Kate Nelligan - Career

Career

In 1973, she made her professional stage debut, in Bristol, England, while appearing in a regular role on the British television series The Onedin Line. In 1974, she was invited to London to play the part of Jenny in David Hare's play Knuckle at the Comedy Theatre, followed by a season with the National Theatre Company: Ellie in Heartbreak House. 1975 saw her appear opposite Anthony Hopkins in the televised play, The Arcata Promise followed by the televised theatrical version of The Count of Monte Cristo that featured an all-star cast of British and American actors. That same year her first feature-length film The Romantic Englishwoman was released. In 1977, again with the National Theatre, she gave a "stunning" performance as Marianne, opposite Stephen Rea, in Tales from the Vienna Woods directed by Maximilian Schell. In 1977, she played the part of Rosalind in As You Like It, directed by Terry Hands, opposite Peter McEnery, in Stratford-upon-Avon and the following year in London. This she followed with Plenty, another play from David Hare, at the National Theatre, for which she received a 1978 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a New Play. The winner was Joan Plowright in Filumena. She was cast in a similar role, playing against Bill Paterson, in Hare's BAFTA award-winning companion play, Licking Hitler, for BBC television.

Again on screen, in 1978, she played the part of Isabella in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure, a performance that led the New York Times to describe her as providing "the image of idealized faultlessness. In 1979, she was the female lead with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier in Dracula. In 1981, she starred opposite fellow Canadian Donald Sutherland in Eye of the Needle, a wartime espionage thriller based on the Ken Follett best-selling novel. Two years later, Nelligan moved to New York City where she earned four Tony Award "Best Actress" nominations between 1983 and 1989 from the five Broadway plays she appeared in. In 1991 she won a BAFTA for best actress in a supporting role For her performance in Frankie and Johnny and for her performance in the 1991 film, The Prince of Tides, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Between 1990 and 2004, she was nominated for five Gemini Awards for her performances on Canadian television mini-series and films.