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Sarah Polley Profile |
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Birth Date: January 8, 1979
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Birth Place: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Birth Name: Geetali Sarah Polley Shankar
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Height: 5'2"
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Biography |
Sarah Polley was born on January 8, 1979, in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest of five children, and
her parents, Michael and Diane Polley, were both in their
mid-40s when she was born. Sarah’s parents worked in show
business, and her older brother, Mark, was already an actor
when Sarah was growing up. At her insistence, Sarah’s
parents arranged for her to take acting parts as early as
age 4. She debuted in the Disney movie One Magic Christmas
(1985), and had a number of film roles in the late 1980s,
culminating with a lead in Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of
Baron Munchausen (1988).
sarah polley in road to avonlea
Sarah became a huge star in Canada when, in 1989, she was
cast as the young Sara Stanley on the TV show Road to
Avonlea, set in turn-of-the-century Prince Edward Island.
Garnering ratings even greater than Hockey Night in Canada,
Road to Avonlea was picked up for American distribution on
the Disney Channel under the shorter title Avonlea.
Sarah clashed with Disney executives when, during an awards
dinner, she spoke out against the first Gulf War, and was
reportedly blackballed by Disney afterward. But Sarah was
already tiring of Road to Avonlea, which she later called a
“sugary sweet horrible kid’s show,” and left in 1994; the
series was cancelled the following season.
Independently wealthy from Avonlea, Sarah had a
controversial adolescence. She acted onstage at Canada’s
Stratford Festival, but had to bow out for surgery to
correct scoliosis. Sarah’s mother died of cancer when she
was 11, and when Sarah was 14, she moved out of her father’s
house in rural Ontario to live with an older man in Toronto.
Sarah quit school and acting to become a full-time activist
for socialist causes. In 1995, she even lost a few teeth
when protestors and police clashed at an anti-government
rally.
Sarah’s return to acting came when Atom Egoyan, who directed
her in Exotica (1994), cast her to play a lead in The Sweet
Hereafter (1997). Originally, Sarah thought it would be a
one-off role, but it soon gave her a renewed interest in
film. It also proved to be her breakout role for American
audiences, and critics on both sides of the border hailed
her now-mature talent. Sarah continued to appear in Canadian
films like Don McKellar’s Last Night (1998) and David
Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999), while taking roles in American
movies like Guinevere (1999) and Go (1999).
Sarah was cast to play the lead in Cameron Crowe’s Almost
Famous (2000); when she felt uncomfortable in the role and
left the project, co-star Brad Pitt quit too, and Crowe
nearly cancelled the film. Not regretting leaving a
potentially star-making role, Sarah returned to Canada to
star in The Law of Enclosures (2000) and direct a short
film, Don’t Think Twice (1999), which premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival. She attended the
Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab in 2001, and made
another short film, I Shout Love (2001).
Meanwhile, Sarah continued to act in unconventional films.
These included Kathryn Bigelow’s The Weight of Water (2000),
Michael Winterbottom’s The Claim (2000), Hal Hartley’s No
Such Thing (2001), and Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me
(2003). She married editor David Wharnsby in 2003, and the
next year, she starred in Dawn of the Dead, taking the role
in the studio zombie movie because of its anti-consumerism
allegory. After dealing with more monsters in Beowulf &
Grendel (2005), Sarah returned to the director’s chair to
make Away from Her (2006), starring Julie Christie. |
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Other
Information |
The youngest of five children. Both parents, Michael Polley
and Diane Polley, were actors and she had her first audition
at age 5. She debuted in films at age 6 with One Magic
Christmas (1985).
Dropped out of high school to become a political activist
for Socialist groups. Was attacked by police at a political
protest at Queens Park in 1995.
In 1994 had surgery to correct scoliosis.
Mother died when she was 11.
Lost some back teeth at a rally, in a violent clash between
police and protesters.
When she was 12, during the first Gulf war, she attended a
children's awards show in Washington, DC, and was seated at
a table with some representatives from the Walt Disney
Company. They asked her to remove a peace symbol that she
was wearing but she refused. Disney has blacklisted her ever
since.
Youngest of five children.
Was originally cast as Penny Lane in Almost Famous (2000).
When she dropped out of the film because she did not feel
comfortable with the role, writer-director Cameron Crowe
considered canceling the film. Brad Pitt, who originally was
cast in the role of Stillwater guitarist Russell Hammond
and, reportedly, was anxious to work with Polley, quit the
film after her departure.
Bears a striking resemblance to a young Uma Thurman.
Attending the Canadian Film Centre's director's program.
[2001]
Appointed to transition advisory group by new Toronto mayor
David Miller
Appeared on "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" (1999)
on the 15th of March 2004 to promote the film Dawn of the
Dead (2004). She stated that it was her first appearance on
an American late-night talk show.
Names White Zombie (1932) and George A. Romero's Living Dead
films as her favorite zombie movies.
Atom Egoyan, who directed her in Exotica (1994) and The
Sweet Hereafter (1997), originally considered casting Polley
as the character Felicia in Felicia's Journey (1999). After
talking it over with her, they jointly decided that she
should not take the role as her intelligence and awareness
were antithetical to the character, who remains quite
unconscious of other characters' motivations.
Her father, Michael Polley, said of his famously independent
daughter in 1997, "She was at her best when she was out of
kilter with society in some way."
Both Sarah and her husband, David Wharnsby, won 2004 Genie
Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars, she for Best
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for My Life
Without Me (2003), and he for Outstanding Achievement in
Editing for The Saddest Music in the World (2003).
One of five children, her birth came eight years after that
of her youngest sibling, when her parents were in their
mid-forties.
Shares a birthday with Francesco Roder and Amber Benson.
In November 2005, it was announced that the Harold Greenberg
Fund was financially backing 24 film scripts in development,
including one by Polley. She is adapting the Alice Munro
short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," which has
been optioned by Pulling Focus Pictures. Rechristened "Away
from Her," the story is about a philandering husband married
to a woman afflicted by Alzheimer's disease.
Provided vocals on two tracks for The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
soundtrack. The Tragically Hip's "Courage" and Jane
Siberry's "One More Colour".
On February 24, 2006, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema,
Television and Radio Artists awarded her the Award of
Excellence for a critically acclaimed career at the 2006
ACTRA Toronto Awards. ACTRA's Toronto chapter, the union's
largest, has approximately 21,000 members.
Has worked with the legendary actress Julie Christie three
times: Polley co-starred with her in No Such Thing (2001)
and the Goya Award-winning Vida secreta de las palabras, La
(2005) ("The Secret Life of Words"), and Christie is playing
the lead in Polley's first feature film as a director, Away
from Her (2006). Polley is impressed by not only with
Christie's talent, but praises her intelligence and
independence. After appearing with her in No Such Thing
(2001), Polley -- who lost her mother when she was 11 years
old -- said that Christie had become one of her surrogate
mothers. |
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