daytime's first commission of a...
- 2010 Series 2
* Winner Best Actor (Female)
Guest appearances
- Waxwork II - 1990
- The NannyThe NannyNanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
("The Wedding Episode", "The Fran in the Mirror", "The Hanukkah Episode") - 1999 - CrusadeCrusade (TV series)Crusade is a spin-off TV show from J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. Its plot is set in AD 2267, five years after the events of Babylon 5, and just after the movie A Call to Arms. A race called the Drakh have released a nanovirus plague on Earth, which will destroy all life on Earth within five...
("The Path Of Sorrows") - 1999 - Rhona ("The Fridge") - 2000
- Peak PracticePeak PracticePeak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...
("Blind spot")- 2001
Short films
- Roxy Music - Avalon (music video) - 1982
- A Shocking AccidentA Shocking AccidentA Shocking Accident is a 1982 short comedy film directed by James Scott, based on Graham Greene's short story by the same name. It won an Academy Award in 1983 for Best Short Subject.-Cast:* Rupert Everett - Jerome and Mr...
* - 1982 - Rock-a-bye BabyRock-a-bye BabyRock-a-bye Baby is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.-Lyrics:...
- 1983 - A Prayer for the DyingA Prayer for the DyingA Prayer for the Dying is a 1987 thriller film about a former IRA member trying to escape his past. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and stars Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates...
- 1984 - The Malady - 1985
- Chinese WhispersChinese WhispersChinese Whispers is a 1987 novella by Maurice Leitch published as a Hutchinson Novella in Australia and the United Kingdom and as part of the Harper Short Novel Series in the United States....
- 1998 - BubblegumBubblegumBubblegum is a type of elastic chewing gum, designed to be blown out of the mouth as a bubble.-History:In 1928, Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. One recipe was found to be less sticky than regular chewing gum,...
- 2001 - Extras - 2002
- The Missing Link 2003 - 2003
- David Rose (short film) - 2010
* Oscar Best Short Film
Child performances
- The Other Window - 1973
- The Chester Mysteries - 1974
- Full CircleFull Circle (1977 film)Full Circle is a 1977 horror film directed by Richard Loncraine. In this movie, a woman fleeing an unhappy marriage and the death of her daughter is haunted by the ghost of a vengeful little girl....
(The Haunting of Julia US) - 1975 - The Copter Kids - 1976
- Ibsen: The Wild Duck - 1977
- The Brensham People - 1977
- Too Old to Fight - 1980
- The Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of Discipline is a 1980 novel by Pat Conroy.-Summary:The novel's narrator, Will McLean, attends the Carolina Military Institute in Charleston, from 1963 to 1967. The novel takes place in four parts. The first describes the beginning of his senior year and the admission of new freshmen...
- 1981 - The Hunger - 1983