Miriam Margolyes OBE (born 18 May 1941 in Oxford, England) is a British-Australian character actress. She won a BAFTA for her performance in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence and is known to Harry Potter fans around the world as Professor Sprout. Her TV work includes guest appearances on Blackadder, Marple, Doc Martin and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She is also active in the theater and has played Wicked's Madame Morrible on both Broadway and London's West End.
Selected Filmography:
- The Black Adder, episode "The Queen of Spain's Beard" (1983): Infanta Maria Escalosa of Spain.
- Blackadder II, episode "Beer" (1986): Lady Whiteadder.
- "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" (1988): Queen Victoria.
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986): Dental Nurse.
- I Love You to Death (1990): Joey's Mother.
- The Age of Innocence (1993): Mrs. Mingott.
- Balto (1995): Grandma Rosy.
- Babe (1995): Fly, the Border Collie.
- Role reprised in Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996): Nurse.
- James and the Giant Peach (1996): Aunt Sponge/Glowworm.
- Mulan (1998): Matchmaker.
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002): Professor Sprout.
- Being Julia (2004): Dolly de Vries.
- Ladies in Lavender (2004): Dorcas.
- The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004): Peg Sellers.
- Flushed Away (2006): Grandma Malone.
- The Sarah Jane Adventures, episode "The Gift" (2009): Leef Slitheen-Blathereen.
- Legend Of The Guardians The Owls Of Ga Hoole (2010): Mrs. Plithiver.
- Doc Martin, episode "Born with a Shotgun" (2011): Shirley.
- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012-2015): Aunt Prudence.
- The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017): Mrs. Fisk.
- Early Man (2018): Queen Oofeefa.
- Call the Midwife (2018-2019): Sister Mildred.
Tropes:
- Brutal Honesty: Margolyes is known for being unusually candid in interviews. In an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, she recounted the time she had oral sex with an American soldier and when asked about her Harry Potter co-stars, she said she didn't like "the one that died". Also, when she became an Australian citizen, she referred to herself as a "dyke" right in front of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
- Playing Gertrude: She played Kevin Kline's mom in I Love You To Death. Their age difference? Six years. It happened again when she played Peter Sellers' mother in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. She and Geoffrey Rush are only ten years apart in age.
- Precision F-Strike: When she appeared on University Challenge in the early 60s, she became the first person to say "fuck" on British television.
