FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2011
9th ANNUAL ACTRA AWARDS IN TORONTO 2011
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Toronto, February 26, 2011 – ACTRA Toronto is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011
ACTRA Awards in Toronto.
ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Voice
Sean Cullen (Jimmy Two-Shoes)
ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Female
Molly Parker (Trigger)
Tracy Wright (Trigger)
ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Male
Maury Chaykin (Less Than Kind)
Eric Peterson presented Fiona Reid with ACTRA Toronto’s 2011 Award of Excellence.
“This year has been marked by the death of many talented performers still in the prime of their
careers. This year’s winners include two of them, Maury Chaykin and Tracy Wright, two highly
original performers. Their work in these roles lives on, together with their many other memorable
performances, now a permanent part of Canadian screen history. Their win speaks to the
profound loss that their death and the recent untimely deaths of other highly accomplished
performers, means to us,” said Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto. “The double win for
Molly Parker and Tracy Wright illustrates their inseparable contribution to Bruce McDonald’s hit
film, Trigger and Sean Cullen is a multi-talented star honoured this time for his voice work in
animation. It is my fervent hope that the awards bring prominence and success to all the
nominated performers. It was my pleasure to honour Fiona Reid with the Award of Excellence.
Despite her busy career, she has lent her voice and her passion to the fight for Canadian culture
for close to a decade.”
SEAN CULLEN – ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Voice
Founding member of musical comedy group, Corky and the Juice Pigs; Gemini Awards for Best
Performance or Host in a Variety Program, Just For Laughs, 17th Annual Gemini Awards, What
Were They Thinking; author of novel trilogy for young adults; finalist of NBC's Last Comic
Standing; Canadian Comedy Award, Phil The Alien; feature films include: The Love Guru, Saint
Ralph, Where the Truth Lies.
MOLLY PARKER – ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Female
Genie Awards for Kissed and Last Wedding; Genie nominations: Who Loves the Sun, Marion
Bridge, The War Bride, Men With Brooms; Gemini nomination, Paris or Somewhere; series
regular on Twitch City, Deadwood, Swingtown, Shattered; other feature films include: The Road,
Looking For Leonard, Rare Birds, Suspicious River.
TRACY WRIGHT – ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Female
Founding member of Toronto's Augusta Company; television appearances include: The Kids in
the Hall, Dice, Twitch City, Slings & Arrows; films include: Highway 61, When Night is Falling,
Last Night, Picture Claire, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Monkey Warfare, Childstar,
Blindness, This Movie is Broken, You Are Here; frequently collaborated with husband, Don
McKellar, as well as with Daniel MacIvor, Daniel Brooks, and Bruce McDonald.
MAURY CHAYKIN - ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Male
Canadian-American character actor born in Brooklyn, NY; Genie Award for Best Actor in a
Leading Role, Whale Music; Genie nominations, Cold Comfort and Iron Eagle II; Gemini
awards, At the Hotel and Nikita; Canadian Comedy Award, Less Than Kind; film appearances
include: Dances With Wolves, The Adjuster, The Sweet Hereafter, Adoration, Blindness,
Barney's Version; extensive television appearances include: A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Seeing
Things, Entourage, Boston Legal.
FIONA REID - ACTRA Toronto’s 2011 Award of Excellence winner
Well-known to Canadian audiences as Cathy King in King of Kensington; Gemini nomination,
This is Wonderland; Dora Mavor Moore Awards: Fallen Angels and Six Degrees of Separation;
Jessie Award, Humble Boy; Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award for excellence in the performing
arts; Toronto Life Women of Distinction Award; Honorary Doctorate, Bishop’s University;
Member of the Order of Canada. With over 60 film and television credits to her name, Reid was
honoured for her exceptional body of work and her committed advocacy on behalf of ACTRA
performers.
The Awards Gala evening was hosted by Ennis Esmer (The Listener) and featured musical
performances by Boys Who Say No.
The annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at The Carlu on February 25, 2011. The
ACTRA Awards in Toronto recognize outstanding performances by ACTRA Toronto members.
ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 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.
ACTRA Toronto thanks the generous sponsors of The 9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto:
Diamond Sponsor
Actra Fraternal Benefit Society
Gold Sponsors
ACTRA National, ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society, CBC,
Copyright Collective of Canada, Deluxe I Sound & Picture, ROI Fund,
Shaftesbury Films, United Steelworkers
Silver Sponsors
Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish LLP, Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union,
Entertainment One, Royal Bank of Canada
Bronze Sponsors
Breakthrough Entertainment, Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA),
Don Carmody Productions,
City of Toronto Film & Television Office, Grant Thornton LLP, New Real Films,
Serendipity Point Films, Writers Guild of Canada
Supporters
The Characters Talent Agency, EP Canada Film Services, Ricochet Water,
Unionville Insurance Brokers
Friends
AMI Artist Management, Ambition Talent, Creative Drive Artists, Darius Films, Fountainhead
Talent, Gary Goddard Agency, LeFeaver Talent management ltd,
New Leaf Flowers & Gifts, Noble Caplan Abrams, Oscars Abrams Zimel & associates
Premier Artists’ Management, Thistle Printing
- 30 For more information and photos contact:
Karen Woolridge, Public Relations Officer
direct: (416) 642–6710
Mobile: (416) 937-1437
email: [email protected]