[ad_1]

Her mantra is ‘dreams do come true’.

And Samantha Morton’s own miracle story of escaping a traumatic childhood of poverty, violence and sexual abuse for Hollywood stardom has inspired millions and made her one of Britain’s best-loved actors.

Watched by Prince William and a host of stars last night, the 46-year-old dedicated her Bafta Fellowship ‘to every child in care, or who has been in care and who didn’t survive’.

The much-loved actress and director was visibly emotional as she collected the film awards’ highest accolade from producer David Heyman, who she worked with on Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.

‘I dedicate this award to every child in care, or who has been in care and who didn’t survive’, she said to the tearful audience in the Royal Festival Hall and watching at home.

Her Bafta Fellowship Award marked an extraordinary journey for Nottingham-born Sam, who spent a decade in foster care and children’s homes before she was ‘saved’ by acting – describing seeing Ken Loach’s Kes at school as a lightning bolt moment that inspired her to pursue it as a career. 

As a child she lived with her coal miner father, who beat her from the age of three and was in and out of care homes from the age of eight, where she was sexually abused. Incredibly she has admitted to having ‘absolute forgiveness’ for her abusers because she wants to embrace the joys of life including family and work.

After becoming getting TV parts aged 13 after attending a drama group, Samantha became a household name after starring in Minority Report alongside Tom Cruise, who led tributes to her last night. 

Her success has continued, despite her claims that Harvey Weinstein tried to destroy her career and serious health problems caused by head injuries when the ceiling in her home fell in on her forcing her to take 18 months off work.

Samantha Morton poses in the winners room with the Fellowship Award during the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall last night

Samantha Morton poses in the winners room with the Fellowship Award during the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall last night

Samantha Morton and her eldest daughter Esme Creed-Miles. Esme, also an actress, has actor Charlie Creed-Miles as a father

Samantha Morton and her eldest daughter Esme Creed-Miles. Esme, also an actress, has actor Charlie Creed-Miles as a father

Samantha and her partner Harry Holm, the son of actor Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian Holm at the Baftas last night. The couple have two chidren,

Samantha and her partner Harry Holm, the son of actor Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian Holm at the Baftas last night. The couple have two children, Edie and Theodore

Samantha, whose mother Pamela died in 2018 of cancer, called her a 'saint' and said she was a 'loving' and 'vulnerable' person who suffered and survived a lifetime of abuse

Samantha, whose mother Pamela died in 2018 of cancer, called her a 'saint' and said she was  a 'loving' and 'vulnerable' person (pictured, Pamela)

Samantha, whose mother Pamela died in 2018 of cancer, called her a ‘saint’ and said she was  a ‘loving’ and ‘vulnerable’ person who suffered and survived a lifetime of abuse

Samantha's first major TV role was in Soldier Soldier in 1990 when she was spotted at an acting class aged 13

Samantha’s first major TV role was in Soldier Soldier in 1990 when she was spotted at an acting class aged 13

Tom Cruise and his British co-star, Samantha Morton arriving at the Odeon Leicester Square, for the premiere of their film Minority Report in 2002. At 25, Samantha proved to be one of Britain's brightest young screen actresses. Yet only nine years earlier she was a penniless and living in a bedsit

Tom Cruise and Samantha Morton

Tom Cruise and his British co-star, Samantha Morton arriving at the Odeon Leicester Square, for the premiere of their film Minority Report in 2002. At 25, Samantha proved to be one of Britain’s brightest young screen actresses. Yet only nine years earlier she was a penniless and living in a bedsit

The actress, 46, accused Weinstein of threatening to make sure she would ‘not work again’ after she turned down an approach to be in his 2000 romantic comedy About Adam, which starred Kate Hudson, Stuart Townsend and Frances O’Connor. 

Her love life has not been plain sailing either. She was in a relationship with actor Charlie Creed-Miles but they split when Samantha was 15 weeks pregnant with their daughter, actress Esmé Creed-Miles. She is now 24.

But she found happiness with filmmaker Harry Holm, son of Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian Holm. They have two children, Edie and Theodore, and are settled in Derbyshire.

She has received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, and the other for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America. Many other awards and accolades have followed. 

Visibly emotional on stage as she collected her Bafta Fellowshop last night, Ms Morton said: ‘This is nothing short of a miracle. When I first saw Ken Loach’s Kes on a huge telly that was wheeled into my classroom I was forever changed.

‘Seeing poverty and people like me on the screen, I recognised myself – representation matters.’

She said she would tell her younger self: ‘You matter, don’t give up, the stories we tell, they have the power to change people’s lives.

‘Film changed my life, it transformed me and it led me here today’.

There were also tributes from her Minority Report co-star Tom Cruise , as well as collaborators Susan Lynch, Molly Windsor and Daniel Mays, while Heyman described her as a ‘rare breed and true artist’.

In the winners’ room, she said ‘money is wasted’ in the children’s care system.

The actress, who grew up in foster care and made Bafta-winning TV drama The Unloved about a girl growing up in the system, said: ‘It costs the taxpayer a huge amount of money to keep a child in care, to take care of them.

‘And that money is wasted and spent ridiculously.

‘I used to say when I was a kid of many children’s homes, I used to say, ‘It’d be great, why don’t I just go to some fancy boarding school? At least then I get an education’. But that wasn’t on the cards.

‘To those kids in care, don’t allow the system to drag you down because it can and it will.’

Samantha Morton and Lily James attend the Netflix 2024 BAFTA Awards after-party at Chiltern Firehouse

Samantha Morton and Lily James attend the Netflix 2024 BAFTA Awards after-party at Chiltern Firehouse

Samantha Morton and Michael J. Fox during the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2024 Dinner

Samantha Morton and Michael J. Fox during the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2024 Dinner

Samantha Morton and Kate Moss at the Gala Celebrity Screening of 'Control' at the Odeon Covent Garden in 2007

Samantha Morton and Kate Moss at the Gala Celebrity Screening of ‘Control’ at the Odeon Covent Garden in 2007

Samantha Morton, Meg Mathews and Alexander McQueen in 2003

Samantha Morton, Meg Mathews and Alexander McQueen in 2003

Samantha and Charlie Creed-Miles, who she had a child with

Samantha and Charlie Creed-Miles, who she had a child with

Her life changed as a teenager in school, where she got into drama.

At 13 she joined the Central Junior Television Workshop and soon her talent was noticed, earning her several TV roles including in Soldier Soldier.

‘It saved me,’ she told one interviewer. ‘For the first time in my life I was taken seriously. I was told I had talent and I was encouraged.’

Despite continued setbacks in her personal life – she had an abortion at the age of 16 at ‘the lowest point of my life’ – more lucky breaks were to follow.

In 1994, she appeared in Cracker as a schoolgirl who is seduced and killed by her cult leader headmaster. Then came the part that made her name – as teenage prostitute Tracy Richards in Kay Mellor’s gritty TV drama Band Of Gold.

Her acting abilities proved to be all-encompassing when, over the course of the coming few years, she landed the title role in Kay Mellor’s adaptation of Jane Eyre and Sofia in the BBC ‘s production of Tom Jones – showing she could play more than just the feisty, disadvantaged teenager with bleached, blonde hair.

Starring roles in British independent films came pouring in and then came the call to Hollywood. Samantha went on to receive an Oscar nomination for her role in Woody Allen ‘s 1999 movie Sweet And Lowdown, in which she played the part of Hattie, Sean Penn ‘s mute girlfriend.

And further crticial acclaimed followed with Jesus’s Son in which Rolling Stone magazine described her performance as ‘terrific’.

In 2002 she stole the show in Minority Report alongside Tom Cruise, who last night described being blown away by her talent in unrehearsed scenes that also left Steven Spielberg agog.

As well as acting, she moved into directing.

Samantha Morton in 1995's TV hit Band of Gold

Samantha Morton in 1995’s TV hit Band of Gold

Richard Harris and Samantha Morton in 1998's This is the Sea

Richard Harris and Samantha Morton in 1998’s This is the Sea

Scene from film 'Jesus Son', starring Billy Crudup  (left) and Samantha Morton as Michelle

Scene from film ‘Jesus Son’, starring Billy Crudup as FH (left) and Samantha Morton as Michelle

Samantha Morton in 1997's Under The Skin

Samantha Morton in 1997’s Under The Skin

Samantha Morton and Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown

Samantha Morton and Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown

Samantha's huge breakthrough came alongside Tom Cruise in Minority Report

Samantha’s huge breakthrough came alongside Tom Cruise in Minority Report

Samantha Morton as Myra Hindley and Andy Serkis and Ian Brady in Channel 4's drama 'Longford

Samantha Morton as Myra Hindley and Andy Serkis and Ian Brady in Channel 4’s drama ‘Longford

Last year she played a single mum in Channel 4’s I Am Kirsty, which she co-wrote and which saw her nominated for a Best Actress Bafta

Hollywood actress Samantha Morton, 43, from Nottingham, has called her ‘amazing’ mother ‘a saint in a way’ as she discussed her traumatic childhood and being taken into care as a baby (pictured, in BBC’s Harlots)

Hollywood actress Samantha Morton, 43, from Nottingham, has called her 'amazing' mother 'a saint in a way' as she discussed her traumatic childhood and being taken into care as a baby (pictured, in BBC's Harlots)

Hollywood actress Samantha Morton, 43, from Nottingham, has called her ‘amazing’ mother ‘a saint in a way’ as she discussed her traumatic childhood and being taken into care as a baby (pictured, in BBC’s Harlots)

In 2009 she made The Unloved for Channel 4, about children in care. It mirrored her own harrowing experiences, when she was made a Ward of Court because of her mother’s neglect and her father’s violence.

He dad Peter took her, her brother and sister to live with their 15-year-old neighbour and babysitter Jane Waplington, whom he later married when she became pregnant.

As the relationship between Jane, Samantha and her father became more difficult, social services became involved and Samantha and her siblings found themselves ‘passed like an unwanted parcel’ between care homes over the course of the next few years.

The mother-of-three defended her parents on the programme and said there was 'something fascinating' in what she learned from her mother

The mother-of-three defended her parents on the programme and said there was ‘something fascinating’ in what she learned from her mother 

They were difficult times for Samantha, much of which she admits she spent partying, skipping school and drug taking. But being in care, she says, gave her a special kind of confidence to go forth and achieve positive things for herself.

‘You instinctively want to make the best of everything, work harder than everyone else,’ she said. ‘And then there’s that special pride when you achieve something.’

The main character Lucy is out in a care home after being rejected by both of her parents.

Samantha told the Guardian: “There are a lot of similarities between me and Lucy, but my mum and my dad and my eight brothers and sisters can all watch the film and go, ‘We know that’s not our story, but we get why she’s done it.’ At the same time I do love them and I do respect them, and I’m not about to exploit them.”

She also played a single mum in Channel 4 ’s I Am Kirsty, which she co-wrote and which saw her nominated for a Best Actress Bafta. Most recently she was in the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, as well as a brothel-owner in the BBC2 drama Harlots.

Despite the trauma of her childhood, she insists her ‘amazing’ mother was ‘a saint’ in a way’.

Speaking on Desert Island Discs in 2020, the mother-of-three told host Lauren Laverne : ‘People criticised her choices. I just looked at this woman, who was kind, subservient, vulnerable, funny, beautiful and – did I say vulnerable? If I could write that in capital letters I would. She was a saint in a way.’

Samantha Morton told Laverne that she still loves her father, even though he would repeatedly beat his children.

‘I think about the levels to which we got good hidings and it wasn’t right, it wasn’t normal and it wasn’t safe. So there’s these great positive memories of him being an incredible dad and these dark memories about him being poorly… I wish him no ill-will and I love him dearly,’ she says.

‘I think I have absolute forgiveness for everybody, but I do not forget that when you become an adult you are in a position of power, certainly over children. I just wish certain individuals would put their hands up and say we were wrong, we could have done better.’

Samantha grew up with eight siblings in a three-bedroom council house in Nottingham.

After her parents split up, she lived with her abusive father while her mother, a factory worker, was in a relationship with another man.

At the age of eight, Samantha was placed with several foster families, then in a children’s home, where she was abused by its employees.

Speaking to Lauren, she explained: ‘I always had this thing when people put my mum down.

‘My dad, had nothing positive to say about her. A lot of other people, the social workers, had nothing positive to say about my mother.’

She continued: ‘There’s something fascinating in what I did get from her, from not getting what I thought I wanted from her. I wouldn’t be who I am today without what happened with her, obviously.’

Meanwhile Samantha said she was angry with how her mother’s health issues had been dealt with, revealing: ‘I am fuming with how society today behaves around mental health issues for women.

‘My mother had a very, very traumatic childhood and it is fascinating now, as a mother, a grown up, and as a woman to go ‘wow.”

Lauren added: ‘You can’t connect those dots at the time, she loved you and you loved her. But she wasn’t able to mother you, in the gap between those things.’

Samantha replied: ‘I think when I used to go and see her at the occasional weekend, I’d run away to her all the time, my clothes always smelt clean, she’d use comfort and she’d give me bubble baths. I just saw this amazing woman.

‘Her name was Pam, she was a pie packer at pork farms, and we used to joke about that. She had many lives did, my mum. She was so loving and the food was always nice, pork chops and roast potatoes.’

Samantha went on to reveal she had admired her mother’s strength in facing adversity in her life, continuing: ‘She was very zen, her attitude about life and cleaning and being.

‘Certainly who she dealt with her terminal cancer was so inspiring but I was not privy to seeing her when she was very poorly when I was very small.

‘With her mental health issues, that’s what people were rude and mean about. Women aren’t allowed to be angry if they’d been raped or sexually abused. Things weren’t talked about.’

Elsewhere in the interview, she insists she had ‘the most magical, feral childhood’ despite suffering abuse.

Samantha explained: ‘I had the most magical, feral childhood as well as some of the horrible stuff happening. When I was little… I would do anything for a laugh. The world is tough enough. We have got to smile and invite the light in.’

[ad_2]

This post first appeared on Daily mail

You May Also Like

Life-saving effect of NHS bowel cancer screening scheme revealed: Cases fall 15% after roll-out of DIY kits that will be offered to ALL over-50s

The national bowel cancer screening programme has led to a ‘critical’ reduction…

‘Prophet of doom’ experts warn lockdown easing could delay lockdown-easing plans

‘Prophet of doom’ experts warn lockdown easing could delay lockdown-easing plans and…

Coroner probing COVID-19 deaths in Quebec long-term care homes says workers deserve respect

The Quebec coroner investigating the deaths at elder care homes during the…

NHS Dr Karan Raj’s 5 snoring exercises to stop you from snoring

The condition is thought affect four in 10 Brits as they sleep. …