Sarah Patterson

Patterson was born in London into a professional middle-class household, raised in Camden Town by her father, David Llewelyn Hood Patterson,{{Cite book |title=The Press and the People: Annual Report of the Press Council · Volume 33 |publisher=Press Council |year=1986 |pages=185}} a consultant physician, cardiologist and professor of medicine{{Cite journal |last=B Vadher, DLH Patterson, M Leaning |date=24 November 2024 |title=Control of Oral Anticoagulation in a Randomised Trial |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=314 |pages=7087–7092}} with the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, of Welsh descent and his spouse. She attended South Hampstead High School, an independent school for girls in Swiss Cottage, London.

Discovery and Child Notoriety

Patterson's acting debut at the age of 14 was accidental, not anticipated.{{Cite journal |last=Churchill |first=Peter |date=28 September 1984 |title=Entertainment and Leisure |journal=Fulham Chronicle}} Planning to provide moral support to a friend who was auditioning,{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Matthew |title=Film Out of Bounds: Essays and Interviews on Non-Mainstream Cinema Worldwide |date=24 July 2018 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=9781476607801 |pages=11}} she was noticed by director Neil Jordan and cast in the lead role as Rosaleen,{{Cite book |last=Gracey |first=James |title=The Company of Wolves |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=9781911325321}} a Little Red Riding Hood character spin-off, in 1984's gothic-horror film The Company of Wolves.{{cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=19 April 1985|title=Film: Red Riding Hood in 'Company of Wolves'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/19/movies/film-red-riding-hood-in-company-of-wolves.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 April 2020}}

"Sarah accompanied a friend to auditions,” Jordan recalls. “I spotted her waiting, auditioned her and gave her the role. When you write a part for a child, you either end up with a child actress, which is generally bad news, or with someone who has never acted before. That was the first time I gave a role to someone inexperienced, but I’ve done it subsequently in The Butcher Boy and other films like The Miracle. In The Crying Game, Jay Davidson’s character could not have been played by an actor because you would have recognised him and known he was a man. Sarah had this particular kind of beauty and was very anxious to do it. Her parents were enlightened enough to let her play in this quite disturbing film.”{{Cite journal |date=2005 |title=From the Archive: Neil Jordan on The Company of Wolves |url=https://filmireland.net/2013/05/21/from-the-archive-neil-jordan-on-the-company-of-wolves/ |journal=Film Ireland |volume=105}}

Retirement from the Film Industry

After an unremarkable theatre opening, with the Cannon "Brand" increasingly synonym with mediocrity in North America,{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780198601159 |pages=97}} its primary and most lucrative market, the musical fantasy was released direct-to-video in 1987 and considered a flop. Whether as a consequence or as a contributing factor, Patterson decided to unofficially retire from the film industry at the age of 17, stepping out of the limelight entirely. There was no transition to theatre, television or other broadcasting activities, a situation akin to a voluntary rupture across all forms of entertainment. Paradoxically, Patterson continued to be represented by a local London talent agency, Kate Feast Management, in Camden, at least until 1994. This collaboration, however, failed to meet expectations had the actress expressed any to begin with.{{Cite journal |title=Agents |journal=Film Review Magazine |publisher=Orpheus Pub |issue=6-7 |pages=58}}

Film Acting Reprisal in the 2000s

Patterson briefly reprised acting in two low-budget LGBTQ pictures, both produced by Valiant Doll, her friend Lisa Gornick's independent film production company. This return seems to have been prompted more out of camaraderie and opportunity than a marked commitment to the profession or financial remuneration. Nonetheless, Do I Love You? witnessed her back on-screen after an absence of fifteen years,{{cite web|title=Do I Love You? (2002)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/do_i_love_you|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=27 April 2020}} and, later, in Tick Tock Lullaby, also in a supporting role. There was no participation in any promotional interviews, however, with Patterson remaining a deeply private individual.{{cite magazine|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|title=Tick Tock Lullaby|date=21 March 2007|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/reviews/tick-tock-lullaby-1200509481/|magazine=Variety|access-date=27 April 2020}}{{cite web|title=Tick Tock Lullaby|url=http://lisagornick.com/tick-tock-lullaby|website=LisaGornick.com|access-date=27 April 2020}} In the end, despite the talent, ability and promising future, as Neil Jordan remarks in a 2005 interview, "Acting is something she didn’t really pursue"{{Cite journal |date=2005 |title=From the Archive: Neil Jordan on The Company of Wolves |url=https://filmireland.net/2013/05/21/from-the-archive-neil-jordan-on-the-company-of-wolves/ |journal=Film Ireland |volume=105}} with independent film scholar Matthew Edwards to add "Patterson (...) fell into acting, as opposed to (...) pursuing a dream of becoming an actress". Her acting debut certainly gives credence to that assertion.{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Matthew |title=Film Out of Bounds: Essays and Interviews on Non-Mainstream Cinema Worldwide |date= |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |year=2018 |isbn=9781476607801 |pages=11}}

Patterson is married with 2 children and lives in London.{{Cite journal |date=2005 |title=From the Archive: Neil Jordan on The Company of Wolves |url=https://filmireland.net/2013/05/21/from-the-archive-neil-jordan-on-the-company-of-wolves/ |journal=Film Ireland |volume=105}}

Film

Television

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|0666395|name=Sarah Patterson}}
• {{Tcmdb name|148709|name=Sarah Patterson}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes person|sarah_patterson|name=Sarah Patterson}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Sarah}}

Category:1970s births

Category:Living people

Category:Actresses from London

Category:English film actresses

Category:20th-century English actresses

Category:21st-century English actresses