MovieChat Forums > Mr Selfridge (2013) Discussion > Selfridge's mother

Selfridge's mother

posted 10 years ago by pvd295
18 replies | jump to latest

Wow - could they not have picked a better actress to play Selfridge's mother? I'm sure she has her fans who will give me a whole volume of work which she was 'amazing' in, and that's fine - we'll get that out of the way now.

But in this series, she is one of the dullest actors I have seen in a long time. Her delivery of every line is monotone at best, and she's completely void of any emotion in a scene. She really takes away from the show in Season 3.

I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand

[–] MissCherylA 10 years ago

Her voice is so nasally. She seems like she's sleepwalking through her lines. Time for mother to go back to America and stay there.

[–] b73142 10 years ago

I know that she's supposed to be American, but where is the actress really from? I keep hearing an American accent slipping in and out with another accent.

[–] pvd295 10 years ago

If she won the part, I can only imagine how bad the competition was for the role. I can think of dozens of other actresses they could have tapped for this role - it went to this zombie?

I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] CatchyUserID 10 years ago

Really? It's bad now, but I remember it being worse in the first two seasons. In S1, I thought she was Russian or German, or God knows what. It bothered me through S2 where I finally realized it was just a poor attempt at an accent.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] CatchyUserID 10 years ago

I think you're probably right on that. In another thread, I posted about a famous actor who consciously let his accent slip because his emoting suffered. He chose to concentrate on the performance, and got a lot of flack for his distracting accent.

[–] SPfromOZ 10 years ago

Kika Markham is British, born in England. She is the widow of Corin Redgrave, from the famous Redgrave family! You could have looked it up on her IMDB page? Obviously she sucks at doing an American accent, like all the Selfridge family (except for Harry).

[–] pvd295 10 years ago

It's not only her accent - it's her horrible wooden performance. No emotion, no facial expressions - she just spouts out her lines in a monotone voice.

Like I said earlier - if she won the part, how bad was the competition for such a throw-away role?

I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand

[–] SPfromOZ 10 years ago

Yes, you're right! She hardly gives an 'Oscar worthy' performance, in fact she seems to belong in amateur theater at best. I'm not going to give you a whole volume of her work, because I've only seen her in an episode of 'Call The Midwife', and she was just as wooden and emotionless in that too!
However, looking at her volume of work she seems to have been working steadily for the last 55 years! So I guess somebody likes her work.

[–] pvd295 10 years ago

She was in CTM? I've been watching that show since Season 1 - I don't recall her. She's totally forgettable in everything she does, it seems. Horrific actress.

I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand

[–] SPfromOZ 10 years ago

Yeah, it was one of the earlier episodes, S1 E6. When Sister Monica Joan got in trouble with the Police for stealing things and they found expensive jewelery in her room. Well it turns out it was hers (of course she couldn't remember), she had them when she joined the convent (she must be from a wealthy family). Anyway they called the Mother Superior from those days to testify for her, that was Kika Markham. It was only a small part, I only remember because the actress looked so familiar to me so I looked her up and realized she was Selfridge's mother.

You and I must have similar tastes in TV shows. I see you are a regular poster on the 'Judge Judy' board, I love that show, never miss it. Though I never post on it because being in Australia, we are so behind on the episodes that by the time I watch it, it would be ancient history and other posters might not remember what episode I'm referring to.

Cheers

[–] florentyna1972 9 years ago

Infact, I found her performance in Mr Selfridge fine.

[–] avia2 9 years ago

She's from the 19th Century and was probably raised in an austere Protestant household. I found her acting very believable for the context, she's reserved rather than robotic. A bit like Rose, actually - when do you ever see Selfridge's wife lose her temper?

[–] pystol007 9 years ago

Me too.

[–] Sassy-34 9 years ago

I didn't notice any of that. Her character seemed like a nice lady. I liked her.

[–] sluggr-2 9 years ago

She is a moderating force in the show. Compared to Harry the clown, everyone is dull.

I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others. Cleaver Greene

[–] pvd295 9 years ago

Thank God she is no longer with the show. She was even worse in the beginning of this season - totally wooden actress who can just memorize a line or two.

I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News. - B.Streisand