After years of toiling in supporting roles, often taking whatever came her way, actress Imelda Staunton finally got the chance to display her considerable talents when she starred as the titular character in director Mike Leigh’s period drama, “Vera Drake” (2004) – a role that earned the British thespian a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Prior to her critical success on both sides of the pond, Staunton worked hard to gain prominence in her native England, spending almost three decades in small supporting roles on stage, television and in film. Though she considered herself a
