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Sarah Patterson

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For other people named Sarah Patterson, see Sarah Patterson (disambiguation).

Sarah Patterson
Born1970 (age 53–54)
London, England, UK
NationalityBritish
EducationSouth Hampstead High School
OccupationActress
Years active1984–1987; 2002–2007

Sarah Patterson (born 1970) [a] is an English film actress. She is best known for her lead role in the 1984 gothic-horror movie The Company of Wolves.

Early life and education

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Patterson was raised in Camden Town by her father, David Llewelyn Hood Patterson, a London-trained National Health Service (NHS) General Practitioner (GP) of welsh origin and his spouse.[1] She attended South Hampstead High School, an independent school for girls in Swiss Cottage, London.

Career

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Discovery and Child Notoriety

Patterson's acting debut at the age of 14 was accidental, not anticipated.[2] Planning to provide moral support to a friend who was auditioning, [3] she was noticed by director Neil Jordan and cast in the lead role as Rosaleen, [4]a Little Red Riding Hood character spin-off, in 1984's gothic-horror film The Company of Wolves.[5]

"Sarah accompanied a friend to auditions,” Jordan recalls. “I spotted her waiting, auditioned her and gave her the role. When you write a part for a child, you either end up with a child actress, which is generally bad news, or with someone who has never acted before. That was the first time I gave a role to someone inexperienced, but I’ve done it subsequently in The Butcher Boy and other films like The Miracle. In The Crying Game, Jay Davidson’s character could not have been played by an actor because you would have recognised him and known he was a man. Sarah had this particular kind of beauty and was very anxious to do it. Her parents were enlightened enough to let her play in this quite disturbing film.”[6]

After the film's release, she returned to school sitting her O-levels in June 1986 and, shortly after, began filming another fairy tale-inspired movie playing the titular heroine (albeit, a typecast role) in Cannon Film's low-budget Snow White which was shot on location in Israel.[7] Cannon Films had distributed successsfully Jordan's first feature-length movie in the United States and were seeking an actress as part of their Cannon Movie Tales series.[8]

Retirement from the Industry

The musical fantasy was, however, a commercial failure. Released direct-to-video in 1987, it was a personal setback for the budding actress. Regardless, and despite securing further movie offers, none impressed her enough to accept to pursue acting as a full-time career and she decided to retire from the industry at the age of 17. She continued, nevertheless, to be represented by a local London talent agency in Camden until the mid-1990s but to no avail.[9]

Acting Reprisal

Patterson briefly reprised acting in two LGBTQ pictures since, both produced by Valiant Doll, her friend Lisa Gornick's independent film production company. This return seems to have been more out of opportunity than a marked commitment to the profession. Nonetheless, Do I Love You? witnessed her back on-screen after an absence of fifteen years,[10] and, later, in Tick Tock Lullaby, also in a supporting role.[11][12]

Personal Life

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Patterson is married and lives in London.[13]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Role Notes
1984 The Company of Wolves Rosaleen Feature Film
1987 Snow White Snow White direct-to-video
2002 Do I Love You? Louise Feature Film
2007 Tick Tock Lullaby Gillian Feature Film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1985 Temps X As Self One episode, 19/01/1985, to promote her first feature film in France.

Notes

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  1. ^ There is some doubt as to her birthdate: IMDb (the Internet Movie Database) states the year as 1972. But this would mean that Patterson was eleven, or else just turned twelve, when she made The Company of Wolves. The sleevenotes for The Company of Wolves Special Edition say she had just turned 13 when she auditioned for the film, which would give a more likely birth date of 1970.

References

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  1. ^ The Press and the People: Annual Report of the Press Council · Volume 33. Press Council. 1986. p. 185.
  2. ^ Churchill, Peter (28 September 1984). "Entertainment and Leisure". Fulham Chronicle.
  3. ^ Edwards, Matthew (24 July 2018). Film Out of Bounds: Essays and Interviews on Non-Mainstream Cinema Worldwide. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 11. ISBN 9781476607801.
  4. ^ Gracey, James. The Company of Wolves. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9781911325321.
  5. ^ Canby, Vincent (19 April 1985). "Film: Red Riding Hood in 'Company of Wolves'". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. ^ "From the Archive: Neil Jordan on The Company of Wolves". Film Ireland. 105. 2005.
  7. ^ "A Review of Snow White on Film". HouseofGeekery.com. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  8. ^ Neil Jordan, audio commentary to The Company of Wolves (ITC, 1984), (DVD: 2005).
  9. ^ "Agents". Film Review Magazine (6–7). Orpheus Pub: 58.
  10. ^ "Do I Love You? (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  11. ^ Harvey, Dennis (21 March 2007). "Tick Tock Lullaby". Variety. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Tick Tock Lullaby". LisaGornick.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  13. ^ "From the Archive: Neil Jordan on The Company of Wolves". Film Ireland. 105. 2005.
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