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Sarah Miles

 
Actor: Sarah Miles
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  • Born: Dec 31, 1941 in Ingatestone, Essex, England
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '60s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Drama
  • Career Highlights: Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, The Servant, White Mischief
  • First Major Screen Credit: Term of Trial (1962)

Biography

The daughter of a British merchant, Sarah Miles enrolled at RADA at the age of 15. Before her formal stage debut at the Old Vic, Miles made her film bow opposite Laurence Olivier in Term of Trial (1962). A marked contrast to the "English Rose" heroines once in vogue, she brought a smouldering sensuality to her roles in Joseph Losey's The Servant (1963) and The Ceremony (1964) and Antonioni's Blow Up (1966). So well established was Miles as a "sex symbol" (though she'd be the first to put down that demeaning term) by 1965 that she was able to spoof her screen image in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, playing an outwardly proper lass who gets a subtly erotic thrill out of flying in rickety vintage airplanes -- and who frequently finds herself being accidentally undressed in public. In 1969, Miles was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of the title role in Ryan's Daughter. She then was forced to endure a decade of tabloid-press scrutiny, beginning with her wholly unsubstantiated "involvement" with the suicide of a man named David Whiting on the set of The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), and culminating with the publicity engendered by her steamy sex scenes with Kris Kristofferson in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea (1976). Though she often dismissed adverse press by noting "I have been mocked and ridiculed all my life," Miles would frequently retire from filmmaking for up to three years at a time. She was, however, always available for stage work: her more significant theatrical credits include the roles of Marina Oswald in The Silence of Lee Harvey Oswald, Mary Queen of Scots in Vivat Vivat Regina, and her 1978 one-woman musical S. Miles is Me. Still active in character roles in the 1980s, Miles has recently been seen in the surprisingly sedate role of a wartime London matriarch in Hope and Glory (1987), and more characteristically as an insatiably lusty aristocrat in White Mischief. She was married to playwright Robert Bolt from 1967 to 1976, then remarried him eleven years later. In 1993, Sarah Miles published her autobiography, A Right Royal Bastard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Sarah Miles
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Sarah Miles
Born 31 December 1941 (1941-12-31) (age 67)
Ingatestone, Essex, England
Spouse(s) Robert Bolt (1967–1975 (div), 1988–1995 (remarried)) 1 child (Until his death)

Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English theatre and film actress.

Contents

Early life and career

She first attended Roedean but at the age of 15 she enrolled at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Shortly after her completion at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Miles debuted in 1962 as Shirley Taylor in Term of Trial (1962), co-starring with Laurence Olivier, with whom she had a brief affair. The following year, Miles became a well-reputed actress of British New Wave with her roles in Joseph Losey's The Servant (1963) and as the unsuspicious wife in Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966).

After acting in a variety of plays from 1966 to 1969, Miles was cast as Rosy Ryan, the daughter of Tom Ryan in David Lean's 1970 film, Ryan's Daughter. Her performance earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Although she has denied it, Miles is known for her frequent use of profanity. A November 1971 Cosmopolitan profile was subtitled "She uses words that would make a construction worker blush, but from her they sound refined" while a Women's Wear profile was titled "The Lady with the Truckdriver's Mouth".[1]

Miles is also widely known for drinking her own urine. Citing famous practitioners of urine therapy. such as Gandhi and Nero, she has for thirty years been indulging herself in this tradition to keep herself healthy and vigorous.[2]

In 1973, while filming The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, her manager and associate David Whiting died under mysterious circumstances. During that same time, Miles was reported to be having an affair with Burt Reynolds.[1]

Since 1973, Miles has gone through periods of semi-retirement, only to appear in a film or a TV program. She most recently appeared in Well at the Trafalgar Studios and the Apollo Theatre opposite Natalie Casey.

Miles was married twice to the British playwright Robert Bolt, (1967–1975) and (1988–1995). He wrote and directed the film Lady Caroline Lamb, in which Miles played the eponymous heroine.

Her brother is film director, producer and screenwriter Christopher Miles.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1962 Term of Trial Shirley Taylor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
1963 The Servant Vera Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best British Actress
The Ceremony Catherine
1965 Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Patricia Rawnsley
Time Lost and Time Remembered Cass Langdon
1966 Blowup Patricia
1970 Ryan's Daughter Rosy Ryan Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1972 Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb
1973 The Hireling Lady Franklin
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing Catherine Crocker
1975 Bride to Be Pepita Jiménez
1976 The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Anne Osborne Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1978 The Big Sleep Charlotte Sternwood
1981 Priest of Love Film Star
Venom Dr. Marion Stowe
1984 Ordeal by Innocence Mary Durant
1985 Steaming Sarah
1987 Hope and Glory Grace Rowan Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
White Mischief Alice de Janzé
1992 The Silent Touch Helena
2001 Days of Grace Sissi, La Madre
Jurij Martina, directrice clinica
2003 The Accidental Detective Smeralda Mazzi Tinghi

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1974 Great Expectations Estella
1976 Dynasty Jennifer Blackwood
1987 Queenie Lady Sybil
1990 A Ghost in Monte Carlo Emilie/Mme. Bluet
1994 Dandelion Dead Catherine Armstrong TV mini-series
2004 Poirot: The Hollow Lady Angkatell

Books

Sarah Miles has written the following books:

References

  1. ^ a b Ron Rosenbaum, "The Corpse as Big as the Ritz", The Secret Parts of Fortune (reprinted from Esquire)
  2. ^ "I can't wait to get off this planet", Interview with Sarah Miles in The Independent, September 2007

External links

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