Mary McDonnell is an American film, television and theater actress. She was nominated for an Oscar twice: for roles in the films Fish of Passion and Dancing with the Wolves. The actress also played the role of President Roslyn in the popular science fiction television series Star Cruiser Galaxy and the main role in the current series, Especially Serious Crimes.
early years
Mary was born on 04/28/1952 in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The girl's family decided to move from Pennsylvania to New York, to the town of Ithaca. Here the childhood of the future actress passed.
In her youth, Mary McDonnell graduated from New York University and the school of acting. She was hired by the Long Worf Theater in New Haven, where the actress worked for the next twenty years.
Theater career
In the year of graduation (1974), Mary performed her first role on the stage of the theater in New York in the production of "Buried Child" by Sam Shepard. Acting was given by McDonnell easily and naturally. Already in 1980, together with partners in the production of Still Life, she was awarded the Obie Theater Award. In this production, she played with actors John Spencer and Timothy Neer.
For twenty years at the theater, Mary has appeared in a variety of Broadway productions. This is “The Punishment of Justice,” “Summer and Smoke,” “The Heidi Chronicles.”
Careers in film and television
In parallel with work in the theater, the girl tried her hand at film and television. She began, like many other actors, with small episodic roles. For ten whole years, McDonnell played only episodic roles and supporting roles.
The first serious success of the actress on television was the role of one of the doctors in the television series "Ambulance" in 1984. After this role, the girl was noticed and invited to serious projects. Mary has played in such world-famous films as Independence Day, 12 Angry Men, Donnie Darko, Ambulance with George Clooney, Anatomy of Passion, The Bloodhound, and others.
Historical drama Dancing with the Wolves
In 1990, in the film "Dancing with the Wolves", the role of the white girl, who was adopted by the Indian tribe, went to Mary McDonnell. Films about the Indians at that time often appeared on the screen, but rarely were critics so warmly accepted as this one.
The director and producer of the film was Kevin Costner, and the main roles in the film were played by Kevin Costner, Graham Green, Floyd Westerman, Rodney Grant and, of course, McDonnell. Costner has been working on the film for more than five years. The premiere of the tape took place in 1990. The Indians in the film speak their native dialect. In the film, their speech is subtitled.
Dancing with the Wolves has earned twelve Academy Award nominations. Awards were received in seven categories, including as "Best Movie". Mary was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress. Interestingly, at the time of Dancing with the Wolves, McDonnell was two months older than the actor who played the role of her father, Graham Green, and two months less than the age of the actress Tantu Cardinal, who played her mother.
The dramatic film "Fish of Passion"
The actress earned her second Oscar nomination in 1993. This time she was nominated for starring in the movie "Passion Fish."
“Fish of Passion” was directed by director John Sales. The main roles along with Mary in the film were played by Alfrey Woodard, David Strathairn and Angela Bassett. At the box office, the film raised about five million dollars.
Mary McDonnell, whose photo after this role was often flashed in newspapers and magazines, played a paralyzed disabled woman, an actress on television series.
The plot is based on the story of an actress who returns home paralyzed after an accident. The nurse who takes care of her gradually changes the woman’s attitude to life and to her physical condition.
The film was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe in two categories, and won the American Independent Spirit Award and the Flanders Film Festival.
Recent work
In 2003, the broadcasting of the series “Star cruiser Galaxy” about people from Kobol colonies fighting with alien Cylons began on the Sci Fi television channel. For the role of the president of these twelve colonies, Laura Roslin was invited to McDonnell. The series was warmly received by the audience. Several feature films based on it were shot, in which Mary also played.
Now the actress does not act in films as often as before. The quantity has been replaced by quality; Mary chooses only the projects of interest to her for filming. In 2011, the actress played in the horror film "Scream 4" and in the thriller directed by JC Chandor, "The Limit of Risk."
Since 2012, the actress has been busy in the television series "Particularly Grave Crimes", where she plays the main role. This is the role of Police Captain Raydor. Since 2017, Mary has starred in the highly successful Fargo television series from the creator of Noah Hawley. Here she had the opportunity to play the role of a widow named Ruby Goldfarb. The Fargo television series received only 133 nominations in various categories of various television awards in the first two seasons of the broadcast and received 32 of them. The show is regularly nominated for an Emmy and has already received awards from the United States Producers Guild and the United States Scriptwriters Guild.
Prizes and awards
In the piggy bank of the actress, there is only one truly significant reward. This is the Saturn Award for Best Television Actress for her role in the fantasy series Star Cruiser Galaxy. As an undoubted recognition of McDonnell's acting talent, there are also two nominations for an Oscar, two for Golden Globe and one for Emmy.
Personal life
The actress is happily married. Mary McDonnell and her husband Randle Mell raised two children. Their son Michael was born in 1993, and their daughter Olivia - in 1987. Randle Mell is also an actor who is known to many in the films The Cotton Club, The Postman, and the television series Defective Detective, 24 Hours, Law and Order.