Sarah Polley Biography

Sarah E. Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress and film director. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea. She has also starred in such films as Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Guinevere, Go, The Weight of Water, My Life Without Me, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Dawn of the Dead, Splice, and Mr. Nobody.

Polley made her feature film directorial debut with Away from Her, for which she won a Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polley's second film, Take This Waltz, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. Her latest film, Stories We Tell, is her first feature-length documentary. It had its world premiere at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, and its North American premiere followed at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Toronto Film Critics Association awarded it the $100,000 prize for best Canadian film of the year.

Early life

Polley, the youngest of five siblings, was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her mother, Diane Elizabeth (née MacMillan), was an actress (Street Legal) and casting director who died of cancer after Polley's 11th birthday. Polley grew up believing that her biological father was Michael Polley, a British-born actor and insurance agent who had attended acting classes with Albert Finney in England before moving to Canada. Polley discovered as an adult that her biological father was actually Harry Gulkin, with whom her mother had had an affair while working on a stage play in Montreal (as chronicled in Polley's film, Stories We Tell). Gulkin, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, is a Quebec-born film producer who produced the 1975 Canadian film Lies My Father Told Me. Polley met her biological father by accident and the connection was confirmed by a DNA test.

Polley attended Subway Academy II, then Earl Haig Secondary School, but dropped out before graduating.

Career

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 as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. That same year, she also played one of the lead characters in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Polley burst into the public eye the following year as Sara Stanley on the popular CBC television series Road to Avonlea. The series made her famous and financially independent, and she was hailed as "Canada's Sweetheart" by the popular press.

The show was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the United States. 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 in 1994. The show itself was cancelled in 1996, although she did return as Sara Stanley for an episode in 1995 and for the final episode in 1996.

Acting career as adult

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). Polley appeared to two critically acclaimed small movies; 1998's Last Night, and the well-received 1999 film Go with budding actress Katie Holmes, to end out the 1990s.

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.

In 2006 Polley took a role on the acclaimed series Slings and Arrows during its third and final season. Polley's father, Michael Polley was a regular on the show during its entire three season run. She served as a member of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival jury. She was nominated as Best European Actress by the European Film Academy for her role as Hanna. In 2008, Polley appeared as Nabby Adams in the HBO miniseries based on the life of John Adams. Polley appeared topless in one episode, in which her character has a mastectomy because of breast cancer. Polley played Elise in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody, which was released in 2010. Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Polley's acting. Later that year she also appeared in a cameo role in Bruce MacDonald's film Trigger.

Directing career

In 1999 Polley was invited to make her first short film, The Best Day of my Life, for the On the Fly 4 Film Festival. She also made a second short film that year, Don't Think Twice. Polley attended the Canadian Film Centre's directing program in 2001.

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 (with whom she had played in No Such Thing, 2001), 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 won the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction. At the 2008 Genies, she was also awarded the Claude Jutra Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a first-time feature film director. In 2011 her film Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby, Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2012 her documentary film Stories We Tell premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in competition in the Venice Days category. That same year she announced that she would be adapting Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace into a feature film.

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."

Political and social activism

Following the row with Disney, Polley dedicated more of her efforts to politics, becoming a prominent member of the New Democratic Party, where Ontario legislator Peter Kormos was her political mentor. In 1996, she gave a nomination speech for Kormos at the ONDP leadership convention. After his death in 2013, Polley called that the "proudest moment in my life".

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. She was subsequently involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. She has recently scaled back her political activism. She was part of a group in 2001 which opposed the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. The 3rd Summit of the Americas was held in Quebec City in April 2001. In 2003, she was part of former Toronto mayor David Miller's transition advisory team.

In 2009, Polley directed a two-minute short film in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. In advance of the film's airing in Canada during the 82nd Academy Awards, and following news reports that characterized the film as a marketing exercise for the margarine company Becel, Polley withdrew her association with the film. "In December 2009, I made a film to be aired during the Academy Awards that I believed was to promote the Heart and Stroke Foundation. When I agreed to make this film ["The Heart"], I was thrilled, as I was proud to be associated with the work of this incredible organization. However, I have since learned that my film is also being used to promote a product. Regretfully, I am forced to remove my name from the film and disassociate myself from it. I have never actively promoted any corporate brand, and cannot do so now." In response, Becel said it was a "founding sponsor" of the Heart Truth campaign and had commissioned the film "to put heart health on the radar of Canadian women".

In January 2012, Polley endorsed Toronto MP Peggy Nash in the 2012 New Democratic Party leadership race to succeed Jack Layton.

Personal life

Polley is an atheist. On September 10, 2003, she married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby, her companion of seven years. They divorced in 2008.

On August 23, 2011, she married Canadian law clerk David Sandomierski, who is working on his PhD in law at the University of Toronto. Their daughter Eve was born on February 7, 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	One Magic Christmas	Molly Monaghan
1986	Confidential
1987	Tomorrow's a Killer	Karla
1987	Blue Monkey	Ellen
1987	'	Christy Donaldson
1988	'	Sally Salt
1989	Babar: The Movie	Young Celeste (voice)
1994	Exotica	Tracey Brown
1996	Children First!
1996	Joe's So Mean to Josephine	Josephine
1997	'	Nicole Burnell
1997	'	Teen Rosemary
1997	'	Butter
1998	Jerry and Tom	Deb
1998	Last Night	Jennifer 'Jenny' Wheeler
1999	Guinevere	Harper Sloane
1999	eXistenZ	Merle
1999	Go	Ronna Martin
1999	'	Connie
2000	This Might Be Good		Short film
2000	Love Come Down	Sister Sarah
2000	'	Maren Hontvedt
2000	'	Beatty 'Beatrice'
2000	'	Hope Burn
2001	No Such Thing	Beatrice
2003	'	Dana
2003	My Life Without Me	Ann
2003	Dermott's Quest	Gwen	Short film
2003	Luck	Margaret
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Ana
2004	'	Clair
2004	Sugar	Pregnant Girl
2004	Siblings	Tabby
2005	Don't Come Knocking	Sky
2005	'	Hanna
2005	Beowulf & Grendel	Selma
2009	Mr. Nobody	Elise
2009	Splice	Elsa Kast
2010	Trigger	Hillary
2014	Every Thing Will Be Fine	Kate	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Night Heat	Cindy Keating	Episode: "The Game"
1987	Screen Two		Episode: "Heaven on Earth"
1987	Hands of a Stranger	Suzie Hearn	TV film
1987	Friday the 13th	Mary	Episode: "The Inheritance"
1988	Ramona	Ramona Quimby	Lead role (10 episodes)
1990	Lantern Hill	Jody Turner	TV film
1990"1994	Road to Avonlea	Sara Stanley	Main role (65 episodes)
1991	Johann's Gift to Christmas	Angel	TV short
1993	'	Alice	Episode: "Dangerous Dreams"
1994	Take Another Look	Amy	TV film
1995	Road to Avonlea	Sara Stanley	Episode: "Comings and Goings"
1996	Road to Avonlea	Sara Stanley	Episode: "So Dear to My Heart"
1996	Straight Up	Lily	TV series
1998	White Lies	Catherine Chapman	TV film
1999	'	Rhonda	Episode: "It's a Science"
2006	Slings and Arrows	Sophie	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2008	John Adams	Nabby Adams	TV miniseries

Director and writer

Year	Title	Notes
1999	'	Director, writer
1999	Don't Think Twice	Writer, co-producer
2001	I Shout Love	Director, writer
2002	All I Want for Christmas	Director
2004	'	Episode: "The Harp" (director, writer)
2006	Away from Her	Director, writer
2011	Take This Waltz	Director, writer, producer
2012	Stories We Tell	Director, writer

Awards and nominations

On October 16, 2010, it was announced that she would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. In June 2013, she received the National Arts Centre Award recognizing achievement over the past performance year at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, where she was the subject of a short vignette by Ann Marie Fleming entitled Stories Sarah Tells.

ACTRA

• 2006 " ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence (Won)

Academy Awards

• 2008 " Best Adapted Screenplay, Away from Her (Nominee)

Chlotrudis Awards

• 2012"Best Original Screenplay, Take This Waltz, (Won)
• 2008"Best Director, Away from Her, (Nominated)
• 2008"Best Adapted Screenplay, Away from Her, (Won)
• 2008"Best Actress, The Secret Life of Words (Nominated)
• 2004"Best Actress, My Life Without Me (Won)
• 2002"Best Supporting Actress, The Claim (Nominated)
• 2000"Best Actress, Go and Guinevere, (Nominated)
• 1998"Best Actress, The Sweet Hereafter, (Nominated)

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

• 2008"Claude Jutra Award, (Special Prize)
• 2008"Best Director, Away from Her, (Won)
• 2008"Best Adapted Screenplay, Away from Her, (Won)
• 2004"Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, My Life Without Me, (Won)
• 2003"Best Live Action Short Drama, I Shout Love (Won)
• 2002"Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, The Law of Enclosures (Nominated)
• 1997"Best Original Song, The Sweet Hereafter, (Nominated)
• 1997"Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, The Sweet Hereafter, (Nominated)

Independent Spirit Awards

• 2000"Best Supporting Female, Go, (Nominated)