MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE

We’ve created something that is reaching people, moving people. - Marianne Jean-Baptiste 

One of the original multi-hyphenates of music, stage and screen. MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE entered our world with her breakout role in Mike Leigh’s SECRETS & LIES (1996), composed the music for Leigh’s next film CAREER GIRLS (1997) and cemented her success as Doreen in the British docudrama THE MURDER OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE (1999).

When she was cast as FBI agent Vivian Johnson, a lead role in the American network television series WITHOUT A TRACE (2002-2009) she packed her bags, moved to LA and shapeshifted in a numerous standout female supporting roles, from Sharon Bishop in BROADCHURCH (2015) and Deputy Chief Joy Lockhart in TRAINING DAY (2017) to Sheila Woolchapel in Peter Strickland’s IN FABRIC (2018) and Gloria Morisseau in HOMECOMING (2018).

Jean-Baptiste has also had a prolific theatre career. She first met Mike Leigh as a RADA graduate, starring in his play IT'S A GREAT BIG SHAME (1993). Years later, her return to the UK stage for the National Theatre production of James Baldwin’s THE AMEN CORNER (2013) was widely celebrated and hailed as a comeback. Soon after, she would then make her ferocious Royal Court debut in debbie tucker green’s HANG (2015).

Reuniting with Mike Leigh almost 30 years since their first collaboration is a full-circle moment for Jean-Baptiste. She plays the prickly Pansy in his tragi-comic HARD TRUTHS and her performance in what’s got to be one of her most challenging roles yet is a tour de force of improvisation and nuanced characterisation. As she continues to captivate with her unparalleled depth, range and authenticity, we are honoured to celebrate her legacy in the way we know best.

Thank you to Studiocanal UK and Bleecker Street for supporting this new addition!

HARD TRUTHS is now playing in the US and will be released in UK & Irish cinemas on January 31st