Acting · Edinburgh, Scotland, UK · Born November 7, 1950
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE (born November 7, 1950) is a Scottish stage and television actress. She is the recipient of three BAFTA nominations and one Scottish BAFTA nomination, as well as two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her work on stage. She has starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Duncan's film credits include Prick Up Your Ears (1987), The Reflecting Skin (1990), City Hall (1996), An Ideal Husband, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Mansfield Park (all 1999), Under the Tuscan Sun, AfterLife (both 2003), Starter for 10 (2006), Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), About Time (2013), Birdman (2014), and Blackbird (2019). Outside of stage and film, Duncan appeared as Barbara Douglas in Alan Bleasdale's critically acclaimed G.B.H. (1991), Servilia of the Junii on the HBO historical drama series Rome (2005–2007), Adelaide Brooke in the Doctor Who special "The Waters of Mars" (2009), Anjelica Hayden-Hoyle in the BBC Two miniseries The Honourable Woman (2014), and Lady Smallwood on BBC One's Sherlock (2014–2017). She also portrayed Elizabeth Longford and Margaret Thatcher in the television films Longford (2006) and Margaret (2009), respectively.
TVMint
2026
as Ollie
MovieH Is for Hawk
2025
as Mum
TVThe Death of Bunny Munro
2025
as Doris Pennington
MovieNational Theatre Live: Dear Octopus
2024
as Dora
TVTruelove
2024
as Phil
MovieDoctor Jekyll
2023
as Sandra Poole
MovieCall Me Back
2023
as Grace
MovieLast Call
2023
as Kate
TVSherwood
2022
as Jennifer Hale
MovieA Banquet
2022
as June
TVAround the World in 80 Days
2021
as Jane Digby
TVThe Wheel of Time
2021
as Anvaere Damodred
MovieNo Ordinary Joe
2021
as Marion Barbara "Joe" Carstairs
MovieMade in Italy
2020
as Kate
MovieMy Zoe
2019
as Kathy
MovieNational Theatre Live: Hansard
2019
as Diana Hesketh
TVHis Dark Materials
2019
as Octavia (voice)
MovieLittle Joe
2019
as Psychotherapist
MovieNovember 1st
2019
as Bonnie
TVThe Morning Show
2019
as Martha Ellison
MovieBlackbird
2019
as Liz
TVA Discovery of Witches
2018
as Ysabeau de Clermont
MovieGifted
2017
as Evelyn Adler
MovieCarnage: Swallowing the Past
2017
as Maude
TVClose to the Enemy
2016
as Frau Bellinghausen
MovieHe Does Not Want Peace
2016
as Rachel Englebright
MovieAlice Through the Looking Glass
2016
as Helen Kingsleigh
MovieChurchill's Secret
2016
as Clemmie Churchill
MovieBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2014
as Tabitha
TVThe Honourable Woman
2014
as Anjelica Hayden-Hoyle
TVThe Leftovers
2014
as Grace Playford
TVInside No. 9
2014
as Loretta Lamb
TVToast of London
2013
MovieLast Passenger
2013
as Elaine Middleton
MovieLe Week-End
2013
as Meg Burrows
MovieLawless
2013
as Lady Justice MacNeil
MovieAbout Time
2013
as Mum
TVCount Arthur Strong
2013
as Dame Agnes
MovieAmish: A Secret Life
2012
as Narrator (voice)
TVThe Hollow Crown
2012
as Duchess of York
TVPlayhouse Presents
2012
as Mrs Dalloway
TVWhite Heat
2012
as Lilly (present day)
TVBlack Mirror
2011
as Alex Cairns
TVSpy
2011
as The Director
TVAgainst the Wall
2011
as Faith Kowalski
MovieChristopher and His Kind
2011
as Kathleen Isherwood
TVThe Sinking of the Laconia
2011
as Elisabeth Fullwood
TVSherlock
2010
as Lady Smallwood
MovieAlice in Wonderland
2010
as Helen Kingsleigh
MovieHarold Pinter: A Celebration
2010
as Self
MovieBurlesque Fairytales
2010
as Ice Queen
MovieMargot
2009
as Madam
MovieDoctor Who: The Waters of Mars
2009
as Captain Adelaide Brooke
MovieMargaret
2009
as Margaret Thatcher
TVMerlin
2008
as Queen Annis
TVLost in Austen
2008
as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
TVCriminal Justice
2008
as Alison Slaughter
MovieFrankenstein
2007
as Jane Pretorius
MovieLongford
2006
as Lady Elizabeth Longford
MovieStarter for 10
2006
as Rose Harbison
TVRome
2005
as Servilia of the Junii
MovieThe Queen of Sheba's Pearls
2004
as Audrey Pretty
TVAgatha Christie's Marple
2004
as Marina Gregg
MovieUnder the Tuscan Sun
2003
as Katherine
MovieAfterLife
2003
TVWorking Shakespeare
2003
TVSpooks
2002
as Angela Wells
MovieHamilton Mattress
2002
as Beryl / Gertrude (voice)
Witness of Truth: The Railway Murders
2001
as Narrator
TVPerfect Strangers
2001
as Alice
MovieVictoria Wood with All the Trimmings
2000
as Pauline
TVA History of Britain
2000
as Reader
MovieDirty Tricks
2000
as Alison
TVOliver Twist
1999
as Elizabeth Leeford
MovieMansfield Park
1999
as Mrs. Price / Lady Bertram
MovieExpelling the Demon
1999
as Woman
MovieStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1999
as TC-14 (voice)
MovieAn Ideal Husband
1999
as Lady Markby
TVShooting the Past
1999
as Marilyn Truman
Get Real
1998
as Louise
TVThe History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
1997
as Lady Bellaston
MovieA Midsummer Night's Dream
1996
as Hippolyta / Titania
MovieCity Hall
1996
as Sydney Pappas
TVJake's Progress
1995
as Monica
Rumer Godden: An Indian Affair
1995
as Narrator
TVThe Rector's Wife
1994
as Anna Bouverie
TVA Year in Provence
1993
as Annie Mayle
TVAbsolutely Fabulous
1992
as Jeanne Durand
TVThe Storyteller: Greek Myths
1991
as Medea
MovieBody Parts
1991
as Dr. Agatha Webb
MovieRedemption
1991
as Kath Peachey
TVG.B.H.
1991
as Barbara Douglas
MovieThe Reflecting Skin
1990
as Dolphin Blue
TECX
1990
as Laura Pellin
TVTraffik
1989
as Helen Rosshalde
MovieThese Foolish Things
1989
as Gutrune Day
TVAgatha Christie's Poirot
1989
as Lady Tamplin
MovieThe Childeater
1989
as Eirwen
TVColin's Sandwich
1988
as Rosemary
MovieManifesto
1988
as Lily Sachor
TVThe Play on One
1988
as Gutrune Day
MoviePrick Up Your Ears
1987
as Anthea Lahr
TVScreenPlay
1986
as Kath Peachey
TVDead Head
1986
as Dana Cass
TVScreen Two
1985
as Dolphin Blue
TVTravelling Man
1984
as Andrea
MovieLoose Connections
1984
as Sally
MovieRainy Day Women
1984
as Karen Miller
TVThe Kit Curran Radio Show
1984
as Pamela Scott
Samson and Delilah
1984
as Alice
TVReilly: Ace of Spies
1983
as Alexandra
MovieMike Leigh: Making Plays
1982
as Self (archive footage)
On Approval
1982
as Helen
TVMuck and Brass
1982
as Jean Torrode
MovieGrown-Ups
1980
as Mrs Butcher
The Winkler
1979
as Diane
TVDick Turpin
1979
as Catherine Langford
TVThe New Avengers
1976
as Jane
One-Upmanship
1976
MovieFurther Up Pompeii
1975
as Scrubba
TVPlayhouse
1974
as Christine Butcher
TVITV Playhouse
1967
as Diane
TVBBC Play of the Month
1965
as Helen Hayle
These Foolish Things
MovieThe Entertainment System Is Down
Alma
Daughter of Eden
as Emer
RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare
as Self
