Actress Maggie Steed reveals the one life lesson she's learned: 'Never believe what you're told'
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Maggie Steed is one of the rare examples of seasoned actresses who have been able to realistically portray the determination and perseverance required to maintain a successful acting career over many years (decades, even).
If someone were to ask her to name just one quote or saying that motivated her to stick with the path she is now on, she would say, 'Never believe what you're told.'
At the beginning of her career, Steed worked as a secretary, but she eventually made the transition to acting. Credit: United Agents.
'Growing up, I was never a "dolly bird",' she said in an interview with Liz Hoggard for the Daily Mail. 'I studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, but wasn't considered conventionally pretty enough to be an actress.'
'I was just Margaret Baker from Plymouth, tall with very gappy teeth, so I became a secretary instead.'
While working as a secretary for a movie production firm, she realised that all kinds of women ‘hide or put away’ their ambitions and impose restrictions on themselves.
She was a secretary, but she knew she wasn't very good at it, so she went to her boss and told him that all she wanted to do was pursue acting. 'Well, I think you better do it,' he replied, and that she did.
'I owe him a lot,' she said.
Steed quit the theatre for a while after graduating from Bristol's Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Credit: The Mirror.
It wasn't until much later that she developed an appreciation for theatrical performances and found herself on the same stage as Clive Russell and Sue Johnston at the Coventry Belgrade Theatre.
Steed has worked in many different industries, including as a comedian; at the age of 32, she signed up with an agency and began performing with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
'I've always wanted to break the mould as the circle of acceptability for women is very small,' she said, adding: 'It was always: "Keep your voice down, darling, and take your pants off." Even Julie Christie was told she wouldn't work past 25.'
She made her television debut as Rita Moon in Shine on Harvey Moon. She had the roles of Margaret Crabbe in Pie in the Sky and Phyllis Woolf in Born and Bred. Her television credits include appearances on Fox, Minder, Sensitive Skin, and Jam and Jerusalem.
Steed actively participated in the Campaign Against Racism in the Media. Credit: Broadway World.
Steed was not a stranger to political activity either; she was a member of The Campaign Against Racism in the Media (CARM) and, along with fellow member Stuart Hall, appeared on an episode of the BBC's Open Door series on 1 March 1979 to criticise immigration and racial stereotyping depictions on British television.
In 1983, she appeared on British television as a co-writer and performer in the comedy charity concert An Evening for Nicaragua, which took place at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Ben Elton, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Thompson, and Rik Mayall were some of the stars in the cast.
Now that she's 75 and still acting, she admits that it wasn't always a bed of roses in the film and TV industry for seasoned performers like herself.
One time, her agent even advised her that she needed to 'get her eyes done', which really caught her by surprise.
'I was shocked,' she said, but then she realised that the agent was right. Her eyes had actually drooped to the point where the cameramen were having a difficult time lighting them, so she went and had them fixed.
'There's no shame in doing what's necessary to remain in the game at 75,' she went on to say. 'You never retire as an actor. Everyone is rediscovered all the time.'
The film Fisherman's Friends, starring Maggie Steed, is available to stream in Australia now on Google Play and Apple TV and Ritz at Home and Prime Video Store. Take a look at the promotional video down below:
Credit: Roadshow Films.
If someone were to ask her to name just one quote or saying that motivated her to stick with the path she is now on, she would say, 'Never believe what you're told.'
At the beginning of her career, Steed worked as a secretary, but she eventually made the transition to acting. Credit: United Agents.
'Growing up, I was never a "dolly bird",' she said in an interview with Liz Hoggard for the Daily Mail. 'I studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, but wasn't considered conventionally pretty enough to be an actress.'
'I was just Margaret Baker from Plymouth, tall with very gappy teeth, so I became a secretary instead.'
While working as a secretary for a movie production firm, she realised that all kinds of women ‘hide or put away’ their ambitions and impose restrictions on themselves.
She was a secretary, but she knew she wasn't very good at it, so she went to her boss and told him that all she wanted to do was pursue acting. 'Well, I think you better do it,' he replied, and that she did.
'I owe him a lot,' she said.
Steed quit the theatre for a while after graduating from Bristol's Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Credit: The Mirror.
It wasn't until much later that she developed an appreciation for theatrical performances and found herself on the same stage as Clive Russell and Sue Johnston at the Coventry Belgrade Theatre.
Steed has worked in many different industries, including as a comedian; at the age of 32, she signed up with an agency and began performing with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
'I've always wanted to break the mould as the circle of acceptability for women is very small,' she said, adding: 'It was always: "Keep your voice down, darling, and take your pants off." Even Julie Christie was told she wouldn't work past 25.'
She made her television debut as Rita Moon in Shine on Harvey Moon. She had the roles of Margaret Crabbe in Pie in the Sky and Phyllis Woolf in Born and Bred. Her television credits include appearances on Fox, Minder, Sensitive Skin, and Jam and Jerusalem.
Steed actively participated in the Campaign Against Racism in the Media. Credit: Broadway World.
Steed was not a stranger to political activity either; she was a member of The Campaign Against Racism in the Media (CARM) and, along with fellow member Stuart Hall, appeared on an episode of the BBC's Open Door series on 1 March 1979 to criticise immigration and racial stereotyping depictions on British television.
In 1983, she appeared on British television as a co-writer and performer in the comedy charity concert An Evening for Nicaragua, which took place at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Ben Elton, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Thompson, and Rik Mayall were some of the stars in the cast.
Now that she's 75 and still acting, she admits that it wasn't always a bed of roses in the film and TV industry for seasoned performers like herself.
One time, her agent even advised her that she needed to 'get her eyes done', which really caught her by surprise.
'I was shocked,' she said, but then she realised that the agent was right. Her eyes had actually drooped to the point where the cameramen were having a difficult time lighting them, so she went and had them fixed.
'There's no shame in doing what's necessary to remain in the game at 75,' she went on to say. 'You never retire as an actor. Everyone is rediscovered all the time.'
The film Fisherman's Friends, starring Maggie Steed, is available to stream in Australia now on Google Play and Apple TV and Ritz at Home and Prime Video Store. Take a look at the promotional video down below:
Credit: Roadshow Films.
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