Andrea Riseborough

Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 1981, Newcastle upon Tyne) is an award-winning English actress, best known for her performance as intern Kirsty MacKenzie in the BBC Two drama "Party Animals". [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/01_january/12/party_riseborough.shtml|title=Andrea Riseborough plays Labour researcher Kirsty MacKenzie|accessdate=2007-04-27|date=2007-01-12|publisher=BBC]

Early life

She grew up in Whitley Bay. At an early age, she participated in the [http://ptag.org.uk People's Theatre] on "Stephenson Road" in Heaton firstly with the play "Riding England Sidesaddle" playing Celia Fiennes, which led to her touring the country with the National Youth Theatre. With reference to a later role, she has described her parents as being "working-class Thatcherites" with her father a used-car salesman and her mother a secretary. Riseborough spent her schooldays at the independent Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School on "Tankerville Terrace" in Jesmond. She started A levels but at 17 left to live in her own flat and managed a local chinese restaurant for three years, then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she graduated in 2005.

Career

She has had supporting roles in "The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton", "Venus", an episode of "Doc Martin", "Whatever Love Means" and "A Very Social Secretary". She played the love interest, Dani, in the Mitchell and Webb film "Magicians" in 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a43909/mitchell--webb.html?page=1|title=Mitchell & Webb|date=2007-04-27|accessdate=2007-04-14|author=Oatts, Joanne|publisher=Digital Spy]

For performances during her youth she won the 1999 Mike Figgis Award, and in 2007 she won the Ian Charleson Award for her performances as Isabella in "Measure For Measure" and as the title character in "Miss Julie".

In 2008 she appeared in Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and the BBC3 pilot "Being Human", the short "Love You More" (directed by Sam Taylor Wood), and the BBC drama "" which was written by Tony Saint, also from Newcastle.

She appears in the forthcoming series "The Devil's Whore", written by Peter Flannery from Jarrow, and Avie Luthra's film "Mad Sad & Bad". In September 2008 she will plays Sasha in a West End revival of Chekhov's Ivanov.

She also writes with her creative partner, the actor Tom Burke. She has a good creative and supportive relationship with Mike Leigh as well.

References

External links

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* [http://www.rada.org/grad05/ris.html Andrea Riseborough] at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
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* [http://devel.thenorthernecho.co.uk/leisure/tv/features/display.var.2320985.0.me_and_mrs_t.php "Northern Echo" article June 2008]
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4025107.ece "Times" article June 2008]