Jenny Runacre
Encyclopedia
Jenny Runacre is an actress.
Runacre was born in Cape Town
, South Africa
. She relocated to London
as a child, attended The Actor's Workshop there, and trained in the Stanislavski System
.
While attending the Actor's Workshop, Runacre was approached by fellow student (and future agent) Tom Busby
, who was working as a runner for an American film production that was seeking fledgling English actresses to play opposite John Cassavetes
in Husbands
, a film to be shot the following year in London. The young actress auditioned with Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara
and Peter Falk
, and was told six weeks later that she was being offered the part of Mary Tynan in the film. Runacre accepted the offer and Husbands became her first important film role.
Runacre then joined the original London cast of Oh! Calcutta!
. Runacre left the cast after a year and starred in such films as Pier Paolo Pasolini
's The Canterbury Tales
, John Huston
's The Mackintosh Man
, Robert Fuest
's The Final Programme, Michelangelo Antonioni
's The Passenger
, and Derek Jarman
's Jubilee
(in which she starred as Elizabeth I and "Bod"). She was active in the theatre as well as on British television, including a part in the noted series Brideshead Revisited
, playing Brenda Champion.
Runacre focused on higher education in the 1990s. She has a Master's in Fine Art Practice from Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design. She is currently a lecturer in residence in Art, and has worked in installation art
and experimental filmmaking.
In 2007 Runacre directed Gareth Parker and Andrew Swann's Frozen, which was nominated for Best Direction, Best Writing and Best Overall Production in the LOST Theatre Festival. The production, starring Jack Bowman (Crossroads) and Josephine Hart
came second overall. Runacre also directed the Wireless Theatre Company's audio adaption of Frozen after its successful stage run, featuring the original cast.
Most recently Jenny appeared in John Maybury's The Edge of Love released Summer 2008.
Runacre was born in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. She relocated to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a child, attended The Actor's Workshop there, and trained in the Stanislavski System
Stanislavski System
Stanislavski's system is a progression of techniques used to train actors to draw believable emotions to their performances. The method that was originally created and used by Constantin Stanislavski from 1911-1916 was based on the concept of emotional memory for which an actor focuses internally...
.
While attending the Actor's Workshop, Runacre was approached by fellow student (and future agent) Tom Busby
Tom Busby
Tom Busby was a Canadian actor and agent. Among his film credits was The Dirty Dozen....
, who was working as a runner for an American film production that was seeking fledgling English actresses to play opposite John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
in Husbands
Husbands (film)
Husbands is a 1970 film written and directed by John Cassavetes. This ensemble film, which describes three middle class men in the throes of a midlife crisis, stars Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk and Cassavetes....
, a film to be shot the following year in London. The young actress auditioned with Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara
-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
and Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, and was told six weeks later that she was being offered the part of Mary Tynan in the film. Runacre accepted the offer and Husbands became her first important film role.
Runacre then joined the original London cast of Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta!
Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde theatrical revue, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in London in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314...
. Runacre left the cast after a year and starred in such films as Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
's The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales (film)
The Canterbury Tales is a 1972 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and based on the medieval narrative poem The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is the second film in Pasolini's 'Trilogy of Life'...
, John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's The Mackintosh Man
The Mackintosh Man
The Mackintosh Man is a 1973 British cold war spy thriller film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Dominique Sanda and Ian Bannen. It was produced by John Foreman and William Hill as associate producer from a screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild based on the...
, Robert Fuest
Robert Fuest
Robert Fuest is an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who has worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres....
's The Final Programme, Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
's The Passenger
The Passenger (film)
The Passenger is a film directed and co-written by Michelangelo Antonioni, released in 1975, in which Jack Nicholson stars as a television reporter in Africa who assumes the identity of a dead stranger. The film competed for the "Palme d'Or" award at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Jack...
, and Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
's Jubilee
Jubilee (1977 film)
Jubilee is a 1977 cult film directed by Derek Jarman. It stars Jenny Runacre, Ian Charleson, and a host of punk rockers. The title refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977.-Plot:...
(in which she starred as Elizabeth I and "Bod"). She was active in the theatre as well as on British television, including a part in the noted series Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. Waugh wrote that the novel "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by...
, playing Brenda Champion.
Runacre focused on higher education in the 1990s. She has a Master's in Fine Art Practice from Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design. She is currently a lecturer in residence in Art, and has worked in installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
and experimental filmmaking.
In 2007 Runacre directed Gareth Parker and Andrew Swann's Frozen, which was nominated for Best Direction, Best Writing and Best Overall Production in the LOST Theatre Festival. The production, starring Jack Bowman (Crossroads) and Josephine Hart
Josephine Hart
Josephine Hart, Lady Saatchi was an Irish-born British writer, theatrical producer and television presenter...
came second overall. Runacre also directed the Wireless Theatre Company's audio adaption of Frozen after its successful stage run, featuring the original cast.
Most recently Jenny appeared in John Maybury's The Edge of Love released Summer 2008.
Selected filmography
- HusbandsHusbands (film)Husbands is a 1970 film written and directed by John Cassavetes. This ensemble film, which describes three middle class men in the throes of a midlife crisis, stars Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk and Cassavetes....
(1970) - The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales (film)The Canterbury Tales is a 1972 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and based on the medieval narrative poem The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is the second film in Pasolini's 'Trilogy of Life'...
(1972) - The Creeping FleshThe Creeping FleshThe Creeping Flesh is a 1973 British horror film. The film was directed by Freddie Francis, and stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Lorna Heilbron.-Plot:...
(1973) - Dyn Amo (1973)
- The MacKintosh ManThe Mackintosh ManThe Mackintosh Man is a 1973 British cold war spy thriller film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Dominique Sanda and Ian Bannen. It was produced by John Foreman and William Hill as associate producer from a screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild based on the...
(1973) - The Final Programme (1973)
- Son of DraculaSon of Dracula (1974 film)Son of Dracula is a British musical comedy film released in 1974 by Apple Films, starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It is also the title of a Harry Nilsson album released in conjunction with the film. It includes Nilsson songs that were showcased in the film as well as portions of dialogue,...
(1974) - The PassengerThe Passenger (film)The Passenger is a film directed and co-written by Michelangelo Antonioni, released in 1975, in which Jack Nicholson stars as a television reporter in Africa who assumes the identity of a dead stranger. The film competed for the "Palme d'Or" award at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:*Jack...
(1975) - Three Dangerous Ladies (1977)
- Joseph AndrewsJoseph Andrews (film)Joseph Andrews is a 1977 period comedy film directed by Tony Richardson. It is based on the novel Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding With its rollicking comic plot, period costume and setting, ribald adventures and a dashing young hero who exposes his buttocks, the film was an obvious attempt to...
(1977) - The DuellistsThe DuellistsThe Duellists is a 1977 historical drama film that was Ridley Scott's first feature film as a director. It won the Best Debut Film award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival...
(1977) - JubileeJubilee (1977 film)Jubilee is a 1977 cult film directed by Derek Jarman. It stars Jenny Runacre, Ian Charleson, and a host of punk rockers. The title refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977.-Plot:...
(1977) - The Lady VanishesThe Lady Vanishes (1979 film)The Lady Vanishes is a 1979 British comedy mystery film directed by Anthony Page. Its screenplay by George Axelrod was based on the novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
(1979) - Hussy (1980)
- ShadeyShadeyShadey is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Philip Saville and starring Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw and Patrick Macnee. A man with clairvoyant qualities is recruited by British intelligence for a secret mission.-Cast:* Antony Sher - Oliver Shadey...
(1985) - That Englishwoman (1989)
- The Witches (1990)
- Restoration (1995)
- The Edge of LoveThe Edge of LoveThe Edge of Love is a 2008 John Maybury film starring Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys from a script by Sharman Macdonald, Knightley's mother...
(2008) - Boogie Woogie (2009)