Stephen Beresford
Born1972 (age 51–52)
London, England
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Notable workThe Last of the Haussmans
Pride

Stephen Beresford (born c. 1972)[1] is an English actor and writer. He is best known for writing the play The Last of the Haussmans, produced by the National Theatre in 2012,[2] and the 2014 historical comedy Pride, which won the Queer Palm award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]

Early life

Beresford was born in London and raised in Dartmouth.[5][6] He began acting with a local children's drama group when he was nine years old, and later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[7]

Career

After several years of professional work, Beresford found acting not fulfilling enough, and began writing scripts, with several sold to Channel 4 though not produced. Inspired by his upbringing in Dartmouth, he wrote The Last of the Haussmans and submitted it to the National Theatre. In her review, Kate Kellaway of The Observer wrote: "It is with disbelief that one discovers that The Last of the Haussmans is actor Stephen Beresford's first play. It is a knockout – entertaining, sad and outrageous. If he has more of this quality to write, he is going to be a major name."[8]

The production was directed by Nicholas Hytner with Julie Walters and Helen McCrory in the lead roles. It also marked the professional debut of Taron Egerton direct from completing his acting training at RADA. [9]

Beresford was a new entry in 2014 to The Independent on Sunday's Rainbow List at number 17.[10] In 2018, Beresford's stage adaptation of Fanny and Alexander opened at The Old Vic.

Beresford has also continued to work on screenplays, remarking in 2015 that he always looks for projects with an "element of subversion" in them, so that he can find ways to smuggle in messages and meaning.[11] He wrote Pride, inspired by lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984, at the outset of what would become the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners campaign, and then co-wrote Tolkien, a 2019 biopic of the author J.R.R. Tolkien.[12] The film, starring Nicholas Hoult, touches on Tolkien's early life, including his friendships, love of languages, religion, and romance with Edith Bratt.[13] The Tolkien Estate, without viewing the film, stated that it does not endorse the film or its content, though among reviews, Graeme Tuckett of Stuff called it "A subtle, delicate biopic of The Lord of the Rings author."[14]

In 2020, Beresford's new play The Southbury Child was due to open at the Bridge Theatre; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the run was postponed until mid-2022, in a production starring Alex Jennings and directed by Nicholas Hytner. The Daily Telegraph gave the production a five-star review by critic Dominic Cavendish. [15]

He wrote a new play Three Kings as part of The Old Vic's Old Vic: In Camera series.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Films

References

  1. ^ Kellaway, Kate (30 August 2014). "When miners and gay activists united: the real story of the film Pride". The Observer. Now 42, Beresford started out as an actor but is also author of The Last of the Haussmans, an exuberantly accomplished debut at the National in 2012.
  2. ^ "The Last of the Haussmans, a new play by Stephen Beresford". National Theatre. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
  3. ^ von Metzke, Ross (26 September 2014). "Pride & Glory: An unlikely alliance between a group of gay and lesbian activists and striking miners makes for one of the year's most inspiring films". The Advocate.
  4. ^ Mainwaring, Rachel (6 September 2014). "Love and Pride; When Writer Stephen Beresford Heard about an Unlikely Alliance between a Gay and Lesbian Group and a South Wales Mining Community during the Miners' Strike, He Was Determined to Share Their Remarkable Story. He Tells Rachel Mainwaring How Proud He Is of His Latest British Film, Pride". Western Mail.[dead link]
  5. ^ Shulman, Randy (9 October 2014). "Pride Rising: Screenwriter Stephen Beresford on the exhilarating new film that celebrates an historic event which paved the way for the rights of gays and lesbians in Britain", Metro Weekly,
  6. ^ Abbott, HEC (12 September 2014). "Star-studded movie written by Dartmouth man hits cinema screens". Herald Express.
  7. ^ "Stephen Beresford – Playwright", By The Dart magazine, May 2013.
  8. ^ Kellaway, Kate (23 June 2012). "The Last of the Haussmans; The Match Box; Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker – review". The Observer.
  9. ^ Theatre-Wales (30 October 2012). "Welsh Actor Professional Debut at Royal National Theatre".
  10. ^ "Rainbow List 2014, 1 to 101 – The Rainbow list – People", The Independent (9 November 2014)
  11. ^ "Stephen Beresford meets Islay Bell-Webb". BAFTA Guru. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  12. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (24 July 2017). "Dome Karukoski To Helm J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic". Deadline. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  13. ^ Ernie Estrella (30 March 2019). "Tolkien biopic promises to explore the author's love of friends, Edith Bratt, and language". SYFY.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Tolkien: A subtle, delicate biopic of The Lord of the Rings author". Stuff. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  15. ^ Daily Telegraph (13 June 2022). "Hugely cathartic, this is the play of the year so far".
  16. ^ "Bafta Film Awards 2015: Winners". BBC News. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

External links

BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Authority control databases
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