Nil by Mouth

Background:

“When you are called a character actress it's because you are too ugly to be called a leading lady.” Kathy Burke

British actress and theatre director Kathy Burke began with supporting roles in such films as Alex Cox's “Sid and Nancy” (1986) before making great impact with her comic roles for BBC television, notably as the near-moronic Magda in the hit series “Absolutely Fabulous” (1994-1996) and as various character on “Harry Enfield and Chums” (1994-1997). She even took home a Royal Television Society Award for her performance as the abused, mute, bald Martha on the BBC miniseries “Mr. Wroe's Virgin” (1993). A dominant character player of the 1990s, Burke, however, did not gain international attention until she was cast as the beaten-up wife on “Nil by Mouth” (1997). For her bright effort, she was handed a Cannes Film Festival Award and a British Independent Film award.

One of the most honored comic and dramatic character actresses in England, Burke has since continued to work in her native country, despite the widespread plaudits she has earned from the Gary Oldman directorial debut. She delivered strong performances in such films as “Dancing at Lughnasa” (1998), “Elizabeth” (1998) and “Kevin and Perry Go Large” (2000) and in the miniseries “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling” (1997). She enjoyed huge success with her role as Linda La Hughes on the BBC sitcom “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” (1999-2001), from which she nabbed a 2002 British Comedy Award.

Since 2001, Burke has pursued a secondary career as a stage director.

Kath

Childhood and Family:

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke, who would later be famous as Kathy Burke, was born on June 13, 1964, in London, England, to working-class Irish immigrants. Her mother passed away when she was still an infant and she was briefly raised in foster homes until her widower father, who was a heavy drinker, was able to regain custody of Kathy. She lived with her father and two older brothers in Islington.

Kathy, known by family and close friends simply as Kath, attended Maria Fidelis RC Convent School in Euston. She was encouraged to act at school and entered the prestigious Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington. She later attended Kingsway College in London.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

Career:

Kathy Burke was discovered by movie director Mai Zetterling when she was 17 years old. This led to her first film role in Zetterling's “Scrubbers” (1983), where she portrayed the character Glennis. She went on to appear stage in a production of “Saved” (also 1983), which was directed by Edward Bond and marked her early collaboration with Gary Oldman. Three years later, she appeared with Oldman in the actor's vehicle, “Sid and Nancy” (1986), helmed by Alex Cox. 1986 also saw Burke write her first play, “Mr. Thomas,” about a closeted homosexual. Later, in 1990, she directed the play at the “Old Red Lion,” with Ray Winstone starring in the title role. By this period, she also had appeared in Alex Cox's other movies, “Straight to Hell” and “Walker” (both 1987), and was featured on the British variety program “One Hour With Jonathan Ross” (1989).

Burke's TV career took flight in the 1990s. In 1994, the young actress secured a regular gig on the sketch comedy show “Harry Enfield and Chums” and created a number of memorable characters during her three years tenure on the show, including the fatty proletarian Waynetta Slob, the crying baby sister of Enfield's awful toddler Harry and the teenage boy Perry. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV for Best Light Entertainment Performance for her work on the series. Burke furthered gained prominence with her recurring role as magazine editor Magda on the well-liked series “Absolutely Fabulous” (1994-1996). She also won a Royal Television Society for her outstanding starring turn as an unspoken, bald woman sent to live with a Messianic clergyman on the miniseries “Mr. Wroe's Virgins” (1993), helmed by Danny Boyle. All the three programs were aired on BBC.

In 1997, Burke delivered a tour de force role when she was cast as Ray Winstone's abused, pregnant wife on the torturing “Nil by Mouth,” the Gary Oldman semi-autobiographical directorial debut. The role won the talented actress a Best actress Cannes Film Festival and a British Independent Film for Best Performance by a British Actress in an Independent Film, as well as a BAFTA nomination. Subsequently, she became an international star.

After the success, Burke starred as Honour in the TV adaptation of “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling” (1997), based on the classic novel by Henry Fielding, and received her next BAFTA nomination for her work on the miniseries. The dark-haired beauty further proved she was exceptional with her strong portrayals of Maggie, the second eldest of five Irish sisters, in the Pat O'Connor-directed “Dancing at Lughnasa” (1998), from which she netted a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture-Drama, and the poorly, vengeful Queen Mary Tudor on the lavishly acclaimed biopic “Elizabeth” (also 1998), directed by Shekar Kapur and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role.

1999 saw Burke mix drama and comedy in the romantic ensemble flick “This Year's Love,” in which she portrayed Mary, an airport cleaning woman who was convinced that anyone who falls in love with her is clearly nuts. In the 2000 comedy film “Kevin and Perry Go Large,” she reprised her TV role as Perry, with Harry Enfield recreating his role as Kevin/Executioner. She was nominated for a 2001 Empire for Best British Actress for her work in the latter film. She also appeared with Sadie Frost, Jude Law and (again) Ray Winstone in the comedy “Love, Honour and Obey” (2000) and costarred as Lee Evans' long suffering wife in “The Martins” (2001).

Meanwhile, on the small screen, Burke scored another success when she was cast as Linda La Hughes, a sex-famished scolder, on the British sitcom “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme,” which ran on BBC-1 from 1999 to 2001. Costarring with James Dreyfus, she was awarded a British Comedy in 2002 for Best Comedy Actress and collected several nominations, including two BAFTA nominations for Best Comedy Performance (2001 and 2002) and a 2002 National Television nomination for Most Popular Comedy Performance. The character Linda La Hughes was written by writer Jonathan Harvey specially for Burke after she directed the 1995 premiere of Harvey's play, “Boom-Bang-a-Bang.” She further repaid him by staging his play, “Out in the Open,” in 2001.

After the demise of the series, Burke found herself having supporting roles in the comedies “Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, ” with Robert Carlyle and Vanessa Feltz, and “Anita and Me” (both 2002), opposite Kabir Bedi and Max Beesley. She then put acting on the back burner to concentrate on her career as a theatre director. However, she has done some voice-over work in the past few years, including “Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky” (2005, TV) and the animated film “Flushed Away” (2006).

Recently, in 2007, Burke returned to acting to star as The Virgin Mary in the made-for-TV film “Comedy Showcase: The Eejits,” along side Patrick McDonnell and Paul McGlinchey.

Awards:

• British Comedy: Best Comedy Actress, “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme,” 2002

• British Independent Film: Best Performance by a British Actress in an Independent Film, “Nil by Mouth,” 1998

• Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress, “Nil by Mouth,” 1997

• Royal Television Society (UK): Best Actor – Female, “Mr. Wroe's Virgins,” 1994