Mike Leigh
Summary
Mike Leigh, OBE (born 20 February 1943) is an English writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and did his early acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the 1960s. In the 1970s he made the transition to television plays, many of which were characterized by a gritty "kitchen sink realism" style. Some of his well-known films include Life is Sweet (1990), the comedy-drama Career Girls (1997) the Gilbert and Sullivan biography Topsy Turvy (1999), and the bleak working-class drama All or Nothing (2002). His most notable works are arguably Naked (1993) for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes, the BAFTA-winning (and Oscar-nominated) Palme d'Or winner Secrets & Lies (1996) and Golden Lion winner Vera Drake (2004).Leigh begins his projects without a script, but starts from a basic premise which is developed through improvisation by the actors.Leigh was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, the son of Phyllis Pauline (ne Cousin) and Alfred Abraham Leigh, a doctor in a working-class area of Salford (near Manchester).
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Oral history's quiet heroes | Joe Moran
The Listening Project enables us all to record our most intimate conversations, continuing the work of the Seven Up! series.
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The Spot: Origin Story
GENESIS: For a new spot, BBH creatives Rory Hall and Melanie Lynch found a poignant way of illustrating British children's charity Barnardo's healing effect on youth. Instead of showing an emotional recovery chronologically, the ad goes in reverse, beginning with a stable adult and visiting his former selves—through seamless transitions—back to the 5-year-old boy blindsided by trouble.
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Evening Standard theatre awards: pair win joint prize for Frankenstein roles
After alternating playing Victor Frankenstein and the Creature for each performance of a three-month run at the National Theatre, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller have been rewarded jointly with the best actor prize at the UK's longest-running theatre awards.
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Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller share best actor gong at London Evening Standard Theatre Awards
Only one prize at tonights London Evening Standard Theatre Awards was given to a commercial theatre production, with the subsidised sector picking up the rest.
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Cumberbatch and Miller share prize for Frankenstein
When two actors alternated the roles of Dr Frankenstein and his monster in a radical interpretation of Mary Shelley's horror story, audiences flocked to see both versions.
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Evening Standard Theater Awards 2011: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller Win For Danny Boyle's 'Frankenstein'
"Frankenstein" co-stars Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch both won the best actor prize at London's Evening Standard Theater Awards on Sunday.
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My TV hero: Rebecca Front on Jack Rosenthal
Jack Rosetnhal's TV plays squeezed into our family consciousness – we still quote lines to each other.
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Jane Horrocks says Tesco adverts saved her from 'crap' acting jobs
Little Voice star 'eternally grateful' for ads, saying quality of TV drama being eroded by obsession with reality TV.
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The Spot: One Big Family
GENESIS: BBH was in a rut with its KFC ads, always highlighting the same suburban families with 2. 4 kids. The London agency felt the modern British family was changing, becoming more expansive and diverse thanks to the effects of divorce and remarriage. Yet, oddly, British people feel a stronger sense of family than ever, research suggested.
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My media: Felicity Finch
The Radio 4 actress and presenter is a newspaper addict but also likes to indulge in a little X Factor.
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