Sarah Polley
Birthday:
8 January 1979, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height:
157 cm
Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her sensitive portraits of wounded and conflicted young w...
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Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her sensitive portraits of wounded and conflicted young women in independent films.She was born into a show business family: her step-father, Michael Polley, appeared with her in the movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and on the television series Road to Avonlea (1990); and her mother, Diane Polley, was an actress and casting director. It was her mother's connections that launched Sarah, at her own insistence, on an acting career at the age of four, following in the footsteps of her older half-brother Mark Polley. A second half-brother, John Buchan, is a casting director and producer.Her career as a child actress shifted into high gear when she was cast as the Cockney waif Jody Turner in Lantern Hill (1989), for which she won a Gemini Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy, in 1992. Produced by Kevin Sullivan, the film was based on the book by Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables (1985). When Sullivan created a television series based on Montgomery's work, he cast Polley in the lead role of Sara Stanley in Road to Avonlea (1990). The series propelled Polley into the first rank of Canadian TV stars and made her independently wealthy by the age of 14.Her personal life was deeply affected by the death of her mother Diane from cancer shortly after her 11th birthday, a development that ironically paralleled the fictional life of her character Sara. Highly intelligent and politically progressive at a young age, Polley eventually rebelled against what she felt was the Americanization of the series after it was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the US, eventually dropping out of the show. Though she does not blame her parents, she remains publicly disenchanted over the loss of her childhood and, in October 2003, said she is working on a script about a 12-year-old girl on a TV show.Polley, who picked up a second Gemini Award for her performance in the TV series Straight Up (1996), subsequently quit acting and high school to turn her attention to politics, positioning herself on the extreme left of Canada's left-of-center New Democratic Party. The publicity ensuing from her losing some teeth after being slugged by an Ontario policeman during a protest against the Conservative provincial government, plus the stinging cynicism from some other activists unimpressed by her celebrity, led her to lower her political profile temporarily and return to acting in Atom Egoyan's film The Sweet Hereafter (1997). It was her appearance as Nicole, the teenage girl injured in a school bus accident who serves as the conscience of the small town rent by the tragedy, that first brought her to the attention of critics in the US. In Canada, the role was heralded by critics as her successful breakthrough to adult roles. It was her second film with Egoyan, who wrote the part with her in mind when he adapted the novel by Russell Banks, who, ironically, is American. Predictions of an Academy Award nomination and future stardom were part of the critical consensus, and she received her first Best Actress Genie nomination from Canada's Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Best Supporting Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics. It was the buzz created at the Sundance Festival, where her starring role in the film Guinevere (1999) was showcased, when the entertainment media crowned her the it-girl of 1999. Intensely private and extremely ambivalent about the personal cost of celebrity and the Hollywood ethos Fame is the Name of the Game, Polley could be seen as rebelling against the expectations of mainstream cinema when she embarked on a career path that took her out of the spotlight thrown by the harsh lights of the Hollywood hype/publicity machine after shooting the film Go (1999). She dropped out of Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), the US$60 million mega-hyped vehicle that was supposed to make her a mainstream star in the US, choosing to return to Canada to make the CDN$1.5 million The Law of Enclosures (2000) for Genie Award-winner John Greyson, a director she admires greatly. The film grossed poorly in Canada and was not released in the US, but it did garner Polley her second Genie nomination for Best Actress. While her replacement in Almost Famous (2000) went on to win an Oscar nomination and a career above the title in glossy Hollywood films, she took a wide variety of parts, large and small, in independent films, including significant roles in the ensemble pieces The Claim (2000) and The Weight of Water (2000); bit parts in eXistenZ (1999) and Love Come Down (2000); and the lead in No Such Thing (2001). Her choice of projects showed her to be a questing spirit more focused on learning the art of her craft than on stardom.She has said that her choice of film roles, eschewing mainstream Hollywood movies for chancier, non-commercial independent fare, was the result of an ethical decision on her part to make films with social importance. A less-observant viewer might think that the rebel Polley played in her political life that had previously manifested itself in her profession was now driving her to the verge of career suicide in terms of popularity, marketability, and choice of future roles. However, that interpretation does not recognize the extraordinary talent that will always keep her in demand by directors, if not casting agents, with an eye on the opening weekend box office. One must understand Polley's career progression in light of her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre's directors program and her production of short films, including Don't Think Twice (1999) and the highly praised I Shout Love (2001). Polley is a cinema artist. This woman wants to make, and will make films. Thus, we can understand her career choices as a desire to work with and understand the technique of some of the best directors in film, including David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, and Hal Hartley.Polley is as renowned for her intelligence as for her remarkable talent. The problem of the intelligent person in the acting field is that the actor, as artist, in not ultimately in control of their medium, and it is artistic control that is the hallmark of the great artist. The controlling intelligence on a movie set is the director, and her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre has given her a new perspective on acting. The actor, she says, should not try to give a complete performance for the camera (that is, control the representation on film) but must remember that the function of the actor is to give the director as much coverage as possible as a film, as well as a performance, is made in the editing room. According to Polley, this realization, that the film actor exists to serve the director, has given her new enthusiasm for acting. Thus, her career, and her career choices, can be seen as a quest for knowledge about the art of cinema, a journey whose fruition we will see in her future feature work as both actor and director. Show less «
It is important to me to stay in Canada. I used to think it was because I thought it was important to build up an indigenous film industry -...Show more »
It is important to me to stay in Canada. I used to think it was because I thought it was important to build up an indigenous film industry - but now I realise I'm incapable of living anywhere else. I'm a real homebody. Show less «
"I was pretty uninterested in acting until I was about 17. I wanted to go to university and never think about acting again. I'd been very po...Show more »
"I was pretty uninterested in acting until I was about 17. I wanted to go to university and never think about acting again. I'd been very politically involved for a couple of years and I wanted a break, so I did The Sweet Hereafter (1997) in 1997. But I ended up completely falling in love with acting". Show less «
I always think it's a bit of a joke when I get described as an activist. Really, for two or three months of my year I organise stuff, but I'...Show more »
I always think it's a bit of a joke when I get described as an activist. Really, for two or three months of my year I organise stuff, but I'm not as involved as I used to be. Show less «
I started acting when I was four. My first experience on a film set was in dead of winter. Now I realise that almost every film I've ever be...Show more »
I started acting when I was four. My first experience on a film set was in dead of winter. Now I realise that almost every film I've ever been in is like that. It was the beginning of a long career of incredibly cold, sparse, barren landscapes. Show less «
The guy who taught me to use the shotgun was a complete gun nut. I asked, 'Is the safety on when it's to the right or off when it's to the r...Show more »
The guy who taught me to use the shotgun was a complete gun nut. I asked, 'Is the safety on when it's to the right or off when it's to the right?' And he said, 'The way I like to remember it is right is safe, like the government, and left is unsafe, like the people we are shooting at.' And I'm thinking, 'I'm in a room with my worst nightmare who's teaching me how to shoot a shotgun. How did this happen to me?' Show less «
I missed out on a traditional childhood but I had something else that got me to what I am doing today. I can't say I regret it but I certain...Show more »
I missed out on a traditional childhood but I had something else that got me to what I am doing today. I can't say I regret it but I certainly wouldn't let my child act at an early age. Show less «
On her film Dawn of the Dead (2004) going up against Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004) head-to-head at the box office: "They've ...Show more »
On her film Dawn of the Dead (2004) going up against Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004) head-to-head at the box office: "They've got only one guy who comes back from the dead. We've got millions". Show less «
It takes terrible things to live well.
It takes terrible things to live well.
[on filming The Sweet Hereafter (1997)] "I was so young then, 18. I'm really comfortable in sadness so I don't get depressed doing stuff lik...Show more »
[on filming The Sweet Hereafter (1997)] "I was so young then, 18. I'm really comfortable in sadness so I don't get depressed doing stuff like that. I actually find it invigorating. It was an amazing experience. Atom Egoyan is a filmmaker who I really respect and I felt like I had his trust". Show less «
If you have the opportunity to do things which have some meaning I don't know why you would choose to do other things. I understand that man...Show more »
If you have the opportunity to do things which have some meaning I don't know why you would choose to do other things. I understand that many people don't have that opportunity but I do right now so I'm happy to hold out for the films which have something to contribute. Show less «
"I think you have to keep your distance from mainstream Hollywood in order to be a normal human being. I mean, I work there, and I like bein...Show more »
"I think you have to keep your distance from mainstream Hollywood in order to be a normal human being. I mean, I work there, and I like being there, but I love having an anonymous life. I think there's definitely such a thing as being too famous. Show less «
The reason why I stayed in Canada had everything to do with the kind of films we used to make before the commercial mandate came in effect a...Show more »
The reason why I stayed in Canada had everything to do with the kind of films we used to make before the commercial mandate came in effect at Telefilm. They were films that asserted an independent vision of the world. They weren't just cheap versions of American genre films...but movies that spoke to the human condition. Now, I'm beginning to wonder why I stayed and if it was a huge mistake. Show less «
[on herself and other Canadian actors & filmmakers, such as director-actor-writer Don McKellar, who stayed in Canada rather than go Hollywoo...Show more »
[on herself and other Canadian actors & filmmakers, such as director-actor-writer Don McKellar, who stayed in Canada rather than go Hollywood and make movies in the U.S.] "If Canadian films don't have a purpose, then what are we still doing here? We're beginning to freak out a little. Why make a commitment with so little reward? The Canadian films out there have been so weak, it's been kind of depressing". Show less «
[on movie critics] "There are a few who are not nice and they say things that are harsh...but they always help me to become a better actor."
[on movie critics] "There are a few who are not nice and they say things that are harsh...but they always help me to become a better actor."
It was the opposite kind of love than we usually celebrate in films, which is new love without knowledge and without hardship. It's the whol...Show more »
It was the opposite kind of love than we usually celebrate in films, which is new love without knowledge and without hardship. It's the whole idea of love after life has had its way with you, and after you have kind of failed each other and things have gone off the rails. Yet love still somehow exists between them" - 2007 AP interview on Away from Her (2006). Show less «
That's something I find is really missing in films that portray love between people in their 60s or 70s. It generally lacks chemistry, like ...Show more »
That's something I find is really missing in films that portray love between people in their 60s or 70s. It generally lacks chemistry, like somehow that's all died away, and that's just not my experience of people in their 60s and 70s, that that whole part of yourself disappears somehow. It's a really pessimistic and inaccurate attitude that a lot of films have had, so it was really important for me to have that vibrancy between them, because I've seen it in relationships that have lasted that long. And I haven't seen it very often in films" - 2007 AP interview on Away from Her (2006). Show less «
[on being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Away from Her (2006)] I'm in total disbelief. I'm thrilled but kind...Show more »
[on being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Away from Her (2006)] I'm in total disbelief. I'm thrilled but kind of in shock too. It's been such a strange year and I'm bowled over by the life of the film. It's more than I could have ever hoped. This now adds a very surreal element to it. Show less «
I think that what a lot of first-time filmmakers don't realize is that they are the least experienced person on that set. Everybody else has...Show more »
I think that what a lot of first-time filmmakers don't realize is that they are the least experienced person on that set. Everybody else has been doing their job for years, so the whole act of playing the filmmaker, playing the person in command, is a charade. Show less «
I think it takes a lot of focus and determination to stay in a relationship with film and acting that's productive and stimulating. Acting c...Show more »
I think it takes a lot of focus and determination to stay in a relationship with film and acting that's productive and stimulating. Acting can be the most shallow, vapid things you can do with your life, but it can also be one of the most profound experiences in the world. Even my experience acting as a child is something I'm very ambiguous about. I'm not sure it was the best way for me to spend my time. But at the same time, I probably wouldn't be where I am now without it. And I'm very happy with where I am now. Show less «
[on Take This Waltz (2011)] Seth Rogen is the easiest person to get along with on the planet. He's also the only one I had in mind when I wa...Show more »
[on Take This Waltz (2011)] Seth Rogen is the easiest person to get along with on the planet. He's also the only one I had in mind when I was writing. He has a depth and a goodness to him that shines through in every role. Show less «
I don't think we are prepared culturally for the idea that, once the 'happily ever after' happens, there are a lot of complications and some...Show more »
I don't think we are prepared culturally for the idea that, once the 'happily ever after' happens, there are a lot of complications and sometimes boredom and all kinds of other things. That's not to say everyone should just stay in a long-term relationship. Certainly that's not the case. But I do feel we are ill-equipped when that first flame of passion dwindles. Show less «
I'm fascinated by desire. I think, obviously, there's a biological drive that cannot be denied. It's completely human to be drawn towards de...Show more »
I'm fascinated by desire. I think, obviously, there's a biological drive that cannot be denied. It's completely human to be drawn towards desire, but I think desire can sometimes fill a gap for us in a way that nothing else can. That's why it's so addictive. Show less «
I think young girls are done a disservice when they are read fairy tales and given the fantasy of happily ever after. We're always told abou...Show more »
I think young girls are done a disservice when they are read fairy tales and given the fantasy of happily ever after. We're always told about the beginning and the end of a relationship, but what about the middle? Show less «
[on the polarized response by audiences to adulterous women in films] Men do that in movies all the time. We all love "Don Draper" [Mad Men ...Show more »
[on the polarized response by audiences to adulterous women in films] Men do that in movies all the time. We all love "Don Draper" [Mad Men (2007)] and look what he did. But any kind of sexual restlessness in a woman makes people deeply uncomfortable. Show less «
If there is one thing I have learned, it's to embrace the mess of life. None of us knows what our stories truly are. And if it's possible to...Show more »
If there is one thing I have learned, it's to embrace the mess of life. None of us knows what our stories truly are. And if it's possible to have the calm and grace to accept that the truth is somewhere in the middle of that cacophony - then that's what I aspire to now. Show less «
[on Rebecca Jenkins, who plays Polley's mother in Stories We Tell (2012)] Rebecca is an astonishing actress. She's done such an amazing job ...Show more »
[on Rebecca Jenkins, who plays Polley's mother in Stories We Tell (2012)] Rebecca is an astonishing actress. She's done such an amazing job that a lot of people don't realize, until the very end of the film, that those scenes are re-creations. It's a strange thing when an actor is so good you want to hide the fact that she's in your movie. Show less «
[on Stories We Tell (2012)] I was exploring the themes of infidelity and long-term relationships in both my previous features and all of my ...Show more »
[on Stories We Tell (2012)] I was exploring the themes of infidelity and long-term relationships in both my previous features and all of my short films. And now that I've made a movie about where the interest came from, subconsciously, I wonder if I now have to make fundamentally different films. Having thrown the form up in the air to see where it landed - playing with structure in very different ways than I had before - it's going to be hard to make a straightforward film again. Show less «
[on directing Gordon Pinsent in 'Away from Her'] He learned the crew list with the same intensity as he learned his lines. He makes everyone...Show more »
[on directing Gordon Pinsent in 'Away from Her'] He learned the crew list with the same intensity as he learned his lines. He makes everyone feel so appreciated. He is also one of the funniest people I have ever met.. I think he brings such depth and humanity to the characters he plays. In 'Away from Her' he is the centre of the film. He is in almost every single frame. If the film works at all it is because of him. Show less «
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