A diminutive, auburn-haired British actress, Brenda Blethyn has been active on stage and British TV, but at middle age began to make an impression in feature films. With her spry and feisty manner, she has shown a flair for outlandish comedy, but has also proven her versatility in a wide range of dramatic roles, many of which have allowed her to add her brand of humor to the most tragic situations.
After working as a secretary for a nearly a decade—during which time she married and divorced—Blethyn gained early acting experience at the Bubble Theater and the Belgrade Theater in Coventry. She had a breakthrough when she joined the company at the Royal National Theater in 1975, where Blethyn performed in plays including "Tamburlaine" and "Bedroom Farce" (both directed by Peter Hall), "The Passion" and "A Midsummer's Night Dream" (both helmed by Bill Bryden) and "The Beaux Strategem" and "The Provok'd Wife" (directed by Peter Wood). She earned praise for her work in the London production of "Steaming" and finally made her American stage debut in the off-Broadway production of Alan Ayckbourn's "Absent Friends" in 1991.
She segued into television, where her work has ranged from the British comedy series, "Outside Edge" to a production of "King Lear", from the mystery miniseries "Death of an Expert Witness" (1985) to the NBC two-part TV-movie "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" (1987). She has also worked on BBC dramas which later received video or art-house theatrical releases, including Mike Leigh's "Grown-Ups" (1980), as the intrusive sister, and an acclaimed adaptation of Hanif Kureishi's autobiographical "The Buddha of Suburbia" (1993). It took time, however for Blethyn to make her way into feature films—her first role on the big screen was the mother of a little boy in Nicolas Roeg's childhood fantasy, "The Witches" (1990). Blethyn received greater US exposure as Brad Pitt's mother in "A River Runs Through It" (1992) and some of her greatest acclaim to date for working again with Leigh on "Secrets & Lies" (1996). As a mother rediscovered by the black daughter she gave up at birth, Blethyn was both amusing and pitiable in a role that earned the actress numerous accolades, including an Oscar nomination and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award.
After "Secrets & Lies", Blethyn’s acting talents were in demand. She joined Julie Walters as sisters-in-law and best pals who make a trip to Las Vegas in "Girls Night" (1997). Blethyn was tremendously moving as a woman who has never fully recovered from the death of her child in the little-seen Australian-made "In the Winter Dark" (1998). Her somewhat over-the-top turn as a blowzy, talkative widow raising an oddball daughter (Jane Horrocks) who happens to have a gift for mimicry in "Little Voice" (also 1998) brought the actress her second Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. The actress went on to excel as Louella Parsons in the acclaimed HBO original "RKO 281" (1999), about the making of Orson Welles' masterpiece "Citizen Kane". In 2000, Blethyn offered a deft comic turn as a refined widow forced by financial straits into growing a bumper crop of marijuana in the genial "Saving Grace" and the following year garnered an Emmy nomination for her affecting portrayal of Auguste Van Pels in the acclaimed ABC miniseries "Anne Frank".
Blethyn starred in a series of offbeat film projects in the first part of the 21st Century, starting with the Billy Bob Thornton directed comedy, “Daddy and Them” (2001). As Julia, she played the wife of an Arkansas man (Jim Varney in his last on-screen performance) awaiting trial for attempted murder. After lending her voice talents for the Nickelodeon animated feature, “The Wild Thornberry’s Movie” (2002), she appeared in the dark psychological drama, “Sonny” (2002), directed by first-timer Nicholas Cage. Often criticized for overplaying a working-class British accent, Blethyn affected an American tone in playing the mother of Pumpkin Romanoff (Hank Harris) in the satirical look at fraternity life in Southern California, “Pumpkin” (2002). Blethyn gave a comic turn as the high-strung matriarch of a trio of equally insecure daughters in “Lovely and Amazing” (2002), after which she played the show tune singing mother of Bobby Darin in Kevin Spacey’s labor-of-love, “Beyond the Sea” (2004). Unfortunately, the actor’s directorial debut fizzled at the box office, as it sparked no interest with audiences. In 2005's lively adaptation of Jane Austen's"Pride and Prejudice," Blethyn's performance as Mrs. Bennett, the forever nattering matriarch constantly trying to marry off her daughters to save the family's future, was a comedic gem.