Eileen Atkins

Birthday: 16 June 1934, Clapton, London, England, UK

Birth Name: Eileen June Atkins

Height: 169 cm

Eileen Atkins was born in a Salvation Army Women's Hostel in north London. Her father was a gas meter reader; her mother, a seamstress and barmaid. A drama teacher taught her how to drop her Cockney accent, and she studied Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. Her breakthrough role in "The Killing of Sister George" took her to Broadway.

I think most British people who say they can do an American accent are so bad at it. I find it excru...Show more »

I think most British people who say they can do an American accent are so bad at it. I find it excruciating. I find it excruciating the other way around, too. Show less «

There's no such thing as a legend. Nearly everyone has forgotten Laurence Olivier. What's that dread...Show more »

There's no such thing as a legend. Nearly everyone has forgotten Laurence Olivier. What's that dreadful word - 'dynasty', as in the Redgraves and Foxes? Acting is not in the blood - otherwise what are Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and I doing here? I'm the least well known, for a very good reason. Judi's an incredible actress who wouldn't be so popular if she hadn't been in As Time Goes By (1992). Maggie has always done movies, and won Oscars. I plough away at the classics. Show less «

I'm rarely wrong.

In England, as here, there are always two kinds of audiences: the Royal Shakespeare and the West End...Show more »

In England, as here, there are always two kinds of audiences: the Royal Shakespeare and the West End. In the last 10 years, audiences have been changed by television. One can tell: people don't concentrate and they expect lighter fare - and I do hate disappointing the audiences. One lady came up to me afterwards here, very complimentary, and then she said 'Well, this is terrible heavy.' And I thought 'Oh dear, you think this is heavy? Because it isn't, it's just serious. Show less «