Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

1946-02-20 Ramsgate, Kent, England, UK 59 Credits

Biography

Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one. In addition, she has won a BAFTA, an Empire Award and a Golden Lion, and has earned a Theater World Award and both a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her theatrical work. Born into a working class home in R...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

2025

as Elsie

Acting

When Colleen volunteers to care for her elderly neighbor Elsie, the two quickly bond. But beneath the pleasantries, motives start to be questioned lea...

Charlotte

Charlotte

2022

as Grossmama (voice)

6.5
Acting

The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative...

Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen

Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen and Milkmen

2018

as Narrator

Acting

Playful, moving portrait of Raymond Briggs, told through interviews with Raymond, animation illustrated by Chris Riddell, and contributions from frien...

Ethel & Ernest

Ethel & Ernest

2016

as Ethel Briggs (voice)

7.4
Acting

This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and t...

Two Men in Town

Two Men in Town

2014

as Emily Smith

5.5
Acting

A convict is released from prison in a small town in New Mexico. 18 years ago he killed a deputy. The then-and-now sheriff seeks revenge.

Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha

2013

as Martha

6.4
Acting

Wealthy American housewife Mary Morgan takes her bullied son George out of school for home education,including a trip to Southern Africa. Whilst in Mo...

My Angel

My Angel

2011

as Headmistress

4.0
Acting

Fifteen year old Eddie's mother falls very ill after a serious car accident. Eddie and his brother Stewart end up having to take care of themselves an...

The Many Faces of... Michael Caine

2011

Acting

This retrospective follows Sir Michael Caine's impressive career, featuring archive clips woven together with interviews from colleagues and critics. ...

The Calling

The Calling

2010

as Sister Ignatious

Acting

Joanna - a university student - leaves her course to become a nun.

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too

2009

as Mama Heffalump (voice)

6.7
Acting

Strike up the band with Pooh, Tigger, Darby and all your favorite friends in a spectacular full-length movie featuring seven original songs. It's a pe...

London River

London River

2009

as Elisabeth

6.7
Acting

After traveling to London to check on their missing children in the wake of the 2005 terror attacks on the city, two strangers come to discover their ...

Dead Man Running

Dead Man Running

2009

as Mother

5.8
Acting

A loan shark gives ex-con Nick a period of 24 hours in order to pay back the money he owes. Up against it, Nick involves his best mate on a multi-part...

Clubland

Clubland

2007

as Jean

5.2
Acting

The shy son of an aging comedienne tries to find a balance between his demanding home life, his new girlfriend, and his mother's second chance at fame...

Clubland

Clubland

2007

Writer

5.2
Writing

The shy son of an aging comedienne tries to find a balance between his demanding home life, his new girlfriend, and his mother's second chance at fame...

Atonement

Atonement

2007

as Grace Turner

7.6
Acting

As a 13-year-old, fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime ...

Mysterious Creatures

Mysterious Creatures

2006

as Wendy Ainscow

8.0
Acting

Feature-length ITV drama based on real events. Bill and Wendy Ainscow (Timothy Spall and Brenda Blethyn) are a middle class, middle-aged Birmingham co...

Pride & Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice

2005

as Mrs. Bennet

8.1
Acting

A story of love and life among the landed English gentry during the Georgian era. Mr. Bennet is a gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbeari...

On a Clear Day

On a Clear Day

2005

as Joan

6.5
Acting

After decades of laboring as a Glasgow shipbuilder, Frank Redmond, a no-nonsense 55-year-old working-class man, suddenly finds himself laid off. For t...

Pooh's Heffalump Movie

Pooh's Heffalump Movie

2005

as Mama Heffalump (voice)

6.8
Acting

Who or what exactly is a Heffalump? The lovable residents of the Hundred Acre Wood -- Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga and the rest of t...

Beyond the Sea

Beyond the Sea

2004

as Polly Cassotto

6.2
Acting

Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the t...

A Way of Life

A Way of Life

2004

as Annette

6.8
Acting

At 17 Leigh-Anne Williams has a six month old baby to look after, with only the help of three teenage squatters who flog stolen gear to make ends meet...

Piccadilly Jim

Piccadilly Jim

2004

as Nesta Pett

6.5
Acting

Set in the 1930s, an American with a scandalous reputation on both sides of the Atlantic must do an about-face in order to win back the woman of his d...

Belonging

Belonging

2004

as Jess Copplestone

5.6
Acting

Jess (Brenda Blethyn) and town handyman Jacob (Kevin Whately) have been happily married 20 years, recently taking in a trio of Jacob's elderly relativ...

Blizzard

Blizzard

2003

as Aunt Millie

5.8
Acting

A young girl's aunt tells her the tale of a young ice skater and an enchanted reindeer.

Bob the Builder: The Knights of Fix-A-Lot

Bob the Builder: The Knights of Fix-A-Lot

2003

as Dr. Florence Mountfitchet (voice)

6.9
Acting

When an old castle needs repairs, it's time to call Bob the Builder! Unfortunately a case of mistaken identity puts Bob's father in charge, resulting ...

The Sleeping Dictionary

The Sleeping Dictionary

2003

as Aggie

6.5
Acting

A young Englishman is dispatched to Sarawak to become part of the British colonial government. He encounters some unorthodox local traditions, and fin...

Undertaking Betty

Undertaking Betty

2002

as Betty Rhys-Jones

6.1
Acting

A politician's wife and the mortician who has secretly loved her for years plan to fake her death so they can run away together.

Sonny

Sonny

2002

as Jewel

5.0
Acting

New Orleans, 1981. Sonny Phillips, just discharged from the Army, returns home. The only life he's known is as a gigolo, working for his mother, but h...

Lovely & Amazing

Lovely & Amazing

2002

as Jane Marks

6.1
Acting

An intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women and the bittersweet lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their ...

Pumpkin

Pumpkin

2002

as Judy Romanoff

5.8
Acting

Carolyn's sorority sisters set their sights on the Sorority of the Year award and coaching challenged athletes is their ticket to the trophy. But when...

The Yellow Bird

The Yellow Bird

2002

as Mrs. Louise Tutwiler

Acting

A young girl escapes the boredom of a small town existence in the 1930s.

Daddy and Them

Daddy and Them

2001

as Julia Montgomery

5.4
Acting

Ruby and her husband Claude are a working-class couple who live in suburban Arkansas. As crazy as they are for each other, their relationship is far f...

On the Nose

On the Nose

2001

as Mrs. Delaney

5.5
Acting

Brendan is a janitor at a university who has a fondness for gambling, especially betting on horse races. However, he doesn't have much skill at it, an...

RKO 281

RKO 281

2000

as Louella Parsons

6.4
Acting

In 1939, boy-wonder Orson Welles leaves New York, where he has succeeded in radio and theater, and, hired by RKO Pictures, moves to Hollywood with the...

Saving Grace

Saving Grace

2000

as Grace Trevethyn

6.5
Acting

Unexpectedly widowed, prim and proper housewife Grace Trevethyn finds herself in dire financial straits when she inherits massive debts her late husba...

Little Voice

Little Voice

1998

as Mari Hoff

6.5
Acting

After the death of her father, Little Voice or LV becomes a virtual recluse, never going out and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedro...

In the Winter Dark

In the Winter Dark

1998

as Ida Stubbs

5.6
Acting

Fear of an unidentified livestock predator unites an Australian couple, an outcast, and an abandoned woman.

Girls' Night

1998

as Dawn Wilkinson

6.8
Acting

Two British best friends and in-laws Dawn and Jackie work together at a factory. When Dawn is diagnosed with a brain tumor Jackie shares $100,000 she'...

Music from Another Room

Music from Another Room

1998

as Grace Swan

5.8
Acting

Music From Another Room is a romantic comedy that follows the exploits of Danny, a young man who grew up believing he was destined to marry the girl h...

Inside the Golden Statue

Inside the Golden Statue

1998

as Self

6.3
Acting

A behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for the live broadcast of the 69th Annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Night Train

Night Train

1998

as Alice Mooney

7.0
Acting

A man released from jail, where he had served time for doctoring the books of a gangster, has to go into hiding from the gangster's men. He moves into...

Remember Me?

Remember Me?

1997

4.0
Acting

A domestic farce exposes the eccentricities of a "typical" middle class, suburban family who find their lives thrown into a crisis with the unexpected...

Secrets & Lies

Secrets & Lies

1996

as Cynthia Rose Purley

7.6
Acting

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cyn...

The Bullion Boys

The Bullion Boys

1993

as Gwen

Acting

Based on a true story. In 1940, Britain's gold reserves were transferred for safety to Liverpool because of the threat of a German invasion. The top-s...

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It

1992

as Mrs. Maclean

7.0
Acting

The Maclean brothers, Paul and Norman, live a relatively idyllic life in rural Montana, spending much of their time fly fishing. The sons of a ministe...

The Witches

The Witches

1990

as Mrs Jenkins

6.9
Acting

A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand H...

The Shawl

The Shawl

1989

as Miss A

Acting

Miss A, troubled by problems, consults a clairvoyant. Can he solve them for her by summoning the spirits? Or is he just a fraud, out to steal her mone...

Claws

Claws

1987

as Sylvia

Acting

A tale of cat lovers, the social circle they inhabit and the power struggles between them.

Floating Off

Floating Off

1983

as Janice

Acting

Businessman Jack Humpage and his secretary Janice try to make an unconventional deal with a merchant bank before Humpage's son finds out.

Henry VI Part 1

Henry VI Part 1

1983

as Joan La Pucelle

7.5
Acting

The life of King Henry the Sixth, in three parts.

King Lear

King Lear

1982

as Cordelia

6.0
Acting

An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.

Mike Leigh: Making Plays

Mike Leigh: Making Plays

1982

as Self

8.0
Acting

Writer and Director Mike Leigh discusses the techniques used to create his plays.

Say No to Strangers

1981

as Policewoman

7.0
Acting

A short film to warn children of sexual predators.

Grown-Ups

Grown-Ups

1980

as Gloria

6.7
Acting

Dick and Mandy, a young working class couple, move into a council house in Canterbury, and find Mr. Butcher, one of their former teachers, living next...

Bedroom Farce

1980

as Kate

6.0
Acting

Trevor and Susannah, whose marraige is on the rocks, inflict their miseries on their nearest and dearest: three couples whose own relationships are te...

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

1980

7.1
Acting

Second World War drama - A young woman decides against working in a munitions factory, and lands a post with the signals corps attempting to crack the...

Fools

N/A

Acting

In 1553, England’s first Queen, Mary I, takes the throne. The country is on the brink of chaos, and ambitious Cardinal Pole plots to secure control. H...

Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberry Fields Forever

N/A

as Grannie Nellie

Acting

Steven Shepherd’s short life beheld just one very special day amidst his world of total and utter torment. He lived with his Grannie Nellie, who loved...

King of the Teds

King of the Teds

N/A

as Nina

Acting

Ron and Tina's lives are changed when long lost friend Nina calls, reawakening memories of when Ron was the charismatic 'King of the Teds' and both wo...