Lesley Sharp is one of the most reliable screen actresses in Great Britain, known for her work both in crime series and in family and feature productions where she manages to bring out the best sides of characters that, in written form, might seem very ordinary. She was born on April 3, 1960, in Liverpool, England. Prior to establishing a long-term screen career that made Sharp famous to many viewers and respected by film critics, the actress studied for the theatre and worked a lot in this area.
Early life and training
Sharp entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to learn stage acting, and her stage education contributed significantly to her future ability to perform realistically. When playing complicated and unusual roles, Sharp managed to remain quite reserved, which allowed her performances to look credible.
Television breakthrough
With many highly regarded screen performances in British television, Sharp achieved prominence and popularity in such series as "Clocking Off" (2000). However, it can be called her breakthrough because it was her work in Bob & Rose (2001), where she got one of the leading roles, that brought success to the actress. In Bob & Rose, Sharp played the heroine, which made this drama stand out with its honesty and irony.
Moreover, Scott & Bailey (2011) made Sharp really popular, as in this TV series she portrayed one of the detectives, Detective Sergeant Janet Scott. Together with Suranne Jones (in the part of Detective Rachel Bailey), Sharp managed to make the screen performance more interesting, credible, and exciting due to the relationship between the detectives being presented in a very realistic manner. This detective crime series lasted for years and made Sharp famous as one of its main protagonists. Sharp also starred in such TV series as Red Riding (2009) and Paranoid (2016).
Feature films and other roles
Besides TV series, Lesley Sharp worked successfully in film, appearing in many notable films. For example, in the 1997 film The Full Monty, Lesley played Jean, which brought much fame to the film and became a breakthrough for Sharp's career, as her participation made the movie famous and successful among others that appeared in the same period.
In another British feature film, London to Brighton, which was directed by Paul Andrew Williams and shot in 2005, Sharp had the role of Maggie. It should be noted once again that Sharp's participation in many films and TV series can be explained by her preference to take roles that have nothing to do with glitz.
Conclusion
The most outstanding aspect of the career of Lesley Sharp, perhaps, is her reliability. Being a skilful, professional, and smart actress who pays great attention to the characterisation of her roles, Sharp managed to attract much attention and become a favourite actress not because of her popularity or image but because of her skills.