In her final TV interview, Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory, who died on Friday aged 52, gave little indication that she was gravely ill.
She appeared on the British show GMTV in mid-March with her husband and actor Damian Lewis to promote The Prince's Trust, a charity that helps people aged between 11 and 30 find jobs and pursue their education. McCrory's voice was hoarse and her hair was somewhat dishevelled, prompting host Kate Garraway to ask whether she was feeling alright.
"You sound a bit croaky, have you got a sore throat?" Garraway asked.
“No, I’ve got children, thank you for asking,” McCrory said, laughing. “And no make-up artist and no hairdresser! So if there's young person out there who would like a bit of help, phone up Prince's Trust and then come straight over here!”
We know now that she was fighting cancer. But even in her final days, the actress did not wilt from the composure she was famous for, both on and off screen.
"She died as she lived. Fearlessly," Lewis said in a tweet announcing her death. "God we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."
As we commemorate the actress’s life and prolific career, we take a look at five of her best roles.
‘Peaky Blinders’
Helen McCrory as Polly Gray
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) April 16, 2021
All our love and thoughts are with Helen’s family.
Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/HBEg4Hz2Up
McCrory’s depiction of Polly Gray, the formidable matriarch of the Shelby family, is complex, commanding and layered. In a gangster epic that has plenty of bone-chilling moments, McCrory still manages to make sure her character's fearsomeness pierces through, making Gray one of the most terrifying female characters on television.
Watch a clip from Peaky Blinders below:
‘Harry Potter’
In the Harry Potter series, McCrory played Narcissa Malfoy, the steely-eyed mother of Harry Potter's rival Draco Malfoy. It was the role that made McCrory an international name, after all who can forget the blood-curling scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where Narcissa makes Snape take the Unbreakable Vow to watch over her son?
‘Anna Karenina’
In a 2000 article in The Guardian, McCrory wrote about her role as Anna Karenina in the British mini-series adaptation of the Tolstoy novel.
Really sad to hear of the passing of Helen McCrory. She was in many productions, but I remember her best for her role as Evelyn Poole in Penny Dreadful and her lovely portrayal of Anna Karenina. She gave such a wonderful and sensitive performance as Anna. pic.twitter.com/VJ5Tr2ELup
— ClaraJean (@ClarajeanMC) April 16, 2021
“How should a woman live her life? Survive to the age of 70, fearfully, being as everyone else instructs her to be? Or play the heroine, passionately, in the knowledge that trying and failing need not equal defeat?” McCrory, an obvious adherent of the latter mindset, went on to describe just what it was about the character that appealed to her.
“This is the timeless conundrum Tolstoy’s vivid heroine, Anna Karenina, took on, long before it became fashionable to discuss the conflict of desire and expectation in women’s lives. She was an original of her era, but what are the resonances of Anna’s story for the modern woman?”
‘Penny Dreadful’
If there is one other character McCrory portrayed that can go toe-to-toe with the fearsome Polly Gray, it is Evelyn Poole, better known as Madame Kali, from the horror show Penny Dreadful.
We are all very sad to hear that the talented Helen McCrory has passed away after a long battle against cancer. We will always remember her and her beautiful interpretation of Evelyn Poole and Madame Kali in Penny Dreadful. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/ZZ06kd8ojY
— Best of Eva Green (@evagreenposts) April 16, 2021
A nefarious practitioner of the occult posing as an unassuming spiritualist and medium, Poole – as McCrory said in a 2015 interview with Collider – "is not a rasping Troglodyte that comes up from the cellar. She has a voice thick with seduction and promise and temptation, as need to, if you're going to capture what you need."
‘The Queen’
McCrory took on the role of British barrister Cherie Blair, who is also the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, in the 2006 film The Queen and then again in the 2010 film The Special Relationship. The role is one of McCrory's most highly acclaimed. Blair herself paid tribute to the actress after her death was announced, releasing a statement on LinkedIn. "Rest in peace," she wrote. "My heart goes out to her husband Damian Lewis and their children for their sad loss."
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Read more:
[ Harry Potter actress Helen McCrory dies age 52 ]
[ Damian Lewis writes heartfelt tribute after wife Helen McCrory's death: 'Royalty in her own right' ]
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