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Claire Skinner is a Actor British born on 7 october 1964 at Hemel Hempstead (United-kingdom)

Claire Skinner

Claire Skinner
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Birth name Lauren Claire Skinner
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 7 october 1964 (59 years) at Hemel Hempstead (United-kingdom)

Claire Skinner (born 1965) is an English actress, known in the United Kingdom for her television career, particularly playing Sue Brockman from the BBC television series Outnumbered.

Biography

Born and brought up in Hemel Hempstead, Lauren Claire Skinner, the youngest daughter of a shopkeeper and an Irish-born secretary, was shy as a child. Her dream was to be an actress and she immersed herself in her ambition. She acted, neglecting school work at Cavendish School, and "barely scraped through [her] A-levels". She went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.


Career
Her first role was in Hanky Park, by Walter Greenwood at the Oldham Repertory Theatre, which she describes as a "really traditional start". She is best known as "Clare" on the British television comedy Life Begins, and as "Lucinda", the sous chef in the first season of Chef! alongside Lenny Henry. From 2007 to 2014 she portrayed Sue Brockman in the BBC's award-winning sitcom Outnumbered. For many years, she has preferred theatre to screen roles because she's been disappointed with her TV projects ("apart from Mike Leigh's stuff"), "not just when you see the final thing, but also because it hasn't taken off."

Skinner has worked with directors including Mike Leigh,- in Life is Sweet, and Naked - Trevor Nunn, Tim Burton and Sam Mendes, but she remembers one particular director, Alan Ayckbourn, when she started out: "He was a great influence for me as he pushed me so hard, but every director you work with has a big influence in some way, they really push you."

She has also made small appearances in TV shows such as Lark Rise to Candleford where for two episodes she played Mrs Macey. She appeared in the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe".


Personal life
She is married to director Charles Palmer, the son of actor Geoffrey Palmer; the couple have two sons.

Usually with

Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
(2 films)
Ian Hart
Ian Hart
(3 films)
Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
(3 films)
Gina McKee
Gina McKee
(3 films)
David Thewlis
David Thewlis
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Claire Skinner (15 films)

Display filmography as list

Actress

Act of Memory, 12minutes
Directed by Jack Ryder
Origin United-kingdom
Actors Claire Skinner, Owen Teale, Anna Massey

When the holidays evoke a young girl's memories of her father, she is forced to choose between either continuing to run from them or embracing the spirit of Christmas. The film is set in England at Christmas in 1948 and is based upon the award-winning short story by Mary Grace Dembeck.
The Trial of Tony Blair
Directed by Simon Cellan Jones
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Documentary films about politics, Political films
Actors Robert Lindsay, Phoebe Nicholls, Peter Mullan, Alexander Armstrong, Claire Skinner, Adrian Scarborough
Roles Nicky
Rating64% 3.2380053.2380053.2380053.2380053.238005
A short time before the 2010 general election, Tony Blair goes on British television and gives a political broadcast, in which he announces his resignation from his position as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
When Did You Last See Your Father?, 1h32
Directed by Anand Tucker
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Biography
Actors Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Matthew Beard, Carey Mulligan, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee
Roles Gillian
Rating67% 3.3972853.3972853.3972853.3972853.397285
The film is a series of flashbacks to various periods in the life of Blake Morrison as he remembers moments he shared with his father Arthur while he, his mother, and younger sister Gillian tend to him on his deathbed in his Yorkshire home. Despite Blake's success as a writer, poet, and critic, his father — a rural general practitioner - never accepted his decision to pursue a literary career nor was he willing to acknowledge his achievements in his field. Bullying, blustery, and boorish, Arthur blunders his way through fatherhood, regularly calling his son a fathead and intruding into the boy's private moments with a sense of entitlement. He has a penchant for exaggeration when he's not telling outright lies, and he publicly humiliates his long-suffering but passively complacent wife Kim with his shameless flirting with various women and an affair with Beaty, a friend of the family. At other times, he seems genuinely interested in bonding with his son, taking him camping so they can test supposedly waterproof sleeping bags he has made or allowing him to drive in the family's Alvis convertible on a wide expanse of deserted beach with reckless abandon. As a result, Blake is left with mixed feelings for the man, ranging from deeply rooted anger to compassionate acceptance. Only after Arthur's death is he able to set aside his resentment and recognize him as a father whose flaws ultimately helped mould his son into the better man he is.
A Holy Terror, 53minutes
Directed by Irving Cummings, Lesley Selander
Origin USA
Genres Crime, Western
Themes Children's films
Actors George O'Brien, Robert Carlyle, Daniel Mays, Sally Eilers, Humphrey Bogart, Claire Skinner
Roles Dr. Kate Tremaine
Rating53% 2.6681552.6681552.6681552.6681552.668155
Polo player Tony Bard (George O'Brien) travels West to investigate his father's murder, and meets Jerry Foster (Sally Eilers) on a Wyoming ranch. After being kidnapped, Tony escapes and discovers his true father (James Kirkwood) and learns that he was raised by another man (Robert Warwick) who was in love with his mother.
Strings
Strings (2004)

Origin Danemark
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation, Romance
Actors James McAvoy, Catherine McCormack, Julian Glover, Iben Hjejle, Jonas Karlsson, Derek Jacobi
Roles Jhinna (voice)
Rating68% 3.44653.44653.44653.44653.4465
À la suite de la mort de l'empereur d'Hebalon, le jeune prince Hal part espionner les Zerith, leurs ennemis de toujours, pour découvrir la vérité et venger son père. Durant son périple, il va rencontrer l'amour et en apprendre plus sur son peuple.
Eroica
Eroica (2003)
, 1h23
Directed by Simon Cellan Jones
Genres Drama, Biography, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about classical music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Ian Hart, Tim Pigott-Smith, Lucy Akhurst, Leo Bill, Anton Lesser, Frank Finlay
Roles Josephine Deym
Rating76% 3.832163.832163.832163.832163.83216
The film is set in Vienna on June 9, 1804, the date of the private, first performance of Beethoven’s third symphony, later to be known as the ‘Eroica’. The performance, and most of the action in the film, takes place at the palace of one of Beethoven’s patrons, Prince Franz Lobkowitz. Midway during the performance, Beethoven tries to get his lover, a widow named Josephine von Deym, to marry him, but she refuses because of the unfair laws regarding child custody — she is a member of the nobility, and cannot marry a commoner without losing custody of her children. Later, composer Joseph Haydn, now old and feeble, arrives just in time to hear the last movement of the symphony.
Bridget Jones's Diary, 1h37
Directed by Sharon Maguire
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Nouvel an
Actors Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Embeth Davidtz, Gemma Jones
Roles Magda
Rating67% 3.3994853.3994853.3994853.3994853.399485
Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is frustrated: she is in her early thirties, single, very accident-prone and worried about her weight. She works in publicity at a book publishing company in London where her main focus is fantasizing about her boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). At a New Year party hosted by her parents, she re-meets Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), the barrister son of her parents' friends. They had known each other as children. After their initial encounter, Mark thinks that Bridget is a fool and vulgar and Bridget thinks that he is arrogant and rude, and is disgusted by his novelty Christmas jumper. After overhearing Mark grumble to his mother about her attempts to set him up with Bridget "A verbally incontinent spinster who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and dresses like her mother", she decides to turn her life around. She starts her own diary, which covers all her attempts to stop smoking, lose weight and find her Mr.
Sleepy Hollow, 1h45
Directed by Tim Burton
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Inspiré de l'univers des contes et légendes, Films about magic and magicians, Ghost films, Witches in film
Actors Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Walken, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien
Roles Beth Killian
Rating72% 3.6488953.6488953.6488953.6488953.648895
In 1799, New York City police constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is facing imprisonment for going against traditional methods and favoring forensic investigation techniques, such as autopsies, considered unorthodox and unimportant at the time. Ichabod submits to deployment with his bag of tools to the Westchester County hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, which has been plagued by a series of brutal slayings in which the victims have been found decapitated: Peter Van Garrett (Martin Landau), a wealthy farmer and landowner; his son Dirk; and the widow Emily Winship. Arriving in Sleepy Hollow, Crane is informed by the town's elders that the killer is not of flesh and blood, but rather an undead headless Hessian mercenary from the American Revolutionary War who rides at night on a massive black steed in search of his missing head.
The Escort
The Escort (1999)
, 1h40
Directed by Michel Blanc
Origin France
Genres Drama
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Erotic thriller films
Actors Daniel Auteuil, Stuart Townsend, Liza Walker, Noah Taylor, Frances Barber, Claire Skinner
Roles Patricia
Rating61% 3.093993.093993.093993.093993.09399
Un professeur de lettres, la quarantaine (donc crise), se rend à Londres pour chercher l'inspiration pour son nouveau roman. Loin de sa famille, une nouvelle vie s'ouvre à lui. Il rencontre Tom, un gigolo. Il le suit dans la voie de la prostitution.
Clockwork Mice
Directed by Vadim Jean
Genres Drama
Actors Ian Hart, Rúaidhrí Conroy, Catherine Russell, Art Malik, John Alderton, James Bolam
Roles Fairy
Rating62% 3.144843.144843.144843.144843.14484
A teacher manages to bond with a special needs student.
I.D.
I.D. (1995)
, 1h47
Directed by Phil Davis
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Sports films, Association football films
Actors Reece Dinsdale, Warren Clarke, Richard Graham, Perry Fenwick, Claire Skinner, Sean Pertwee
Roles Marie
Rating72% 3.644923.644923.644923.644923.64492
John (Reece Dinsdale) an ambitious young police officer, is sent undercover into the hardcore football gangs to track down the 'generals' - the shadowy figures who orchestrate the violence. His team of four gradually ingratiates itself into the lives of The Dogs, the nickname that Shadwell's fans give themselves. The main site for this is The Rock, a public house around which The Dogs' lives revolve. Gradually, the hard drinking, hard fighting macho world - where Saturday's match and Saturday's rumble are all that matters - proves irresistible and John slowly finds himself turning into one of the thugs he has been sent to entrap.
Naked
Naked (1993)
, 2h11
Directed by Mike Leigh
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction
Actors David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Ewen Bremner
Roles Sandra
Rating76% 3.84773.84773.84773.84773.8477
After a sexual encounter with a married woman in an alley in Manchester turns into a rape, Johnny steals a car and flees for Dalston, "a scrawny, unpretentious area" in the east of London, to seek refuge with his former girlfriend, fellow Mancunian Louise.
Life Is Sweet, 1h43
Directed by Mike Leigh
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality, BDSM in films
Actors Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis
Roles Natalie
Rating73% 3.696183.696183.696183.696183.69618
Andy (Jim Broadbent), a senior chef in a large London catering facility, buys a dilapidated fast-food van from a disreputable acquaintance named Patsy (Stephen Rea). He plans to clean, restore and put it into service on a local fast-food round. Wendy, his hard-working, good-natured and innuendo-prone wife, (Alison Steadman) is sensibly sceptical about the project but understands her husband's ambitions. Their twin 22-year-old daughters (Natalie and Nicola) have profoundly different attitudes: tomboyish Natalie, who works as a plumber's mate (Claire Skinner), thinks it is a good idea if it will make her father happy, whereas the bitter, shut-in Nicola (Jane Horrocks), contemptuously and typically dismisses Andy as a "Capitalist!" Late at night, an anguished Nicola binges on chocolate and snacks, then forces herself to vomit. Natalie – awake in the next room – overhears her.
The Rachel Papers, 1h35
Directed by Damian Harris
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Dexter Fletcher, Ione Skye, Jonathan Pryce, James Spader, Jared Harris, Gina McKee
Roles Gloria
Rating59% 2.996562.996562.996562.996562.99656
Nineteen-year-old Charles (Fletcher) is a highly sexed and precociously intelligent teenager about to attend Oxford University. Before he does he intends to use all his charm and intelligence to seduce a beautiful American girl, Rachel (Skye). Charles becomes completely besotted by Rachel, and after numerous rebuffs he eventually forges a friendship with her. Things become complicated, however, and his strategy becomes threatened. Rachel already has a boyfriend, DeForest (Spader); however, he is a control freak who does not treat her particularly well. With help from his sister Jenny (Sharp), his lunatic brother-in-law Norman (Pryce) and best friend and big brother figure/mentor Geoff (Harris), Charles eventually manages to lure Rachel away from DeForest, and his father Gordon (Paterson) is impressed with Charles' new quarry; however, as the unlikely relationship develops, Charles discovers that his seemingly "perfect" woman has numerous dislikeable habits and personality traits, just like all of the other "lesser" girls he has previously seduced. Irritated by some of Rachel's habits, Charles grows bored and is seduced by, and later sleeps with, his old flame Gloria (Skinner), ending his relationship with Rachel, who subsequently moves to New York. Charles still ends up going to Oxford University, but he does not enjoy his life there, feeling that his life is missing something following the end of his relationship with Rachel. She and Charles accidentally meet up again in a museum there and spend the whole day together, but at the end, Rachel kisses him only on the cheek, and leaves. We hear Charles in voiceover saying that he tried to remember William Blake's quotation about love being eternal, so that he could say it to Rachel, but was unable to.