Jessica Hynes Movies
Formerly known as Jessica Stevenson (she officially changed her name in 2007 to her married name, despite having used her maiden name professionally for more than a decade), actress and screenwriter Jessica Hynes was born in Lewisham, England, but raised in Brighton. As a youth, Hynes gravitated to stage performance and enlisted in the National Youth Theatre ensemble when she was in her teens. Hynes broke into features at the age of 21, with a role in Peter Greenaway's The Baby of Macon; several years of various performance activities then ensued, including a substantial part in a straight-faced nursing drama on British television and participation in a two-woman comedy act called "the Liz Hurleys" (opposite actress Katy Carmichael). Hynes' most substantial acclaim, however, arose from two long-running comedic stints on television: the role of nutty neighbor Cheryl in the situation comedy The Royle Family and an assignment developing, writing, and starring in the popular sitcom Spaced (1999), as Daisy Steiner, alongside Simon Pegg. Taking the success of these ventures as a cue, Hynes then branched out into feature films, with small offbeat characterizations in productions including Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Shaun of the Dead (done with several Spaced creators including Pegg), and Son of Rambow. Fantasy enthusiasts may also recall her voice work as Mafalda Hopkirk, who reprimands Harry via a letter from the Ministry of Magic for his improper use of magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). Off-camera, Hynes remained fully active in stage pursuits and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her contribution to the play The Night Heron in 2003. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 2008
A man who enjoys living in the past is having a hard time dealing with the present in this comedy from the UK. Richard (Eddie Marsan) spends his days dealing with cranky customers at a big-box home improvement store, but on weekends he becomes a fearsome Viking warrior with a local role-playing group called the Bloody Broadswords. Richard and his best friend Julian (Ewen Bremner) help the group recreate centuries-old battles with all the realism their limited finances can muster, but Richard's wife Cath (Jessica Hynes) has lost her patience with him spending so much time with the Broadswords and so little time around the house. Richard's son Martin (Joseph Hamilton) is also grown tired of being dragged along to mock battles that earn him the ridicule of his schoolmates, even if his almost girlfriend Emily (Chloe Hesar) approves. Eventually, Cath gives Richard his walking papers, and while he tries to win her back, the fact she soon starts dating Gary (Paul Nicholls), Martin's gym coach, suggests he has a tough battle ahead of him. Meanwhile, Julian is having better luck in his love life when his girlfriend Maggie (Bronagh Gallagher) asks him to move in with her, but Julian's mother isn't pleased to learn he's finally leaving home. Faintheart was directed by Vito Rocco and written by Rocco and David Lemon, who documented the production and sought input from film fans via the social networking internet site MySpace. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner, (more)
