Susannah Harker
Susannah Harker (born 26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She is also known for her role as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Susannah Harker | |
---|---|
Born | Susannah Owens 26 April 1965 London, England |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1985–present |
Spouse(s) | |
Partner(s) | Paul McGann (2006–2008) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) | Richard Owen and Polly Adams |
Relatives | Caroline Harker (sister) |
The daughter of actress Polly Adams and actor Richard Owens, she is the sister of fellow actresses Nelly Harker and Caroline Harker.
Early life
Harker was born in London. She and her younger sister, Caroline (also an actress on stage and screen) were brought up as Catholics and educated at a "strict" independent convent boarding school run by nuns in Sussex, and at the Central School of Speech and Drama in North London.[1]
Acting career
Harker has acted in both contemporary and classic works, on stage, in movies and in TV series. In 1990–91 she appeared alongside Clive Owen in Chancer, and as the journalist Mattie Storin in the original House of Cards. She later played Dinah Morris in the 1991 adaptation of Adam Bede. She starred as Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She is featured as Emma Fitzgerald, the love interest of Superintendent Tyburn (Trevor Eve) in the BBC TV series, Heat of the Sun (1998). She appeared in the play, On the Shore of the Wide World.[2]
She played Sapphire in Big Finish Productions' audio revival of Sapphire & Steel, in three series of plays released on CD between 2005 and 2008. In 2003 she played Clare Keightley in the audio version of the Doctor Who adventure Shada, alongside Paul McGann. In December 2011 Harker appeared in the BBC drama Young James Herriot.[3]
In 2012 she returned to the stage, playing the role of Sue in a London production of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party.[4]
During early 2014 she starred in the Gate Theatre, Dublin production of The Vortex by Noël Coward. In 2015, she played Miss Ella Rentheim in a BBC Radio 4 production of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman.[5]
Personal life
Susannah Harker is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Harker, a prominent artist and theatrical scene designer who was a contemporary of actor-manager Henry Irving and a friend of his business partner, Dracula author Bram Stoker.[6]
She was married to Iain Glen from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay (born 1994). She was later in a relationship with Paul McGann from 2006 to 2008.[7]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Burke & Wills | Bessie Wills | |
1987 | White Mischief | Young girl | |
The Lady's Not for Burning | Alizon Eliot | ||
1989 | A Dry White Season | Suzette du Toit | |
1991 | The Crucifer of Blood | Irene St. Claire | |
1996 | Surviving Picasso | Marie-Therese | |
2001 | Intimacy | Susan, Jay's wife | |
Trance | Sarah Lamb | ||
Offending Angels | Paris | ||
2007 | Always Crashing in the Same Car | Mary Booth | Short |
2008 | The Calling | Sister Ambrose | |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | The Fear | Linda | 5 episodes |
1988 | Troubles | Angela Spencer | |
1990–1991 | Chancer | Joanna Franklyn | 14 episodes |
1990 | House of Cards | Mattie Storin | 4 episodes |
1991 | Adam Bede | Dinah Morris | |
1994 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Adelaide Savage | Episode: "The Dying Detective" |
Faith | Holly Moreton | 4 episodes | |
1995 | Pride and Prejudice | Jane Bennet | 6 episodes |
1998 | Heat of the Sun | Emma Fitzgerald | 3 episodes |
Ultraviolet | Dr Angela March | 6 episodes, TV mini-series | |
2001 | Murder in Mind | Barbara Davie | |
2002 | Waking the Dead | Clare Delaney | 2 episodes |
2006 | Perfect Parents | Alison | TV film |
2009 | Midsomer Murders | Matilda Simms | 1 episode, The Black Book |
2010 | Moving On | Anne | 1 episode, Sauce for the Goose |
2011 | Young James Herriot | Lady Verity Muirhead | 1 episode |
2012 | New Tricks | Elizabeth Clayton | 1 episode, Old School Ties |
2017 | Grantchester | Veronica Stone | 1 episode |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Company | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Three Sisters[8] | Masha | Playhouse Theatre, London |
References
- Susannah Harker BBC Drama, April 2007
- Maxwell, Dominic (1 June 2005). "Wide World's web of intrigue". Evening Standard.
- Young James Herriot – Gainful Employment BBC One. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- Kellaway, Kate (11 March 2012). "Abigail's Party – review". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- "BBC Radio 4 – Drama, John Gabriel Borkman, Episode 1". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Kennedy, Maev (5 February 2017). "Harker family visit great-grandfather's threatened scene-painting studio". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- May, Dominic (6 December 2006). "Beyond the TARDIS – McGann and Harker". Doctor Who Magazine (376): 7.
- "Susannah Harker & Stephen Ballantyne to replace Kristin Scott Thomas & Douglas Hodge". LondonTheatre.co.uk. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
External links
- Susannah Harker on IMDb
- Susannah Harker CV, hamiltonhodell.co.uk