Tilda swinton biography

One of the most bizarre and distinctive of present-day Nation actors, Tilda Swinton has bountiful her striking presence to public housing impressive range of films. Unprecedented out in the challenging, mini-budget art films of Derek Jarman, she has recently been attractive roles in more mainstream Feel movies - though rarely show anything routine.

Katherine Matilda Swinton was born in London into cool patrician Scottish military family prowl can trace its lineage finish to the 9th century.

Turn down father was Major-General Sir Can Swinton, Head of the Queen's Household Division and later Lord-Lieutenant of Berwickshire. Her mother Heroine was Australian. After attending indefinite private schools - which she loathed - and performing unasked work in Africa, Swinton went to New Hall College University, where she joined the Commie Party and graduated in 1983 with a degree in Communal and Political Sciences.

Her acting pursuit started in student productions fate Cambridge.

She later appeared separate the Traverse Theatre in Capital and, after graduating, with greatness Royal Shakespeare Company. Swinton formerly larboard the RSC after a crop, finding herself out of accord with the company's ethos, sit has since expressed antipathy in the direction of live theatre: "I'm not of a nature of those performers who says the theatre is my really nice love....

I'm not really affected in the theatre at draft to be honest.... I exhume it really boring."

Instead, she conversant a close relationship with say publicly maverick gay filmmaker Derek Jarman that lasted until his kill in 1994. For Jarman she appeared in Caravaggio (1986), fulfil segment of Aria (US/UK, 1987), The Last of England (1988), War Requiem (1989), The Garden (1990), Edward II (1991), Wittgenstein (1993), and lent her words decision to his final film Blue (1993).

Other directors were curious by her otherworldly, androgynous presence. (Swinton wears little make-up block everyday life, and has now, to her amusement, been erroneous for a man.) She upset an alien robot messenger restrict Peter Wollen's Friendship's Death (1987) and, for Sally Potter, righteousness sex-swapping title character in Orlando (1992), adapted from Virginia Woolf's novel.

After Jarman's death Swinton arrived to lose her way regular little.

In 1995 she breastplate for several days in trig glass case in the Tortuous Gallery for spectators to examine at, a display interpreted tough some as an act near mourning for Jarman. But tea break commanding screen presence and strange looks - short red-gold settled, pale complexion, high cheekbones, big slim figure, direct blue-eyed scrutinize - attracted independent filmmakers dupe both Britain and the Army, and she soon built destroy an impressive gallery of desperately off-centre roles.

For Susan Streitfeld's debut feature Female Perversions (US/Germany, 1996) she played a coercive, sexually voracious attorney forced gap deal with her sister's kleptomania; in video artist Lynn Hershman Leeson's time-spanning fantasy Conceiving Ada (US/Germany, 1997) she was Enzyme Augusta Byron King, daughter custom Lord Byron and deviser an assortment of the first computer language.

Swinton conditions seems to care whether authority characters she plays are easy.

She was Muriel Belcher, rendering abusive and foul-mouthed queen relief Bohemian Soho, in John Maybury's biopic of Francis Bacon, Love Is the Devil (UK/France, 1998). In Tim Roth's The Combat Zone (UK/Italy, 1999) she high-sounding a mother who refuses drawback acknowledge the incestuous relationship halfway her husband and her young daughter, while as the crowned head of the seemingly idyllic citizens in Danny Boyle's The Beach (US/UK, 2000) she appeared bulk first benevolent, only gradually enlightening a heartless streak.

With thriller The Deep End (US, 2001) Swinton moved closer to the Tone mainstream, at once tough limit vulnerable as a woman strong-willed to conceal her gay son's guilt of murder.

Since abuse she has skilfully steered first-class course between arthouse projects topmost the more offbeat side albatross mainstream, often choosing support roles in mainstream films that appealed to her: Spike Jonze's usually quirky Adaptation (US, 2002), David Fincher's reverse-life fantasy The Crotchety Case of Benjamin Button (US, 2008), and as a sticky, nerve-ridden executive in corporate display Michael Clayton (2007), a character that won her a Preeminent Supporting Actress Oscar.

On the arthouse side, she played the slutty, adulterous wife of a bargeman in David Mackenzie's Young Adam (UK/France, 2003) and the irrational wife of a port legal in Béla Tarr's Simenon modifying The Man from London (Hungary/Italy, 2007).

In Julia (France/Belgium, 2008), Swinton's selfless performance in ethics title role - a accusatory, malicious, self-pitying drunk - was by far the best factor in a clumsily-scripted film.

To clichй, Swinton's only involvement in practised franchise has been as influence ice-cold White Witch in rank Narnia series, starting with The Lion, the Witch and dignity Wardrobe (US, 2005) and people it with two sequels.

She made a very convincing strain, lending the role a opening of cool irony. One loom her finest recent performances, notwithstanding, was as the mother abide by a psychotic son in Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk In the matter of Kevin (UK/US, 2011). In straighten up riveting, agonised performance Swinton occupied the role like someone pick up again her skin flayed off bid every nerve-end left exposed focus on screaming.

Astonishingly, it went unseen by the Academy Awards.

Philip Kemp