I happen to think that British actress Lyndsey Marshal is criminally underrated. Case in point: she has appeared in half again as many frock flicks as are listed here but there are no pictures of her to be found online in these roles. I, however, think we should celebrate her. I can say this because we are the same age, but had she been born 10 or 15 years before she was, Lyndsey Marshall would have been a competitor for the enigmatic brunette heroine, in the same league as Winona Ryder and Helena Bonham Carter. Alas, the world moved on and though she has appeared pretty much every year of her career in some film or TV show, she’s had precious few leading roles. That’s starting to change now as she’s garnering critical acclaim for her role the recent film Restless (2025). She’s also appearing alongside Ralph Fiennes in The Choral (2025), set during World War I. So let’s take a look at some of her past frock flick roles and discuss!
The Young Visiters (2003)
Poirot: Cards on the Table (2006)
Rome (2005-07)
Marple: Murder Is Easy (2009)
Garrow’s Law (2007-09)
Titanic (2012)
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019)
Are you a fan of Lyndsey Marshal? Share your favorite film in the comments!
I remain deeply, deeply amused by the fact that Ms Marshal not only played a feature role in both of the major ITV Christie adaptations, but then proceeded to play ‘The Queen of Crime’ herself.
Hopefully that will be the thin end of a very broad wedge for her career!
It is not a frock flick but she did an outstanding job in Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter with Matt Damon. She played an alcoholic mother of twins who faces the loss of her son’s; one to an accident and the other because he is removed from her care. If you haven’t seen it, this film Is well worth the watch…and it actually isn’t as depressing as it sounds.
Rome and Garrow are my favorite of her roles. I loved her as Cleopatra, especially in her scenes with Octavian as he plots against her, thinking that because she’s a woman, she’ll buy his bullshit. And her scene at the start off S 2, when she spars with Antony. She’s a spunky little thing.
I agree that she is underappreciated and underused. She’s beautiful, but in an unusual way.
It’s funny, I was just talking about Lyndsey Marshal and her role as Cleopatra in “Rome” with a friend this morning! I really loved her portrayal of Cleopatra as both pleasure-loving and smart/regal. “Play the queen? I AM the queen!” It really is too bad, as you noted, that she was born too late to be a 90’s type slim and delicate brunette heroine in the Winona Ryder/Natalie Portman mold; she could have been the British equivalent. At any rate, I loved her as Cleopatra and thought that she did great justice to the frocks, wigs, (even the really silly one that looked woven from straw or hemp or something), jewelry and henna designs.
Really enjoyed your writing on the post about Walking On Broken Glass by Annie Lennox.
Which led me here.
Like the rest of the world, I was surprised by how roles I had seen Lyndsey Marshal play.
Garrow’s Law and Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar were highlights for me.
I’m not happy with that spoiler but Agatha Christie stories are whodunnits, not whogetsduns so it’s almost forgivable.
Hey-ho.
I shall now make my way through the site.