Sarah Polley

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Sarah Polley

Born January 8, 1979 (1979-01-08) (age 29)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Spouse(s) David Wharnsby

Sarah Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, Genie Award-winning film director and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. She has starred in such films as The Sweet Hereafter, Guinevere, Go, The Weight of Water, My Life Without Me, and Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Polley, the youngest of five children, was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Diane (née MacMillan)[1], an actress and casting director, and Michael Polley, a British-born actor and insurance agent (he attended acting classes with Albert Finney in England before moving to Canada).[2][3] Polley's mother died of cancer just after Polley's 11th birthday. Polley attended Subway Academy II then Earl Haig Secondary School, but dropped out before graduating.

[edit] Early career and fall-out with Disney

Her first cinematic appearance was at the age of four, as Molly in the Disney film One Magic Christmas. At age eight, she was cast in the title role in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. Though the series lasted but one season, Polley burst into the public eye the following year as Sara Stanley on the popular CBC television series Road to Avonlea, produced by Kevin Sullivan. The series made her famous and financially independent, and she was hailed as "Canada's Sweetheart" by the popular press.

After seven years with the program the show was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the U.S. At the age of 12 (around 1991) Polley attended an awards ceremony while wearing a peace sign to protest the first Gulf War. Disney executives asked her to remove it and she refused. This soured her relationship with Disney and she left Road to Avonlea soon after [4]. A short time later, the show itself was cancelled (to which she publicly claimed indifference), although she did return as Sara Stanley for the final episode.

[edit] Career

Polley appeared as Lily on the CBC television series, Straight Up. It ran from 1996–1998 and she won the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series for her role. Polley's subsequent role as Nicole Burnell in the 1997 film The Sweet Hereafter, brought her considerable attention in the United States; she was a fan favourite at the Sundance Film Festival. Her character in the film was an aspiring singer — on the soundtrack, she performed a cover of The Tragically Hip's "Courage" and Jane Siberry's "One More Colour", as well as the film's title track which she co-wrote with Mychael Danna. "Courage" was also played in the ending of an episode of Charmed, "Long live the Queen" (Season 4 Episode 20).

She was cast in the role of Penny Lane in the big-budget 2000 film Almost Famous, but dropped out of the project to return to Canada for the low-budget The Law of Enclosures. Her role in the 2003 film My Life Without Me, garnered the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 2004. In the same year, she starred in a lead role in the stylish and successful remake of Dawn of the Dead, which was a departure from her other indie roles. In 2005 she starred in The Secret Life of Words, opposite Tim Robbins and Julie Christie. She was nominated as Best European Actress by the European Film Academy for her role as Hanna.[5]

She made her feature-length film directing debut with Away From Her, based on the Alice Munro short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. The movie, starring Julie Christie, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2006 as part of the TIFF's Gala showcase. Away From Her was acquired by Lionsgate for release in the US for the sum of $750,000. It drew rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the three Toronto dailies, both for the performances of Christie and her co-star, Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent, and for Polley's direction. It also earned Polley a 2008 Academy Award nomination for her adapted screenplay and winning the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction (the first woman to do so).

Polley takes pride in her work and enjoys both acting and directing but is not keen on combining the two. "I like the feeling of keeping them separate. I find that really gratifying. I can't imagine combining those. For me, I love the feeling of using different parts of my brain separately."[6]

[edit] Political activism

Following the row with Disney, Polley dedicated more of her efforts to progressive politics, becoming a prominent member of the New Democratic Party, where Ontario legislator Peter Kormos was said to be her political mentor.

In 1995, she lost two back teeth after being struck by a riot police officer during a protest against the Provincial Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris in Queen's Park, Toronto.[7][8] She was subsequently involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.[7] She has recently scaled back on her political activism.[citation needed]

In 2003, she was part of newly-elected Toronto mayor David Miller's transition advisory team.

[edit] Personal life

On September 10, 2003 she married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby, her companion of seven years. "My relationship [with him] is the thing I'm proudest of in my life. I had a lot of opportunities to end up in some pretty bad situations and, despite all my faults, I had the sense to find someone like him and make the decision to be with him. You spend a lot of time wanting to be with the wrong person and I just feel incredibly lucky because I've succeeded at that one thing. I figured that out."[9]

[edit] Awards and Nominations

  • ACTRA
    • 2006 - ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence (Won)
  • Academy Awards
  • Director's Guild of Canada
    • 2007 - Best Feature Film :DGC Team Award, Away From Her (Won)
    • 2007 - Best Director :DGC Craft Award, Away From Her (Nominated)
  • Gemini Awards
    • 2007 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series, Slings and Arrows (Nominated)
    • 1998 - Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, Straight Up (Won)
    • 1998 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, The Planet of Junior Brown (Nominated)
    • 1998 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, White Lies (Nominated)
    • 1994 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
    • 1993 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
    • 1992 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Lantern Hill (Won)
    • 1990 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
    • 1988 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Ramona, (Nominated)
  • Genie Awards
  • Independent Spirit Awards
    • 2000 - Best Supporting Female, Go, (Nominated)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Actress

[edit] Director

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.tv.com/diane-polley/person/79973/summary.html
  2. ^ Sarah Polley Biography (1979-)
  3. ^ Polley, Sarah
  4. ^ Yahoo! Movies
  5. ^ European Film Academy
  6. ^ Exclusive: Filmmaker Sarah Polley
  7. ^ a b Toronto Life: Woman on the Verge - Page 4
  8. ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011399
  9. ^ Sarah Polley Quotes Filmspot. CNet Networks Entertainment.

[edit] External links

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