Headline, Industry News

ACTRA Award nominees

Tuesday January 30th 2007

TORONTO, – Karl Pruner, President of ACTRA Toronto Performers, is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2007 ACTRA Awards in Toronto to be presented at The Carlu on February 23, 2007.

ACTRA Toronto’s 2007 Award of Excellence will be presented to Wendy Crewson. Three juried ACTRA Awards will be presented: the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – female, the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – male, and for the first time, the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – voice.

ACTRA Toronto’s 2007 Award of Excellence will be presented to WENDY CREWSON.

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Female:

Martha Burns  Slings & Arrows (TV series)

Maria Del Mar  Terminal City (TV Series)

Deborah Grover  11 Cameras (TV series)

Martha Henry  At The Hotel (TV series)

Kristen Thomson  Away From Her (feature film)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Male:

Chris Bolton  Rent-A-Goalie (TV series)

William Hutt  Slings & Arrows (TV series)

Don McKellar  Monkey Warfare (feature film)

Gordon Pinsent  Away From Her (feature film)

Michael Therriault  Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story
(TV miniseries)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Voice:

Len Carlson  Atomic Betty (animated TV series) posthumous

nomination

Ellen-Ray Hennessy  Di-Gata Defenders (animated TV series)

Tajja Isen  Atomic Betty (animated TV series)

Ron Rubin  Erky Perky (animated TV series)

Adrian Truss  Jane and the Dragon (animated TV series)

"ACTRA may be on strike, but our ACTRA Awards will go on. Kudos to all of our nominees for their tremendous performances and hats off to our jury

members who have to choose winners from such a strong list of nominations," said Pruner.
"The news that Wendy Crewson has been chosen to receive our 2007 ACTRA Award of Excellence at the ACTRA Awards on February 23 will come as no surprise. Her continuing contributions to our film and television industry – both as an award-winning actor and as a star who graciously leads the fight for our culture – make her an ideal recipient of our highest honour, the Award of Excellence," said Pruner.

Ms. Crewson enjoys a successful career in both Canada and the U.S. She has eight Gemini nominations, four of them wins, and a Gemini Humanitarian Award in 2002 for her charitable work for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). She has portrayed multiple Canadian newsmakers including Sue Rodriguez (At The End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story), Jane Doe (The Many Trials of One Jane Doe), and Louise Arbour (Hunt for Justice). Selected credits include Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, The Man Who Lost Himself, Sex Traffic, Perfect Pie, Air Force One, 24, all three installments of The Santa Clause, Niagara Motel and Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride. Ms. Crewson recently joined the cast of ReGenesis.

A champion for Canadian culture, Ms. Crewson has been outspoken in calling for more homegrown dramas on television and increased exposure for Canadian films. She is a key player in ACTRA’s efforts to demand action from politicians and the CRTC to fix the Canadian television drama crisis. She continues to be determined and willing to speak out for Canadian artists.

ACTRA Toronto Performers is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 13,000 of Canada’s 21,000 professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven organization that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

The Awards Gala evening will be hosted by Patrick McKenna. Paul O’Sullivan is the scriptwriter. The awards show will feature a performance by ACTRA member and singer Amanda Martinez. The ACTRA Award statuette is by sculptor Adrienne Alison. The annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto recognize outstanding performances by

ACTRA Toronto members and celebrate accomplishment and excellence in our industry. The ACTRA Awards were re-instituted in 2003 as part of ACTRA’s 60th Anniversary. The ACTRA Awards in Toronto take place on Friday, February 23, 2007, at The Carlu.