Kelly Macdonald – “Duff”
Kelly Macdonald – “Duff”
A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Kelly Macdonald is perhaps best known as Margaret Schroeder on Boardwalk Empire, the voice of Merida in Brave and for pivotal roles in work by some of the most influential filmmakers of our time – No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers, Robert Altman’s Gosford Park and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting.
Macdonald starred in 2016 in the StudioCanal/HanWay Films of the UK classic book Swallows and Amazons for director Philippa Lowthorpe. Macdonald most recently completed production on Bronwen Hughes’ independent feature The Journey is the Destination, a story based on the life of Dan Eldon, a young British Reuters photographer, artist and avid adventurer. Macdonald plays Eldon’s mentor Duff, a photojournalist who travels to Somalia to report the erroneous bombing of a village peace council. Ben Schnetzer and Maria Bello also star.
Last summer, Macdonald began shooting Goodbye Christopher Robin for Fox Searchlight and director Simon Curtis. Macdonald made her acting debut as Diane, Renton’s (Ewan McGregor) one-night stand in Trainspotting(1996). In 2001, she played Mary, the visiting servant who works for Maggie Smith’s countess in Gosford Park (SAG, Critics Choice Awards for the ensemble). More recently, Macdonald garnered the London Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actress, a BAFTA nomination and a SAG Award (ensemble) for her performance as Carla Jean Moss, wife to hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) in No Country for Old Men.
In 2012, Macdonald gave voice to Merida, the tomboyish princess/heroine of Brave, Pixar’s first feature with a female protagonist. Macdonald’s screen credits also include The Decoy Bride, Choke, Nanny McPhee, Lassie, All the Invisible Children, Intermission, Cousin Bette, Elizabeth, Strictly Sinatra, Splendor, Entropy, The Loss of Sexual Innocence, My Life So Far, Stella Does Tricks, and Some Voices. For Two Family House, Macdonald received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.
Macdonald also made cameo appearances as Ravenclaw’s ghost, The Grey Lady, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Marc Foster’s Finding Neverland (as Peter Pan), Michael Winterbottom’s Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Last summer, for television, Macdonald was filming an episode of the acclaimed anthology series Black Mirror (Channel 4/Netflix), entitled “Hated in the Nation.” Macdonald garnered an Emmy Award for her performance as the title character opposite Bill Nighy in the HBO original film The Girl in the Café. In 2010, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination and shared a 2011 and 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards with the cast of Boardwalk Empire, the critically acclaimed HBO series for creator Terence Winter and executive producer Martin Scorsese. Macdonald starred for all five seasons as the complicated Irish widow and mother who captured the attention of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City during Prohibition.
In 2015, Macdonald played Eric Bana’s radio station colleague in Ricky Gervais’ Special Correspondents, which debuted on Netflix that spring. She also co-starred with Tim Roth and John Simm in Skellig for Sky and portrayed journalist Della Smith in the groundbreaking BBC mini-series State of Play.
