| Mackenzie Firgens | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 6, 1985 Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Mackenzie Firgens (born March 6, 1975) is an American actress.
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Firgens was born in Burbank, California, close to Hollywood, and was raised by her musician/actor father and singer/artist mother. She has said that she knew she wanted to be an actor from a young age, and would put on plays for her parents and friends, often playing several roles. She enrolled in jazz dance and ballet at the age of 7. By 8 she was auditioning for commercials. Her imitation of Mae West landed her first television role on Disney's Contraption.
By junior high she had joined a touring theatre group and begun to take on serious dramatic roles that explored peer pressure and domestic violence. Her high school lacked a drama club so she started one and starred in its first production.
Continuing her pursuit of acting she moved to Chicago to study theatre at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University. She submerged herself in acting, voice, movement and speech, further honing those early dreams into marketable skills. Eventually she found her way back to the West Coast and performed with the Tony Award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. Soon after she finished an undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University's Theatre Department.
Firgens made her feature film debut starring as Harmony in the underground hit Groove, which was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and released by Sony Classics Pictures. Firgens originated the role of April in the film version of the Broadway sensation Rent, directed by Chris Columbus. As April, Firgens had the opportunity to create a new character for the classic musical, and shares the screen with Adam Pascal.
Firgens also starred in Quality of Life with Lane Garrison, which won a Special Mention Award at the Berlin International Film Festival as well as the Best Youth Film at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Additional film credits include Broken Arrows with Lori Petty and The Hamiltons with Brittany Daniel.
Currently Firgens is working on a couple of new movies. "Break" the noir action film with Michael Madsen and Chad Everett by the award winning director Marc Clebanoff.
Firgens recently guest starred on the TV show The Unit.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Groove | Harmony Stitts |
| 2005 | Quality of Life | Lisa |
| Rent | April | |
| 2006 | Sweet Insanity | Christina |
| The Hamiltons | Darlene Hamilton | |
| Broken Arrows | Abby | |
| 2007 | Revolution Summer | Hope[1] |
| The Pink Conspiracy | Victoria | |
| The Unit (TV) | Desperate Caller | |
| 2008 | The Book of Caleb | Cole |
| The Village Barbershop | Amy | |
| Break | The Mysterious Brunette[2] | |
| Phoenix Lights | Ashley | |
| 2009 | Gerald | Helen |
| My Movie Girl | Vivian | |
| 2010 | Stitch in Time | Sunny |
| My Name is Khan | Pimple Girl | |
| The Violent Kind | Trixie |
Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Down Beach Film Festival for her role as Helen in the film GERALD - October 2009