Biography
British actress Sally Hawkins parlayed her English refinement into an extremely varied series of roles beginning in the early 2000s -- including occasional crime-themed action pictures, social-consciousness dramas, and contemporary suspensers. She took one of her first international bows as a 19th century lesbian in the U.K. miniseries
Tipping the Velvet (2002), appeared as Slasher in Matthew Vaughn's
Guy Ritchie-influenced gangster film
Layer Cake (2004), and played Susan, a pregnant rich girl desperate for an abortion, in
Mike Leigh's searing, heart-wrenching character study
Vera Drake (2004). The actress then signed for one of the key roles in
Woody Allen's European thriller
Cassandra's Dream. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide