Deborah Kara Unger

Deborah Kara Unger
Born 12 May 1966 (1966-05-12) (age 45)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation actress
Years active 1989–present

Deborah Kara Unger (born 12 May 1966)[1] is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Crash (1996), The Game (1997), The Hurricane (1999), White Noise (2005), Silent Hill (2006), 88 Minutes (2008) and The Way (2010).

Contents

Early life

Deborah Kara Unger was born in Victoria, British Columbia, to a nuclear disposal specialist mother and a gynaecologist father.[2] She was the first Canadian to be accepted into Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art.[3] Unger now lives in Los Angeles.[3]

Career

In her 1989 debut she acted in the Australian television drama Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. In 1993 she starred in David Lynch's HBO mini-series Hotel Room. Unger has been featured in such commercially successful films as The Game and Payback, while she has also found critical acclaim in such films as Keys to Tulsa, The Salton Sea, and Crash. In 1998 she played the role Ava Gardner in HBO film The Rat Pack.

From 2000 to 2005, she starred in the movies The Salton Sea, Thirteen, Fear X, Stander, Paranoia 1.0 and A Love Song for Bobby Long. In 2002 she played a leading role with Sophia Loren and Mira Sorvino in the independent film Between Strangers, for which she was nominated on Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. In 2005, she starred in the financially successful supernatural horror film White Noise with Michael Keaton.[4]

In 2006 Unger appeared in a supernatural horror Silent Hill feature based on the popular video game about a desperate mother trying to find an answer to her daughter's mysterious recurring dream that forces her to sleepwalk.

From 2006 to 2010, she starred in the movies The Alibi, Things That Hang from Trees, 88 Minutes, Walled In, Messages Deleted and The Way. In 2010 she won the award Action On Film International Film Festival for career achievements.[5]

In 2011 she received her first starring role in TV series Combat Hospital, which premieres in June on ABC.[5] In 2012, Unger will reprise her role as Dahlia Gillespie in a sequel to Silent Hill, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.[6]

Filmography

Year Film/TV Role Notes
1989 Bangkok Hilton Astra TV mini-series
1990 Till There Was You Anna Vivaldi
Breakaway Marion
Prisoners of the Sun Sister Littell
1992 Whispers in the Dark Eve Abergray
1993 Hotel Room Sasha TV mini-series, 1 episode, "Getting Rid of Robert"
1994 State of Emergency Sue Payton TV movie
Highlander III: The Final Dimension Alex Johnson/Sarah
1996 Crash Catherine Ballard
No Way Home Lorraine
Keys to Tulsa Vicky Michaels Stover
1997 The Game Christine
1998 Luminous Motion Mom
The Rat Pack Ava Gardner TV movie
1999 Payback Mrs. Lynn Porter
The Weekend Marian Kerr
Sunshine Maj. Carole Kovács
The Hurricane Lisa Peters
2000 Signs and Wonders Katherine
2002 Ten Tiny Love Stories Seven
The Salton Sea Colette
Leo Caroline
Between Strangers Catherine
2003 Thirteen Brooke LaLaine
Fear X Kate
Hollywood North Sandy Ryan
Stander Bekkie Stander
Emile Nadia
2004 Paranoia 1.0 Trish
A Love Song for Bobby Long Georgianna
2005 White Noise Sarah Tate
Jesus of Suburbia music video by Green Day
2006 Things That Hang from Trees Connie Mae Wheeler
Silent Hill Dahlia Gillespie
The Alibi Dorothy
2007 Shake Hands with the Devil Emma
88 Minutes Carol Lynn Johnson
2009 Walled In Mary
Messages Deleted Det. Lavery
Angel and the Badman Temperance TV movie
2010 Transparency Danielle
The Way Sarah
2011 Combat Hospital Major Grace Pedersen 13 episodes, first role in TV series
Samuel Bleak Roselyn Ramirez
The Maiden Danced to Death Lynn Court
Sophie Tina Bradshaw post-production
The City of Gardens Consul Powers post-production
2012 Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Dahlia Gillespie post-production
The Samaritan Helena post-production
The Truth Morgan Swinton filming

Awards and nominations

Year Result Award Category Film
2000 Won Seattle International Film Festival Citation of Excellence for Ensemble Cast Performance The Weekend
2000 Nominated Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Sunshine
2003 Nominated Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Between Strangers
2003 Won Dubrovnik International Film Festival Libertas Award
2003 Nominated Sonoma Valley Film Festival Imagery Honors Award
2004 Won Method Fest Best Actress Emile
2005 Won Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema Best Actress One Point O
2010 Won Action on Film International Film Festival Half-Life Award

References

  1. ^ "Deborah Kara Unger". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/72442/Deborah-Kara-Unger/biography. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  2. ^ "Deborah Kara Unger Biography (1966-)". Film Reference. Advameg. http://www.filmreference.com/film/47/Deborah-Kara-Unger.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Ojumu, Akin (13 February 2000). "Everyone's talking about... Deborah Kara Unger's big cover-up". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/feb/13/comment.akinojumu. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  4. ^ "White Noise (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=whitenoise.htm. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  5. ^ a b "Combat Hospital". American Broadcasting Company. http://abc.go.com/shows/combat-hospital. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  6. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (March 15, 2011). "Mitchell & Bean Back for Silent Hill 2". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/115/1155773p1.html. Retrieved March 16, 2011. 

External links