Almost Famous - Mary McDonnell

If you're a fan of Battlestar Galactica then much of what I'm about to say you already know, but stick around anyway...

Most recognisable as Stands with a Fist from DANCES WITH WOLVES, Mary is a formidable actress who has just never received the kind of accolades she deserves. Recently, her work on the retooled BSG have proven without a doubt that she needs more roles like President Roslin to showcase her impressive talents.

Perhaps it could be argued that the roles just aren't there for women and that is true to a large extent but the question should then be "Why aren't there more juicy roles for women?" What some of you may have missed when BSG was on the air was a collection of powerful female characters, deeply flawed...human, despite some of them not actually being human, and Mary lead the way with her wonderfully complex civilian leader who was spiritual and yet not afraid to 'airlock' a cylon when it was needed, feminine and yet not a soft touch as many discovered during her tenure and McDonnell played it all beautifully.

Why wouldn't you want to write strong female roles, it surely can't just be about box office? It works when its done right, just like when it's done right for male characters.

I digress...

Stands with a Fist was a showy role, played with great understatement by McDonnell, her ability to convey a range of emotions with simple looks, when she frustratingly couldn't express the right words, was brilliant.

In PASSION FISH her character was incredibly unlikeable, a bitter, disconnected woman who felt the world owed her one. She tormented her nurses and generally made life horrible for those around her, until a feisty Alfre Woodard and a quiet David Strathairn turned her around. In the final act of the movie the character has now moved on and she feels happiness and contentment with the audience now finding itself rooting for her rediscovering her heart in the bayou.

McDonnell is also capable of lighter fare, appearing in SNEAKERS as the lone female voice in a boys spy adventure. And along with playing the President in Battlestar Galactica, she's played the President's wife in INDEPENDENCE DAY, where she added a much needed emotional centre for the bombastic explosion-fest and, despite only being on the screen for a short time, when she dies you understand the impact it has on the President and his daughter...all this in an alien movie!!

Mary McDonnell adds gravitas to the line up; an emotional power hitter, and she hasn't appeared in nearly enough stuff for my liking and just enough that when you see her you recognise her face. Luckily she had a few years on one of the most powerful dramas on television: Battlestar Galactica, and all of that is available on DVD so we've got some good stuff to get us by until she shows up again...