Oh, That's Who That Is: Brenda Fricker

This is the first in a potentially never-ending series of actor profiles. Not just any actors-- actors who seem to pop up again and again, causing you to wonder: who the fuck is that? 

Tonight (rather, this morning) we begin with a face that may be very familiar to you-- but we'll get to that later. 

Brenda Fricker, a glorious Dublin-born woman, began her career with a series of minor television roles. Fricker's big break came in the 1989 classic based-on-a-true-story drama, "My Left Foot." She played the mother of Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), a man with disabilities so severe that he was only able to manipulate his left foot. Her performance earned her four nominations and three wins, including an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting role. 

After appearing in several other films (here's where you probably first saw her) she won the highly-coveted role of Bird Lady in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." You know, the woman with birdseed who helped that stupid brat learn some important life lesson? Nothing like the old wise-homeless-woman-with-a-heart-of-gold supporting role! (This role did not earn her any nominations, but was well-received by all children who saw the film when it premiered in 1992 and the generations who have enjoyed it since.) 

Fricker decided to roll with the "bound-to-be-a-classic-90's-family film" genre and next appeared in "Angels in the Outfield" as the firm but loving foster mother, Maggie Nelson, in 1994. Who could forget her stirring speech at the end of the film where she convinced the...um...baseball executives that Coach Knox (Danny Glover) was not insane for believing in angels? 

After a series of supporting character roles in various films and mini-series, Fricker took a daring chance in playing aging Madame Alex, an elderly female pimp, in the lauded made-for-TV USA original movie "Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss." This sensuous performance led to a series of more prominent film roles, as well as the continuation of her regular appearances (43 total) on the television program "Casualty." 

Is her career over? HELLZ NO! As of right now, Fricker is slated to co-star with mega-hot Olympia Dukakis in a remake of "Thelma and Louise!" Well, it's not technically a remake; this time the women are actually out lesbians, and they are forty years older. And it doesn't look like anyone dies. 

Here is the only synopsis presently available: "A lesbian couple escape from their nursing home and head up to Canada to get married. Along the way, they pick up a young, male hitchhiker." Hmmm. Sounds a lot like T&L to me! I hope the hitchhiker is played by Clint Eastwood. 

At over sixty, Brenda Fricker has had an illustrious and adventurous career. So the next time you have to watch "My Left Foot" for film class or catch the end of "Angels in the Outfield" on the Disney channel, you can say..."oh, that's who that is."