| Yvonne Strahovski | |
|---|---|
Strahovski at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011. |
|
| Born | Yvonne Strzechowski 30 July 1982 Sydney, Australia |
| Residence | Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Yvonne Strahovski (born Yvonne Strzechowski; 30 July 1982) is an Australian actress. Born in Australia to Polish immigrant parents, Strahovski speaks Polish and English. After graduating from the University of Western Sydney, she featured in a number of Australian television shows before starring as Sarah Walker in the American television series Chuck.[1]
Contents |
Strahovski was born in Campbelltown, a suburb of Sydney, as Yvonne Strzechowski to Peter and Bozena Strzechowski.[2] Her parents had emigrated from Warsaw, Poland. She adopted the more phonetic spelling of Strahovski as her stage name at Chuck, which was producer Josh Schwartz's behest for the sake of easier pronunciation. Strahovski's father is an electronic engineer, and her mother works as a lab technician.[3] Strahovski started acting when she played Viola in a school production of Twelfth Night.[4]
She spent her high school years attending Santa Sabina College, Strathfield. She graduated from University of Western Sydney's Theatre Nepean in 2003.[5]
Strahovski first started her career in Australia appearing in film and TV roles, including a turn on satirical show Double the Fist and a part as Freya Lewis in the Australian drama series headLand. She has also appeared in Channel Nine's Sea Patrol.
She sent in her audition tape for the show Chuck while in the United States auditioning for roles in other shows, namely NBC's 2007 series Bionic Woman.[6] She sent in an audition tape while waiting to hear from the other two jobs. She was contacted by the producers of Chuck the next day to come in to "run lines" with Zachary Levi. The producers called her back a week later letting her know she had been cast as Sarah Walker. Six months later, she moved to the United States.
Strahovski speaks fluent Polish and employed it in a brief exchange with a colleague in the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Wookiee" and again in the episodes "Chuck Versus the Three Words" and "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners". Although she portrays an American in the series, she briefly spoke in a "Hollywood" Australian accent in the episode "Chuck Versus the Ex" .
Strahovski appears in Mass Effect Galaxy and Mass Effect 2 as the voice of Miranda Lawson. Strahovski had her face scanned and animated so she could portray Lawson in Mass Effect 2. Executive Producer of the series Casey Hudson has indirectly confirmed her return for Mass Effect 3, stating "every main character will be in there somewhere" though the size of her role has not been revealed. Strahovski voices Aya Brea in the English version of the Parasite Eve spinoff, The 3rd Birthday, which was released on March 2011 for the PlayStation Portable. She also appeared in a CollegeHumor sketch in April 2011, parodying the music styles of Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga.[7]
Strahovski appeared in the 2011 film Killer Elite, alongside Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro.[8] In May 2011, she joined the comedy My Mother's Curse, opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.[9]
In 2010, Strahovski received the Teen Choice Award for Choice Action TV Actress for Chuck, as well as a nomination for Spike Video Game Awards for Best Performance by a Human Female for Mass Effect 2. In 2011, Strahovski was nominated again for the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Action TV Actress. In 2011, Cosmopolitan Magazine (Australia) awarded Strahovski the Fun Fearless Female of the Year along with Favorite TV Actress. In November 2011, she was cast as the female lead in I, Frankenstein.[10]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Gone | Sondra | As Yvonne Strzechowski |
| 2007 | Persons of Interest | Lara | As Yvonne Strzechowski |
| 2008 | The Plex | Sarah | |
| 2008 | The Canyon | Lori[11] | |
| 2009 | I Love You Too[12][13][14] | Alice | |
| 2010 | Matching Jack[15][16] | Veronica | |
| 2010 | LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers[17] | Peg Mooring | Voice Straight-to-DVD |
| 2011 | Killer Elite[8][18] | Anne | |
| 2011 | The Outback | Miranda | Voice (Filming) |
| 2012 | My Mother's Curse[19] | Jessica | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Double the Fist | Suzie | 1 episode: "Fear Factory" |
| 2005–2006 | headLand | Freya Lewis | 26 episodes |
| 2007 | Sea Patrol | Agent Martina Royce | 1 episode: "Cometh the Hour" |
| 2007–2012 | Chuck | Agent Sarah Walker C.I.A | 91 episodes Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Action TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress TV Guide Award for Favorite Couple Who Have (Shared with Zachary Levi) Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Action |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mass Effect Galaxy | Miranda Lawson | Voice and facial appearance |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Miranda Lawson | Voice and facial appearance |
| 2011 | The 3rd Birthday[20] | Aya Brea | Voice (English version) |
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Miranda Lawson | Voice and facial appearance |