Sara Canning

Sara Canning
Canning in May 2011
Born (1987-07-14) July 14, 1987 (age 37)
Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Sara Canning (born July 14, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She co-starred in the CW television series The Vampire Diaries as Jenna Sommers and appeared in the 2009 feature film Black Field. She starred as Dylan Weir in the Canadian television series Primeval: New World and as Dr. Melissa Conner on the Global medical drama Remedy. Canning appeared in the 2017 theatrical film War for the Planet of the Apes. She is also known for her role as Jacquelyn Scieszka in the Netflix TV series A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Early life

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Canning was born in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, the daughter of Wayne and Daphne Canning.[1] She lived in Brown's Arm, Newfoundland until age eleven, and was then raised in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta.[2][3] She competed as a figure skater in her childhood and early adolescent years, and became interested in theatre as a student at F.R. Haythorne Junior High.[4] Canning starred in several stage productions while attending Bev Facey Community High School,[5] and acted in shows at her hometown stage at Festival Place.

Canning made her professional acting debut in George Orwell's 1984 at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton at the age of 18. She began studying general arts at the University of Alberta, and considered going into journalism. Still interested in performing, Canning left university at 19 and moved to Vancouver to pursue a career in acting.[1] She graduated from a year-long screen acting program at Vancouver Film School in 2007.[6]

Career

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Canning found an agent and began acting in television series and TV films produced in Vancouver. She worked in a restaurant and would take time off to film.[7] Her first role was in 2008, playing Nicky Hilton in Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story.[8] In 2009, she guest-starred on Smallville and Kyle XY, and starred in the based-on-real-events TV movie, Taken in Broad Daylight. She played Anne Sluti, a 17-year- old girl who was abducted by a demented criminal (James Van Der Beek).

In 2009, Canning filmed a pilot episode for the CW network television series The Vampire Diaries. She then starred in the feature film, Black Field, a 19th-century gothic period piece directed by Danishka Esterhazy. Canning shot the drama near Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada in May 2009.[9] She played Maggie McGregor, the older of two British sisters struggling take make their way on the Canadian Prairies. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2009.[10] The Vampire Diaries series was picked up three weeks after she completed work on the film.[1]

Canning co-starred on The Vampire Diaries as Jenna Sommers, the aunt and guardian of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), and her younger brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen).[11] Canning was younger or the same age as her fellow cast members who played high school students.[12] Makeup artists and the wardrobe team worked to make her look older.[13] Canning also downplayed her Canadian accent for the role. Matthew Davis played her character's love interest, Alaric.[13] Canning appeared on the second season of The Vampire Diaries from 2010–2011, until her character was killed in the episode "The Sun Also Rises".

Canning is interested in writing and directing. As of September 2010, she was co-writing a love story set in the Western time period.[7] In 2011, she worked on a short film noir, titled Corvus, and shot the Lifetime network film, Hunt for the I-5 Killer, in Vancouver.[14] She filmed the Hallmark Movie Channel Western, Hannah's Law, in Calgary, Alberta in late 2011, starring alongside Greyston Holt.[15]

Canning appeared in I Think I Do, which began filming in January 2012 in Edmonton. She starred as Audrey, an event planner who runs a business alongside her two sisters (Mia Kirschner and Jenny Cooper).[16] The romantic comedy aired in 2013 on the W and Lifetime networks.[17] She filmed the independent romantic comedy, The Right Kind of Wrong, in Banff, Alberta in late 2012, starring alongside Ryan Kwanten and Catherine O'Hara, directed by Jeremiah Chechik.[18]

Canning starred in the 2012–2013 Space channel television series Primeval: New World, a Canadian spin-off of the British sci-fi series Primeval.[19] She played predator control expert Dylan Weir, a member of a dinosaur hunting team; the series was filmed in Vancouver.[6] Canning also starred in 2012 with Aaron Ashmore in the dark romantic comedy, I Put a Hit on You.[20] In 2013, she joined the cast of the psychological drama film, Eadweard, starring Michael Eklund. She played Flora, the wife of 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge.[21]

Canning played general surgeon Mel Conner in the Global medical drama, Remedy, co-starring Sarah Allen, Dillon Casey, and Enrico Colantoni. The television series was in production in Toronto from October 2013–January 2014.[22] Broadcast company Shaw Media renewed the series for a second 10-episode season.[23] Canning won the 2014 UBCP/ACTRA best actor and the 2015 Leo Award for Best Lead Performance for her role.[24][25]

Canning co-starred in War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), a sequel to 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.[26] She appeared in On the Farm, a Rachel Talalay-directed TV film about serial killer Robert Pickton, and in Hello Destroyer, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Canning played Jacquelyn Scieszka in the 2017 Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on Daniel Handler's book series of the same.[27] She also starred as the head of a boarding school, Ms. Brixil, in the dystopian thriller, Level 16, written and directed by Danishka Esterhazy.[28] Canning collaborated with Esterhazy a third time in The Banana Splits Movie, a film shot in Cape Town, South Africa.[29]

Canning was nominated for the 2020 UBCP/ACTRA award for best female lead performance for her work on the Web series Hospital Show.[30]

She starred in the 2021 film Superhost and stated that she had hard time filming the YouTube vlogging scenes.[31]

Personal life

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Canning relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to film The Vampire Diaries. She stated to Parade that she found that the Southern U.S. had "a much different culture than the west coast of Canada", but it became like her "second home".[12] Canning lived in Atlanta for two years and returned to Vancouver, British Columbia after finishing the series.[32]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 Slap Shot 3: The Junior League Hope Direct-to-video film
2009 Black Field Maggie McGregor
2013 The Right Kind of Wrong Colette
2014 I Put a Hit on You Harper
2015 Eadweard Flora Shallcross Stone
2016 Hello Destroyer Wendy Davis
2017 Prodigals Jen Stage play adaptation
War for the Planet of the Apes Lake [33]
2018 The Fish and the Sea Real estate agent
Level 16 Miss Brixil
2019 The Banana Splits Movie Rebecca
2020 An Awkward Balance Venice
2021 Superhost Claire [31]
2022 Influencer Jessica
2023 Sweetland Clara
The Burning Season Alena

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story Nicky Hilton Television film
Smallville Tess' Assistant Episodes:"Odyssey", "Plastique"
2009 Black Rain Jenny Television film
Taken in Broad Daylight Anne Sluti Television film
Kyle XY Redhead Episode: "In the Company of Men"
Come Dance at My Wedding Andrea Merriman Television film
2009–2011, 2014, 2017 The Vampire Diaries Jenna Sommers Main role (seasons 1–2); guest role (seasons 3, 5 and 8); 46 episodes
2011 The Hunt for the I-5 Killer Beth Williams Television film
2012 Supernatural Lydia Episode: "The Slice Girls"
Hannah's Law Hannah Beaumont Television film
Halloween Wars Herself As a judge (season 2); episode: "Zombie Wedding"
2012–2013 Primeval: New World Dylan Weir Main role
2013 I Think I Do Audrey Ryan Television film
King & Maxwell Claire Culpepper Episode: "Family Business"
Garage Sale Mystery Hannah Television film
Republic of Doyle Jessica Dwyer Episodes: "If the Shoe Fits", "Major Crimes"
2014–2015 Remedy Dr. Melissa Conner Main role
2014 Hell on Wheels Charlotte Royce 3 episodes
2016 Motive Tracy Blaine Episode: "Interference"
On the Farm Sinead McLeod Television film
2017–2018 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Jacquelyn Scieszka Recurring role; 10 episodes
2018 Once Upon a Time Gretel Episode: "Sisterhood"[34]
Van Helsing Carter Episode: "Been Away"[35]
Take Two Melissa Episode: "It Takes a Thief"
2019 Wu Assassins Alana Episode: "Gu Assassins"
Nancy Drew Katherine Drew Recurring role; 5 episodes
Amish Abduction Annie Television film
The Christmas Temp Hazel Television film
Hospital Show Charlie Web series
2020 The Christmas Yule Blog Caroline Williams Television film
2021 Big Sky Rachel Westergaard Episodes: "The End Is Near", "Let It Be Him"
9-1-1 Sheila Episode: "Suspicion"
A Christmas Star Madeline Television film
2023 The Irrational D.A. Elise Bowen Episode: "Pilot"
Creepshow Astrid Episode: "The Hat"

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2012 Leo Award Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama Hannah's Law Nominated [36]
2014 UBCP/ACTRA Awards Best Actress Award Remedy Won [24]
2015 Leo Award Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series Remedy Won [25]
Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series Hell on Wheels Nominated [25]
UBCP/ACTRA Awards Best Actress Award Eadweard Nominated [37]
2016 Leo Award Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series Remedy Nominated [38]
Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Television Movie On the Farm Nominated [38]
2017 Leo Award Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series A Series of Unfortunate Events Nominated [39]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hall, Jamie (July 27, 2010). "Canning sinks her teeth into television and movie career Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine". The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Rae, Kate (September 6, 2013). "Sara Canning: Her closet is ‘totally nuts’ Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
  3. ^ Brioux, Bill (August 13, 2009). "TV brimming with Canadians Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine". The Toronto Star. Retrieved on October 17, 2009.
  4. ^ "The Vampire Diaries – Cast – Sara Canning". The CW. Retrieved on October 17, 2009. Archived September 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Wilkie, Trent (13 June 2013). "Drammies a go". Edmonton Examiner. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b Leiren-Young, Mark (January 3, 2013). "Hollywood North: Vancouver’s Sara Canning takes a vacation from vampires and velociraptors Archived 2018-04-04 at the Wayback Machine". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved on January 5, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Proulx, Ben (September 1, 2010). "Vampires draw in Park actor Archived 2013-10-24 at the Wayback Machine". Sherwood Park News. Retrieved on September 4, 2010.
  8. ^ "Acting Like A Hilton Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine". January 29, 2008. Vancouver Film School. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
  9. ^ Caddell, Ian (October 2009). "Field of Dreams Archived 2011-06-20 at the Wayback Machine". Reel West. Retrieved on October 9, 2009.
  10. ^ Mithrush, Fawnda (April 30, 2010). "Vampire Vixen". Avenue Magazine. Retrieved on May 1, 2010. Archived May 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Gilovoy, Jackie (September 25, 2009). "In Review: The Vampire Diaries[permanent dead link‍]". Ponte Vedra Recorder. Retrieved on October 17, 2009. [dead link‍]
  12. ^ a b Hill, Erin (January 28, 2010). "Sara Canning: 'Vampire Diaries' Will Pave Its Own Way Archived 2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine". Parade. Retrieved on January 30, 2010.
  13. ^ a b MacKenzie, Carina (March 25, 2010). "'The Vampire Diaries': Sara Canning makes her own luck Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine". Los Angeles Times Retrieved on May 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Wilkinson, Amy (May 5, 2011). "'Vampire Diaries' Post-Mortem: Sara Canning Talks About Last Night's Shocking Episode Archived 2011-05-10 at the Wayback Machine". MTV. Retrieved on May 13, 2011.
  15. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (October 3, 2011). "'Vampire Diaries' Actress to Star in Hallmark Movie Channel Western (Exclusive) Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on November 9, 2011.
  16. ^ Baxter, Meaghan (January 31, 2012). "Park actress branches out to comedy Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine". Sherwood Park News. Retrieved on January 31, 2012.
  17. ^ Hall, Jamie (January 12, 2012). "A movie 'for the world to see'". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved on January 14, 2012.
  18. ^ Volmers, Eric (October 4, 2012). "Alberta ranch plays host to stars of romantic comedy, The Right Kind of Wrong Archived 2016-01-27 at the Wayback Machine". Calgary Herald. Retrieved on October 5, 2012.
  19. ^ Vlessing, Etan (March 7, 2012). "Sara Canning Stars in Canadian 'Primeval: New World' Sci-Fi Drama Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on March 9, 2012.
  20. ^ Vlessing, Etan (November 9, 2012). "Sara Canning, Aaron Ashmore Cast in Canadian Indie 'I Put a Hit on You' Archived 2012-11-12 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on November 10, 2012.
  21. ^ Kit, Borys (June 28, 2013). "'Vampire Diaries,' 'Continuum' Actors Join Eadweard Muybridge Movie Archived 2013-07-02 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on June 29, 2013.
  22. ^ Vlessing, Elan (October 2, 2013). "Sara Canning, Sarah Allen Board Canadian Medical Drama 'Remedy' Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.
  23. ^ Vlessing, Elan (May 1, 2014). "Sara Canning-Starring Medical Drama 'Remedy' Gets Second Season Archived 2014-05-04 at the Wayback Machine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on May 4, 2014.
  24. ^ a b Derdeyn, Stuart (November 24, 2014). "Ian Tracey and Sara Canning win best actor and actress awards at UBCP/ACTRA awards". The Province. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  25. ^ a b c Marchand, Francois (June 15, 2012). "Violent roars at the Leo Awards". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  26. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (October 26, 2015). "Sara Canning To Monkey Around In 'War For The Planet Of The Apes'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  27. ^ Furminger, Sabrina (January 16, 2017). "Sara Canning's fortunate event". Westender. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  28. ^ Vlessing, Etan (February 10, 2016). "'Vampire Diaries' Actress Sara Canning to Star in YA Thriller 'Level 16'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  29. ^ Gee, Dana (March 15, 2019). "Road work suits Vancouver actor Sara Canning just fine". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  30. ^ Gee, Dana (October 14, 2020). "Nominees list for UBCP/ACTRA Awards have been announced". Daily Herald Tribune. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Cohen, Sam (2022-02-03). "Sara Canning Reveals The Most Challenging Aspect Of Filming Superhost - Exclusive". TheList.com. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  32. ^ MacKenzie, Carina Adly (May 6, 2011). "'The Vampire Diaries': Sara Canning says goodbye to Jenna Sommers Archived 2014-02-09 at the Wayback Machine". Zap2it. Retrieved on November 9, 2011.
  33. ^ "Sara Canning To Monkey Around In 'War For The Planet Of The Apes'". Deadline Hollywood. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  34. ^ "Sisterhood". www.disneyabcpress.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  35. ^ "Van Helsing Showrunner Q&A: Season 3, Episode 11: 'Been Away'". www.syfy.com. 15 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  36. ^ Harris, Aleesha (May 3, 2012). "Leo Awards 2012: The full list of nominees". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  37. ^ Marchand, Francois (September 17, 2015). "Hollywood North: UBCP/ACTRA nominees announced". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  38. ^ a b "2016 Leo Awards Nominees by Name". Leo Awards. 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  39. ^ "Leo Awards, 2017 Winners by Name". www.leoawards.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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