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| From slappers to Hedda Gabler: the irresistible rise of Sheridan Smith | From slappers to Hedda Gabler: the irresistible rise of Sheridan Smith |
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| Sheridan Smith used to flog burgers to bikers from a van off the motorway up north. It was, so far, the only job for which she wasn't paid to perform, but that didn't stop her. "Do you want sauce with that, love?" she'd ask. It's easy to imagine Smith delivering that line, one eyebrow rising to a circumflex, lips pursing, more than a hint of cleavage and loads of cheek. | Sheridan Smith used to flog burgers to bikers from a van off the motorway up north. It was, so far, the only job for which she wasn't paid to perform, but that didn't stop her. "Do you want sauce with that, love?" she'd ask. It's easy to imagine Smith delivering that line, one eyebrow rising to a circumflex, lips pursing, more than a hint of cleavage and loads of cheek. |
| But those who suspected that the 31-year-old actor was a kind of northern Barbara Windsor capable of only blonde sass, and could cite as evidence a decade of knockabout performances in TV sitcoms (including Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Love Soup and Gavin & Stacey) and her award-winning turn as jilted-bimbo-turned-Harvard-hotshot in the stage musical Legally Blonde, have spent the past year watching the case for the prosecution collapse. | But those who suspected that the 31-year-old actor was a kind of northern Barbara Windsor capable of only blonde sass, and could cite as evidence a decade of knockabout performances in TV sitcoms (including Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Love Soup and Gavin & Stacey) and her award-winning turn as jilted-bimbo-turned-Harvard-hotshot in the stage musical Legally Blonde, have spent the past year watching the case for the prosecution collapse. |
| This has been Sheridan Smith's annus mirabilis, during which she surprised many people – and herself – with what she can do. "I don't usually get to play sophisticated women," she said recently. "I usually do the old scrubs, chavs or slappers." | This has been Sheridan Smith's annus mirabilis, during which she surprised many people – and herself – with what she can do. "I don't usually get to play sophisticated women," she said recently. "I usually do the old scrubs, chavs or slappers." |
| But by means of her performances as Hedda Gabler, the stuck-up mum in TV's Mr Stink, the doctor of retired opera singers in Dustin Hoffman's unremittingly genteel Quartet, to her looming role as Titania in Michael Grandage's A Midsummer Night's Dream(in which she will for six months nightly turn David Walliams' Bottom into an ass), the woman who thought RP stood for "Right Posh" has gone sophisticated. | But by means of her performances as Hedda Gabler, the stuck-up mum in TV's Mr Stink, the doctor of retired opera singers in Dustin Hoffman's unremittingly genteel Quartet, to her looming role as Titania in Michael Grandage's A Midsummer Night's Dream(in which she will for six months nightly turn David Walliams' Bottom into an ass), the woman who thought RP stood for "Right Posh" has gone sophisticated. |
| Admittedly, last year she played a character called Molly the Lolly, a guinea pig for Rupert Everett's inventor of the vibrator in the movie Hysteria, and later this year she will be filming in Turkey for Debbie Isitt's comedy Belly Dancing for Beginners, but let's not spoil the story too much. | Admittedly, last year she played a character called Molly the Lolly, a guinea pig for Rupert Everett's inventor of the vibrator in the movie Hysteria, and later this year she will be filming in Turkey for Debbie Isitt's comedy Belly Dancing for Beginners, but let's not spoil the story too much. |
| On Tuesdayshe is up for the Royal Television Society's best actress award for her performance as Charmian, wife of the Great Train Robber Ronnie, in ITV's five-part series Mrs Biggs. What was striking about Smith's role and her performance was how much it confounded expectations, hers included. Smith has recalled: "When I first heard the title of the drama, Mrs Biggs, I presumed Charmian would be a gangster's moll-type with an EastEnders accent. In fact, she was the daughter of a headmaster, an innocent girl from a nice, middle-class background. Her family disowned her when she married Ronnie." | |
| Smith deployed a redhead's beehive and received pronunciation as Biggs' wife. She also channelled her family history for the performance, giving it an emotional depth that TV viewers used to her brasher roles could not have anticipated. In the drama, fugitive Ronnie flees Australia for Brazil, leaving Charmian and their three sons behind. Then their eldest, 10-year-old Nicholas, dies in a road accident. | Smith deployed a redhead's beehive and received pronunciation as Biggs' wife. She also channelled her family history for the performance, giving it an emotional depth that TV viewers used to her brasher roles could not have anticipated. In the drama, fugitive Ronnie flees Australia for Brazil, leaving Charmian and their three sons behind. Then their eldest, 10-year-old Nicholas, dies in a road accident. |
| "The whole business of the little boy's death was almost unbearable for me," Smith told the Telegraph last year. "It hit an awful raw nerve. It made me look at feelings which I thought I'd pushed away a long time ago." When Smith was eight, her eldest brother, Julian, died from cancer at the age of 18. "I immediately thought of my mum. Could anything ever be more terrible than losing her child? I can only imagine what my mum – and what Charmian – must have felt. I was a wreck for a few days when we were filming those scenes." | "The whole business of the little boy's death was almost unbearable for me," Smith told the Telegraph last year. "It hit an awful raw nerve. It made me look at feelings which I thought I'd pushed away a long time ago." When Smith was eight, her eldest brother, Julian, died from cancer at the age of 18. "I immediately thought of my mum. Could anything ever be more terrible than losing her child? I can only imagine what my mum – and what Charmian – must have felt. I was a wreck for a few days when we were filming those scenes." |
| If you're looking for a simple explanation of the trajectory of Smith's career, and that's probably a mistake, you could ascribe it to that family tragedy. "For as long as I can remember, I have always just wanted to make my parents proud, to somehow distract them from losing Julian," she has said. If you go to her parents' Facebook page though, you'll see how much she succeeded in making them proud. | If you're looking for a simple explanation of the trajectory of Smith's career, and that's probably a mistake, you could ascribe it to that family tragedy. "For as long as I can remember, I have always just wanted to make my parents proud, to somehow distract them from losing Julian," she has said. If you go to her parents' Facebook page though, you'll see how much she succeeded in making them proud. |
| Her parents, Marilyn and Colin, a country and western duo who go by the handle The Daltons, inducted Sheridan into showbiz aged six. Her first professional gig was at Doncaster's Civic theatre, where she played Annie alongside her mum and dad. Now the Civic is being replaced by a new theatre called Cast . "Apparently there have been letters in the press saying the theatre should have been named after Sheridan," her parents wrote on their Facebook page. "Wouldn't that have been brilliant ..." | Her parents, Marilyn and Colin, a country and western duo who go by the handle The Daltons, inducted Sheridan into showbiz aged six. Her first professional gig was at Doncaster's Civic theatre, where she played Annie alongside her mum and dad. Now the Civic is being replaced by a new theatre called Cast . "Apparently there have been letters in the press saying the theatre should have been named after Sheridan," her parents wrote on their Facebook page. "Wouldn't that have been brilliant ..." |
| Despite attending Joyce Mason School of Dance in Scunthorpe and being a member of the National Youth Music Theatre from 1995 to 2001, Smith's characteristic posture in interviews is to say she's out of her depth as an actor. "I'm constantly thinking: 'Oh my God, can I do this?'" Worse, she often worries what spewers of online bile think. | Despite attending Joyce Mason School of Dance in Scunthorpe and being a member of the National Youth Music Theatre from 1995 to 2001, Smith's characteristic posture in interviews is to say she's out of her depth as an actor. "I'm constantly thinking: 'Oh my God, can I do this?'" Worse, she often worries what spewers of online bile think. |
| But for nearly two years she triumphantly played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, and in 2011 won an Olivier award as best actress in a musical for her performance. When that run ended, there was talk that Stephen Daldry would direct her in a Bridget Jones musical with songs by Lily Allen, which would have made career sense, but plans to produce that show that have so far foundered. | But for nearly two years she triumphantly played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, and in 2011 won an Olivier award as best actress in a musical for her performance. When that run ended, there was talk that Stephen Daldry would direct her in a Bridget Jones musical with songs by Lily Allen, which would have made career sense, but plans to produce that show that have so far foundered. |
| Instead, Smith took a straight role in Trevor Nunn's revival of Terence Rattigan's Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. It was anticipated as a vehicle for Sienna Miller, but critics hailed Smith's performance. Michael Billington wrote she was "quite stunning" as a former barmaid who now finds herself a countess because of her marriage to the Polish pilot: "Smith never overdoes the brassiness and there is a heart-stopping moment when her features light up as she learns, from a letter, how much she was loved by her missing-in-action husband." | Instead, Smith took a straight role in Trevor Nunn's revival of Terence Rattigan's Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. It was anticipated as a vehicle for Sienna Miller, but critics hailed Smith's performance. Michael Billington wrote she was "quite stunning" as a former barmaid who now finds herself a countess because of her marriage to the Polish pilot: "Smith never overdoes the brassiness and there is a heart-stopping moment when her features light up as she learns, from a letter, how much she was loved by her missing-in-action husband." |
| Among those who went backstage to congratulate Smith was Dustin Hoffman. When the Hollywood star came into her dressing room, she was overwhelmed and promptly burst into tears. Soon after he cast her in his directorial debut film Quartet and, this time last year, she won a second Olivier as best supporting actress for her performance. | Among those who went backstage to congratulate Smith was Dustin Hoffman. When the Hollywood star came into her dressing room, she was overwhelmed and promptly burst into tears. Soon after he cast her in his directorial debut film Quartet and, this time last year, she won a second Olivier as best supporting actress for her performance. |
| Free of the long-term commitments of Legally Blonde, Smith's range has expanded exponentially. In quick succession, she appeared in six television dramas, four films and two plays. Not all of them were heart-breaking works of shattering genius, though typically Smith was the best thing in them. In the film Tower Block, for instance, she was, according to Phelim O'Neill's Guardian review, "very natural and charming" as a plucky woman helping Russell Tovey and other residents of a block of flats fend off a sniper in a promising premise turned into undercooked drama. It was the second play she took after Legally Blonde, though, that really pushed Smith, flailing and panicking, out of her depth. | Free of the long-term commitments of Legally Blonde, Smith's range has expanded exponentially. In quick succession, she appeared in six television dramas, four films and two plays. Not all of them were heart-breaking works of shattering genius, though typically Smith was the best thing in them. In the film Tower Block, for instance, she was, according to Phelim O'Neill's Guardian review, "very natural and charming" as a plucky woman helping Russell Tovey and other residents of a block of flats fend off a sniper in a promising premise turned into undercooked drama. It was the second play she took after Legally Blonde, though, that really pushed Smith, flailing and panicking, out of her depth. |
| She had never come across Hedda Gabler until Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey and director Anna Mackmin urged her to take the role. "I'd met Sheridan for another job that she turned down," says Mackmin. "And there's nothing like being turned down to go, 'Right, I will bloody have her!'" | She had never come across Hedda Gabler until Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey and director Anna Mackmin urged her to take the role. "I'd met Sheridan for another job that she turned down," says Mackmin. "And there's nothing like being turned down to go, 'Right, I will bloody have her!'" |
| During rehearsals, though, Smith had terrible panic attacks – until Mackmin punctured the Ibsen heroine's intimidating reputation by telling her: "Don't call her Hedda Gabler, call her Elsie." Smith's resultant performance won extraordinary reviews: "Like many gifted actors, she pulls off the apparently impossible: she makes detail dominate the stage," wrote Susannah Clapp in the Observer . | During rehearsals, though, Smith had terrible panic attacks – until Mackmin punctured the Ibsen heroine's intimidating reputation by telling her: "Don't call her Hedda Gabler, call her Elsie." Smith's resultant performance won extraordinary reviews: "Like many gifted actors, she pulls off the apparently impossible: she makes detail dominate the stage," wrote Susannah Clapp in the Observer . |
| Earlier this year, Smith beat Billie Piper to best actress awards in the Whatsonstage.com awards for the performance. "Sheridan brought humanity," says Mackmin. "She has sharp wit, emotional integrity and, frankly, the guts to go the extreme places that playing a suicidal person demands. Brian Friel's version of Hedda explored more fully than Ibsen chooses to reveal the psychology behind Hedda's actions. Sheridan dug into those corners with absolute gusto." | Earlier this year, Smith beat Billie Piper to best actress awards in the Whatsonstage.com awards for the performance. "Sheridan brought humanity," says Mackmin. "She has sharp wit, emotional integrity and, frankly, the guts to go the extreme places that playing a suicidal person demands. Brian Friel's version of Hedda explored more fully than Ibsen chooses to reveal the psychology behind Hedda's actions. Sheridan dug into those corners with absolute gusto." |
| Sheridan brought more than humanity – she brought her fan base to the Old Vic, including some of her 369,000-plus Twitter followers. Mackmin says the play attracted an unprecedented audience of under 25-year-olds. | Sheridan brought more than humanity – she brought her fan base to the Old Vic, including some of her 369,000-plus Twitter followers. Mackmin says the play attracted an unprecedented audience of under 25-year-olds. |
| As for Smith, she recognised if not Hedda's predicament ("I will never be a kept woman – that will never be me"), then her frustrations. "She likes firing guns. She doesn't want to be the little woman. I'm a bit of a tomboy, too. I really get that attitude of: 'I don't want to have children, I don't want to be a little wife at home.'" | As for Smith, she recognised if not Hedda's predicament ("I will never be a kept woman – that will never be me"), then her frustrations. "She likes firing guns. She doesn't want to be the little woman. I'm a bit of a tomboy, too. I really get that attitude of: 'I don't want to have children, I don't want to be a little wife at home.'" |
| Smith, who was once in a relationship with James Corden, co-star and writer of Gavin & Stacey, and was recently linked to Amy Winehouse's ex Reg Traviss,is hardly cut out to be the little wife at home. She lives alone with her dogs, one of whom is a pug called Barry Manilow. That's not to say Smith is unremittingly content. Just before Christmas she tweeted : "Oh I can't stop crying. Hate myself sometimes, just can't be myself. I can only play characters. Wish I had more confidence when I'm being me." | Smith, who was once in a relationship with James Corden, co-star and writer of Gavin & Stacey, and was recently linked to Amy Winehouse's ex Reg Traviss,is hardly cut out to be the little wife at home. She lives alone with her dogs, one of whom is a pug called Barry Manilow. That's not to say Smith is unremittingly content. Just before Christmas she tweeted : "Oh I can't stop crying. Hate myself sometimes, just can't be myself. I can only play characters. Wish I had more confidence when I'm being me." |
| She had just appeared on the Jonathan Ross Show and thought she'd made a fool of herself. Watching the interview, you'd be hard pushed to agree. She does conclude by saying to Ross "You're lovely. You're a dilf" – but that's hardly worth a second's regret, still less tears and tweets. | She had just appeared on the Jonathan Ross Show and thought she'd made a fool of herself. Watching the interview, you'd be hard pushed to agree. She does conclude by saying to Ross "You're lovely. You're a dilf" – but that's hardly worth a second's regret, still less tears and tweets. |
| Lest we overstate Sheridan Smith's sophistication, it's worth nothing that she'll be seen soon in The Powder Room, a film version of a hit Edinburgh play that unfolds in the ladies' of a British nightclub. | Lest we overstate Sheridan Smith's sophistication, it's worth nothing that she'll be seen soon in The Powder Room, a film version of a hit Edinburgh play that unfolds in the ladies' of a British nightclub. |
| At least they ditched the original title, Where Women Wee. | At least they ditched the original title, Where Women Wee. |
| Potted profile | Potted profile |
| Born: 25 June 1981 in Epworth, Lincolnshire | Born: 25 June 1981 in Epworth, Lincolnshire |
| Career to date: Featuring in parents' country and western double act in pubs and clubs around Lincolnshire. On TV starring in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Gavin & Stacey. Last year she took the title role of Mrs Biggs, wife of the Great Train Robber, Ronnie. Last year she won an Olivier aware for her role as Doris in Flare Path. She was given a role in Dustin Hoffman's directorial film debut Quartet. | Career to date: Featuring in parents' country and western double act in pubs and clubs around Lincolnshire. On TV starring in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Gavin & Stacey. Last year she took the title role of Mrs Biggs, wife of the Great Train Robber, Ronnie. Last year she won an Olivier aware for her role as Doris in Flare Path. She was given a role in Dustin Hoffman's directorial film debut Quartet. |
| High point: Confounding those who thought she was doomed to play, as she put it, "old scrubs, chavs or slappers" by rising to the challenge of playing what is known as the female Hamlet, Hedda Gabler. | High point: Confounding those who thought she was doomed to play, as she put it, "old scrubs, chavs or slappers" by rising to the challenge of playing what is known as the female Hamlet, Hedda Gabler. |
| Low point: Being dubbed when playing a chambermaid in BBC period drama Wives and Daughters in 1999. Aged 18, she had one line: "Bless us and save us – what's this in the bed?" Her reportedly foghorn delivery was replaced in post-production. | Low point: Being dubbed when playing a chambermaid in BBC period drama Wives and Daughters in 1999. Aged 18, she had one line: "Bless us and save us – what's this in the bed?" Her reportedly foghorn delivery was replaced in post-production. |
| What she says: "I think I'm rubbish. But other people have got such faith in me, I can't let them down ... I feel like I'm blagging it, to be honest. But I'll keep going. I've got away with it so far. I'll get found out one day." | What she says: "I think I'm rubbish. But other people have got such faith in me, I can't let them down ... I feel like I'm blagging it, to be honest. But I'll keep going. I've got away with it so far. I'll get found out one day." |
| What others say: "I saw her in Flare Path in the West End and I just broke down. She took me by surprise. She's right up there and deserves to be next to Maggie Smith." (Dustin Hoffman) | What others say: "I saw her in Flare Path in the West End and I just broke down. She took me by surprise. She's right up there and deserves to be next to Maggie Smith." (Dustin Hoffman) |