Angela Pleasence

Angela Pleasence
Pleasence in 1974
Born	Daphne Anne Angela Pleasence (1941-09-30) 30 September 1941 Chapeltown, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1964–present
Parent(s)	Donald Pleasence Miriam Raymond

Daphne Anne Angela Pleasence (born 30 September 1941) is an English actress. Trained in theatre, Pleasence's first major film role came in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973), followed by roles in horror films such as From Beyond the Grave and Symptoms (1974).

She worked extensively in television productions and British miniseries throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She had minor roles in the films The Search for John Gissing (2001), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Gigolos (2005).

Biography

Pleasence was born in Chapeltown, Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Miriam Raymond and actor Donald Pleasence. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut in 1964 as Titania in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. She appeared extensively in London theatre productions throughout the 1970s.

She is known for her performance as Catherine Howard in the 1970 BBC serial The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Other television credits include Dixon of Dock Green, Les Misérables, The Barchester Chronicles (alongside her father), Mansfield Park, Silas Marner, Midsomer Murders, Whitechapel, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Agatha Christie's Marple. In 1978, she voiced the role of Ophelia in a BBC radio play production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

She is also noted for her roles in horror films of the 1970s, including From Beyond the Grave, Symptoms and The Godsend. She made a guest appearance in the parody series Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible satirising her earlier performances.

She has also appeared as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1984 holiday television film A Christmas Carol, Sister Cecilia in Stealing Heaven (1988), a crowd member in Martin Scorsese's 2002 crime drama Gangs of New York, Elizabeth I in the 2007 Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code", and Winnie in the BBC drama Happy Valley (2016).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush	Scruffy Girl
1969	Destiny of a Spy	Peace Girl	Television film
1973	The Love Ban	Mick's Secretary
	Hitler: The Last Ten Days	Traudel
1974	From Beyond the Grave	Emily Underwood	Segment 2: 'An Act of Kindness'
	Symptoms	Helen Ramsey
1978	Les Misérables	Fantine	Television film
1980	The Godsend	The Stranger
1984	A Christmas Carol	Ghost of Christmas Past	Television film
1985	Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe	Molly Farren	Television film
1988	Stealing Heaven	Sister Cecilia
1989	Somewhere to Run	Anita Fitzpatrick	Television film
1991	The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish	Louis' Sister
1996	September	Lottie	Television film
	The Shaman	Shaman	Short film
1997	The Pig's Family	Rosy	Short film
1998	Cider with Rosie	Crabby	Television film
2001	The Search for John Gissing	Johanna Frielduct
2002	Gangs of New York	Woman Accomplice
2005	Conflict	Sarah	Short film
	Waverley	Waverley	Short film
2006	The Gigolos	Joy
2011	Your Highness	Mother

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Armchair Mystery Theatre	Ginny	Episode: "The Madam"
1966	Seven Deadly Sins	Eileen	Episode: "The Erpingham Camp"
1967	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	Maid	Episode: "The Chemistry of Love"
	Seven Deadly Virtues	Carol	Episode: "The Whole Truth"
1968	Coronation Street	Monica Sutton	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1969	The Wednesday Play	Liz	Episode: "Birthday"
	The Possessed	Marie Shatov	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	The Expert	Tina	Episode: "One Life: More or Less"
	Plays of Today	Jackson	Episode: "The Ladies: Joan"
	The Wednesday Play	Beatrice Grayson	Episode: "The Last Train through the Harecastle Tunnel"
1970	The Six Wives of Henry VIII	Catherine Howard	Miniseries; 2 episodes
	Paul Temple	Betty Martin	Episode: "Letters from Robert"
1974	Play of the Month	Julia	Episode: "The Wood Demon"
	Aquarius	Jean	Episode: "Oh Lovely Wall"
1975	Play for Today	Nell Hamer	Episode: "Breath"
	Churchill's People	Jorild	Episode: "The Conquerors"
	A Legacy	Clara von Felden/von Bernin	Miniseries; 4 episodes
1976	Dixon of Dock Green	Alice Benfield	Episode: "Alice"
1979	Murder at the Wedding	Pam Appleyard	Miniseries; 3 episodes
1981	The Walls of Jericho	Elsie Inglis	Miniseries; 2 episodes
1982	The Barchester Chronicles	Mrs. Grantly	Miniseries; 7 episodes
1983	Mansfield Park	Lady Bertram	Miniseries; 6 episodes
1986	Girls on Top	R.S.C Actress #2	Episode: "Mr. Yummy Brownie"
	Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna	Clara	Miniseries; 2 episodes
1993	Casualty	Sonia	Episode: "Everybody Needs Somebody"
1994	The English Programme	Anita Fitzpatrick	Episode: "Somewhere to Run"
1995	The Bill	Mrs. Sadler	Episode: "In the Midnight Hour"
1997	Crime Traveller	Mrs. Beavis	Episode: "The Broken Crystal"
1998	Midsomer Murders	Doris Winstanley	Episode: "Death of a Hollow Man"
2001	Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible	Lizzy	Episode: "Scream Satan Scream!"
2003	The Bill	Martha	Episode: "Cross Transfer"
2004	Agatha Christie's Marple	Miss Hartnell	Episode: "The Murder at the Vicarage"
2006	Doctors	Amy Edgeworth	Episode: "A Slip of the Mind"
2007	Doctor Who	Queen Elizabeth I	Episode: "The Shakespeare Code"
2008	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Nanny	Episode: "Appointment with Death"
2009	Casualty	Catherine	Episode: "All You Need Is Love"
2011	The Sarah Jane Adventures	Mystic Mags	Episode: "The Curse of Clyde Langer"
2013	Whitechapel	Louise Iver	Series regular; 6 episodes
2016	Happy Valley	Winnie	Recurring role; 2 episodes

References

Bibliography

• Hill, Holly (1993). Playing Joan: Actresses on the Challenge of Shaw's Saint Joan. Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 978-0-9304-5264-3.

External links

• Angela Pleasence at IMDb