Martha Plimpton plays sharp-tongued characters without asking us to approve of them. We rate her unselfconscious work in comedy and drama, though the supporting parts have not always given her enough to do.
Fi1m perspective
In The Goonies (1985), Martha Plimpton's Stef has a place in the gang before she has much of a character. Richard Donner's treasure hunt gets considerable pleasure from children impatient to get on with things, but the writing does not distribute its attention equally. We enjoyed that impatience and grew tired of the shouting; Stef is among those who could have used more to do. Plimpton and Kerri Green, as Andy, get less to establish them than Ke Huy Quan's Data. The part is a thin basis on which to judge what she can do.
Running on Empty (1988), alongside River Phoenix, and the ensemble of Parenthood (1989) kept her in films before a shift towards theatre in the 1990s. Her work with Steppenwolf Theatre Company and in classical plays suits an actor valued for humour and the ability to work with others. She has said, "When you start worrying about how you are being perceived, your work loses integrity." That fits the lack of self-consciousness we value in her acting: she allows a character to be abrasive without repeatedly reassuring us that she is nicer than the person she plays.
Television supplied both the recurring guest role of Patti Nyholm in The Good Wife (2009) and a lead as Virginia Chance in Raising Hope (2010–2014). The latter makes particular sense for an actor whose honesty works in comedy as well as drama. Her strength as an ensemble player matters here, because she can make a character register without seeming to compete with everyone around her.
In Task (2025), she plays Kathleen McGinty in a crime drama whose family troubles are more compelling than its investigation. The lives around Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are worth caring about, but the story keeps us waiting too long for the case to gather pace. The shortage of humour matters, too: the series could use some relief from its burdens. It is a decent option for patient viewers, though hardly the obvious introduction to an actor whose humour is so much of the attraction. Begin with Raising Hope instead, and give her comedy an evening.
Biography
Martha Plimpton is an American actress. Born in New York City on 16 November 1970, she is the daughter of actors Shelley Plimpton and Keith Carradine.
She began her career as a child performer and appeared in films including The Goonies (1985) and Parenthood (1989). Plimpton has worked extensively on stage and received three Tony Award nominations. On television she played Virginia Chance in the sitcom Raising Hope (2010–2014) and Patti Nyholm in The Good Wife (2009–2013), winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the latter.
Recent credits include the voice of Yelena in Frozen II (2019) and the role of Kathleen McGinty in the HBO series Task (2025).
