Sara Canning Biography

Sara Canning (born July 14, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She co-starred on The CW television series The Vampire Diaries as Jenna Sommers, and starred in the 2009 feature film, Black Field. She starred as Dylan Weir in the Canadian television series Primeval: New World.

Early life

Canning was born in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, the daughter of Wayne and Daphne Canning, and was raised in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta. 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. Canning starred in several stage productions while attending Bev Facey Community High School, 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. She graduated from a year-long screen acting program at Vancouver Film School in 2007.

Career

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. Her first role was in 2008, playing Nicky Hilton in Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story. 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 for The Vampire Diaries, a CW network television series. She then starred in the feature film Black Field, a 19th-century gothic period piece, directed by Danishka Esterhazy. Canning shot the drama in May 2009, near Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada. She played Maggie McGregor, the older of two Scottish sisters struggling take make their way on the Canadian Prairies. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2009. The Vampire Diaries was picked up as a television series three weeks after she completed work on the film.

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). Canning was the same age, or younger, than her fellow cast members who played high school students. Makeup artists and the wardrobe team worked to make her look older than she usually did. Canning also downplayed her Canadian accent for the role. Her character's love interest, Alaric, was played by Matthew Davis. 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. In 2011, she worked on a short film noir, titled Corvus. She shot the Lifetime network film, Hunt for the I-5 Killer, that year in Vancouver, and signed on to play the lead in the Canadian horror film, Blitzed. She starred alongside Greystone Holt in the Hallmark Movie Channel film, Hannah's Law, a Western which began shooting in Calgary, Alberta in October 2011.

Canning will appear in the romantic comedy, I Think I Do, which began filming in January 2012 in Edmonton. She stars as Audrey, an event planner who runs a business alongside her two sisters (Mia Kirschner and Jenny Cooper). It will air on the W and Lifetime networks in 2013. Canning returned to Alberta to film the independent romantic comedy, The Right Kind of Wrong, in late 2012. Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, she stars alongside Ryan Kwanten and Catherine O'Hara.

Canning starred in the Space channel television series, Primeval: New World, a Canadian spin-off of the sci-fi series Primeval. She played predator control expert Dylan Weir, a member of a dinosaur hunting team. The series was filmed in Vancouver. Canning will star in I Put a Hit on You with Aaron Ashmore, a dark romantic comedy directed by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart. She also joined the cast of an untitled psychological drama, starring Michael Eklund, based on the life of 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Canning will play his wife, Flora.

Personal life

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". Canning lived in Atlanta for two years and returned to Vancouver after finishing the series.

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story	Nicky Hilton	TV film
2008	Smallville	Tess' Assistant
2008	Slap Shot 3: The Junior League	Hope	Direct-to-video film
2009	Black Rain	Dorothy	TV film
2009	Taken in Broad Daylight	Anne Sluti	TV film
2009	Kyle XY	Redhead	TV series, episode: "In the Company of Men"
2009	Come Dance at My Wedding	Andrea Merriman	TV film
2009	Black Field	Maggie McGregor	Feature film
2009"2012	The Vampire Diaries	Jenna Sommers	TV Series - 31 episodes Regular Cast : Seasons 1"2 Guest Star: Season 3 : Episode 22
2011	The Hunt for the I-5 Killer	Beth Williams	TV film
2012	Supernatural	Lydia	TV series, episode: "The Slice Girls"
2012	Hannah's Law	Hannah Beaumont	TV film Nominated " Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama
2012"2013	Primeval: New World	Dylan Weir	TV series, Lead Role
2013	I Think I Do	Audrey Ryan
2013	The Right Kind of Wrong	Colette
2013	I Put a Hit on You	Harper
2013	Blitzed	Summer	Pre-production