Canada's Walk of Fame
Sarah Polley began acting at age four, but it was Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter in 1997 that marked her breakthrough into adult roles. Sarah earned her first Best Actress Genie Award nomination from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for her performance in The Sweet Hereafter, as well as Best Supporting Actress awards from the Boston and Chicago Societies of Film Critics.
Most recently, Sarah starred along side Adrien Brody in the extremely well-received sci-fi film SPLICE, directed by Vincenco Natali. Before that, Sarah starred in Jaco van Dormeal's fantasy drama Mr. Nobody, and in the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams.
Her film credits include Zack Snyder's remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead; Doug Liman's Go; Kathryn Bigelow's The Weight of Water; David Cronenberg's eXistenZ; Hal Hartley's No Such Thing; Thom Fitzgerald's The Event; Isabel Coixet's My Life Without Me, for which she earned a Best Actress Genie Award; The Secret Life of Words; Audrey Wells' Guinevere; Wim Wenders' Don't Come Knocking; Michael Winterbottom's The Claim; Atom Egoyan's Exotica; and Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
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In 2009 Sarah received an honorary Doctorate degree from Trent University.
As a filmmaker, Sarah is in pre-production to direct her original screenplay Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, which begin shooting this July in Canada.
Interesting note
The show The Road to Avonlea 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 (to which she publicly claimed indifference), although she did return as Sara Stanley for an episode in 1995 and for the final episode in 1996.Inductees
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Sarah Polley
Year of Induction: 2010
Area of Recognition: Actor
Born: January 8, 1979
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Notable Achievements
- In 2006, she won the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence
- Nominated for the 2008 Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Away From Her
- In 2007, she won the Director's Guild of Canada Team Award for Best Feature Film, Away From Her
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- In 1998, she won a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, Straight Up and in 1992, Sarah won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Lantern Hill
