Editing Brenda Blethyn (section)

=== 1980–1995: Early work and sitcom roles ===
After winning the [[London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards|London Critics' Circle Theatre Award]] for Best Supporting Actress (for ''[[Steaming (play)|Steaming]]'') in 1980, Blethyn made her screen debut, starring in the play ''Grown Ups'' as part of the [[BBC]]'s ''Playhouse'' strand. Directed by [[Mike Leigh]], their first collaboration marked the start of a professional relationship which would later earn both of them huge acclaim. Blethyn followed this with roles in [[BBC Television Shakespeare|Shakespearean adaptations]] for the BBC, playing Cordelia in ''[[King Lear]]'' and [[Joan of Arc]] in ''[[Henry VI, Part 1]]''. She also appeared with [[Robert Bathurst]] and others in the popular [[BBC Radio 4]] comedy series ''[[Dial M For Pizza]]''. In the following years, Blethyn expanded her status as a professional stage actress, appearing in productions including ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[Dalliance]]'', ''[[The Beaux' Stratagem]]'', and ''[[Born Yesterday (play)|Born Yesterday]]''. She was nominated for an [[Olivier Award]] for her performance as Sheila in ''[[Benefactors (play)|Benefactors]]''. Meanwhile, she continued with roles on British television, playing opposite [[Simon Callow]] as Tom Chance's frustrated fiancée Alison Little in three series of the sitcom ''[[Chance in a Million]]''. She also had roles in comedies such as ''[[Yes Minister]]'' (1981), ''[[Who Dares Wins (TV series)|Who Dares Wins]]'' and a variety of roles in the [[BBC Radio 4]] comedy ''[[Delve Special]]'' alongside [[Stephen Fry]] and a role in the school comedy/drama ''[[King Street Junior]]''.

In 1989, she starred in ''[[The Labours of Erica]]'', a sitcom written for her by ''Chance in a Million'' writers Richard Fegen and [[Andrew Norriss]]. Blethyn played Erica Parsons, a single mother approaching her fortieth birthday who realises that life is passing her by. Finding her teenage diary and discovering a list of twelve tasks and ambitions which she had set for herself, Erica sets out to complete them before reaching the milestone. After 15 years of working in theatre and television, Blethyn made her big screen debut with a small role in 1990s dark [[fantasy film]] ''[[The Witches (1990 film)|The Witches]]''. The film, based on the [[The Witches (book)|same-titled book]] by [[Roald Dahl]], co-starred actresses [[Anjelica Huston]] and [[Jane Horrocks]]. ''Witches'' received generally positive reviews, as did Blethyn, whom Craig Butler of [[All Media Guide]] considered as a "valuable support" for her performance of the mother, Mrs Jenkins.<ref>Craig Butler [http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?mp=v&m=119721 Allmovie: ''The Witches'' review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926004051/http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?mp=v&m=119721 |date=26 September 2009 }}. Retrieved 2003.</ref>

In 1991, after starring in a play in New York City, Blethyn was recommended to [[Robert Redford]] to audition for the soft-spoken mother role in his next project ''[[A River Runs Through It (film)|A River Runs Through It]]'' (1992). A [[period drama]] based on the [[A River Runs Through It (novel)|same-titled 1976 novel]] by [[Norman Maclean]], also starring [[Craig Sheffer]] and [[Brad Pitt]], the film revolves around two sons of a [[Presbyterian]] minister—one studious and the other rebellious—as they grow up and [[coming of age|come of age]] during the [[Prohibition era]] in the United States. Portraying a second generation immigrant of [[Scottish American|Scottish heritage]], Redford required Blethyn to adopt a Western American accent for her performance, prompting her to live in [[Livingston, Montana]], in preparation of her role.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Collins|title=Brenda Blethyn|date=31 December 1996|work=[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb]]|url=http://bombsite.com/issues/57/articles/1988|access-date=11 October 2010}}</ref> Upon its release, the film, budgeted at US$19&nbsp;million, became a financial and critical success, resulting in a US box office total of US$43.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|title=''A Rivers Runs Through It'' (1992)|publisher=The-Numbers.com|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1992/0RVRR.php|access-date=11 October 2010}}</ref>

Simultaneously Blethyn continued working on stage and in British television. Between 1990 and 1996, she starred in five different plays, including ''[[An Ideal Husband]]'' at the [[Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester|Royal Exchange Theatre]], Manchester, ''Tales from the Vienna Woods'' and ''Wildest Dreams'' with the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] and her American stage debut ''Absent Friends'', for which eventually received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding New Talent. She played character parts in the BBC adaptation of [[Hanif Kureishi]]'s ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (TV serial)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'' and the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] cricketing comedy-drama series ''[[Outside Edge (television series)|Outside Edge]]'', based on the play by television writer [[Richard Harris (television writer)|Richard Harris]]. Blethyn also performed in a variety of episodes of ''[[Alas Smith & Jones]]'' and ''[[Maigret (1992 TV series)|Maigret]]''.