Actress Kelly MacDonald

 

My favorite  actress of recent years,  has been the  Scottish actress, Kelly MacDonald (born 1976) , who most famous  recent roles  include  starring as the Scottish heroine in the 2012 Pixar movie, Brave, and as Margaret Schroeder in Boardwalk Empire. What I enjoy about her  most  is her thick but charming  Glasgow accent-that when used fully is almost unintelligible.

Kelly and her charming accent....

 In some of her roles, like No Country for Old Men she doesn't use her brogue,  but in my favorite role of hers -The Girl In The Cafe, she does. 

Kelly and Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting

Like a number of Scottish actors she had a breakout role in Trainspotting (1996). It's a highly regarded Scottish movie starring future Jedi, Ewan McGregor, that chronicled the lives of heroin addicts.  Her part was a minor one (including some brief nudity), indeed many of her roles have been supporting roles.  With these smaller roles she built up an impressive list of credits that including  Gosford Park (2001), Finding Neverland (2004), Nanny MacPhee (2005), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Shadows (2011).   In recent years she appeared in Child In Time, Black Mirror, and T2-Trainspotting 2. 

My favorite British actor ,  Bill  Nighy (among others) and Kelly were journalists in the original  six part British TV version of  State Of Play (2003)  It is  better and much longer  than the later  movie version.

 

A scene from  Girl In The Cafe

She won an  a Emmy for Girl In The Cafe (2005)  in which she played  Gina,  a patron in a cafe, who  encounters a  awkward, but sweet, British civil servant ( also played by Bill Nighy).  Eventually  he decides to take her on a trip to a  international summit in Iceland. She is very touching,  and charming in this role, and is the center of a  film for once.  This HBO movie was written by my favorite screenwriter, Richard Curtis (of Four Weddings and A Funeral).

In No Country for Brave Men

She played the haunting role of Carla Jean Moss in No Country for Brave Men (2007) , and was nominated for a BAFTA award for that role.

Brave (2012) was  notable because it's the first Pixar movie to feature a woman in the main role.  The movie has gotten mixed to very good reviews, and had a very good but not spectacular opening.

She was in 56  episodes of  Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) playing  Margaret Schroeder , the consort of a corrupt politician played  by Steve Buscemi. She was nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globes for this par. Kelly is a stunning and engaging actress.

NPR's Fresh Air  recently had an excellent interview with her. The page includes both the audio
and a  transcript of the interview ....

http://www.npr.org/2012/09/20/161477059/kelly-macdonald-a-strong-woman-on-the-boardwalk

Orginally published by June 2012 by J.C.Bernhardt