Alison Pill

Alison Pill (born November 27, 1985) is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, she began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous projects before transitioning to adult roles with a breakthrough role in the television series The Book of Daniel, a tv series on NBC. Also in 2006, she made her Broadway debut in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2006) earning a nomination for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Pill's other notable stage roles include being in Blackbird (2007), Mauritius (2007), The Miracle Worker (2010), The House of Blue Leaves (2011), and Three Tall Women (2018).

Pill had prominent roles in the films Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), Plain Truth (2004), Dan in Real Life (2007), Milk (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011), Hail, Caesar! (2016), and Vice (2018). From 2012 to 2014 she played Maggie Jordan in Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama series The Newsroom and acted in the television series In Treatment (2009), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), American Horror Story: Cult (2017), Star Trek: Picard (20202022), Devs (2020), and Them (2021). She is also known for her role as Kim Pine in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).

Background Pill was born in Toronto. Her father, a professional engineer, is Estonian. She attended Vaughan Road Academy in the city. She was in its Interact program which featured dance, music, athletics, and theater.

Career 1997–2007: Rise to prominence

Pill decided to become an actor when she was 10 years old. As a member of the Toronto Children's Chorus, she was chosen to narrate one of their performances. Her mother tried to discourage Pill by getting her a job as a background performer on the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. By the time she was 11, she had played a guest role on an episode of the children's series The New Ghostwriter Mysteries. At 12, she landed roles in two TV movies and a mini-series, a guest appearance on the TV series Psi Factor and voiced the character "Cornflower" on the animated series Redwall (1999–2001). After roles in two more television movies, she landed her first feature film role, a small-budget Canadian movie called The Life Before This in 1999, followed by the role of Jacob's older sister Marfa in Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang, another Canadian movie. Pill played roles in four more TV movies before the age of fourteen. She landed a small role in Skipped Parts in 2000 starring Drew Barrymore and Mischa Barton, then appeared in four more TV movies and features that year, including playing Farrah Fawcett's daughter in the TNT movie Baby and a lead role in the Canadian film The Dinosaur Hunter, which was originally intended to be shown at a dinosaur museum and on a provincial education channel, but which made its way to the Burbank International Film Festival, winning Pill an award for Best Child Actress.

She landed the role of young Lorna in the ABC-TV biopic Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows in 2001, based on the memoir by Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft. Also in 2001, Pill also played Sissy Spacek's daughter in the TV flick Midwives. In 2003, she played Katie Holmes' sister in the indie feature Pieces of April. Pill won the lead in the CTV-TV movie Fast Food High, about a teenager who gets a job at a fast food restaurant and tries to set up a union. She also landed a supporting role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen in 2003, starring Lindsay Lohan. Pill ventured into stage acting, with the Manhattan, New York staging of None of the Above as the first item in her theater credentials. In 2006, she starred as Grace Webster in the short-lived NBC drama The Book of Daniel. That same year, she made her Broadway debut playing Mairead in Martin McDonagh's black comedy play The Lieutenant of Inishmore for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

Because of her busy work schedule, Pill's schooling was through a program for children in the entertainment industry. Since graduating from high school, she moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre, but continued to work in movies such as Dan in Real Life in 2007. She returned to Broadway in the Theresa Rebeck play Mauritius (2007) acting alongside F. Murray Abraham, Bobby Cannavale, and Dylan Baker. John Lahr of The New Yorker commended Pill as "excellent" adding, "It says something about the appeal of Alison Pill—an actress with a big future—that her compelling combination of ferocity and fragility carries the audience beyond the inconsistencies of the story." In 2007, she acted in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of the David Harrower play Blackbird starring alongside Jeff Daniels. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and was helmed at Center's Stage I in Manhattan, New York. For her performance she received the Drama League Award, Lucille Lortel Award, and Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations. That was followed by The Distance From Here, On the Mountain.

2008–2014: Film roles and The Newsroom

Pill had a major supporting role as campaign manager Anne Kronenberg in the 2008 film Milk. In 2009, she performed with Erin Hill & her Psychedelic Harp playing the Twilight Zone-inspired "Meredith Moon" and "The Real North Pole" sci-fi Christmas Harp. Pill was cast as April on In Treatment. In 2009 she replaced Elliot Page in a role in Jack & Diane but due to postponement of the project neither ended up in it by the time it ran in 2012. Pill later played Kim Pine in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) as well as in the short, Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation. She portrayed Empress Maud in the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth.

Pill starred with Abigail Breslin in the Broadway revival of the William Gibson play The Miracle Worker (2010), David Rooney of Variety wrote, "Pill has demonstrated her skill at animating prickly contemporary women who can go from sullen vulnerability into bellicose attack mode in a flash. She's no less convincing as 20-year-old Boston Irish Sullivan, hired in 1887 by the Keller family in Alabama to serve as governess to Helen, left deaf and blind by an illness in her infancy". In 2011, she acted in another Broadway revival, the John Guare play The House of Blue Leaves with Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Thomas Sadoski. In the play she portrayed a kindly, partially deaf actress. She received positive reviews with Entertainment Weekly describing her as "delightfully daffy", and The Hollywood Reporter declaring, "Pill's funny-sad ethereal performance exposes the cultivated poise and glamour of Hollywood as another empty fantasy". She appeared in Woody Allen's acclaimed romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011) portraying Zelda Fitzgerald alongside Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 2012, she reunited with Allen portraying Hayley in To Rome with Love (2012). She starred in short films including Denise in 2012 with Chris Messina and Santa Baby; she also sang and danced in Santa Baby. In 2016, she appeared in Cover Up by Satya Bhabha with Jason Ritter, to be released at the LA Shorts Fest, and Woman in Deep, playing a woman who calls a suicide prevention hot line and is put on hold, directed by Janicza Bravo.

From 2012 until it ended in 2014, she was in The Newsroom, a political drama series on HBO portraying journalist Maggie Jordan at a fictional cable news show. In a Geffen Playhouse production of Wait Until Dark (2013), she starred as a blind woman who fends for her life. Myron Meisel of The Hollywood Reporter compared Pill's performance favorably to previous actors who played the role including Lee Remick and Audrey Hepburn, writing "the reliably talented Pill instills [the role] with a distinctive individuality." Pill starred in Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic film Snowpiercer, alongside Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, which came out in 2013. Pill appeared in Cooties (2014) starring Elijah Wood. In Zoom, she played Emma, an aspiring comic book artist.

2015–present She acted in the Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar! (2015) playing Eddie Mannix's wife. Pill starred in Goon: Last of the Enforcers as Eva Glatt, Doug Glatt's love interest in first movie Goon, and now married to her. She was part of the cast of The Family as Willa Warren. In 2016, Pill co-starred with Jessica Chastain in the EuropaCorp thriller Miss Sloane. In 2017, she joined American Horror Story: Cult, starring as Ivy Mayfair-Richards, one of the main characters of the storyline. In 2018 she played former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary in the Oscar-nominated film Vice. Also in 2018, she acted in the Broadway revival of the Edward Albee'sThree Tall Women, a memory play, acting alongside Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf.

In 2020, she was part of the TV series Devs directed by Alex Garland on FX on Hulu and played Katie, the chief designer of the Devs system. In 2021, she starred in the film All My Puny Sorrows with Sarah Gadon, as two Mennonite sisters who leave their religious lives behind. Pill won Best Actress in a Canadian Film by Vancouver Film Critics Circle for her role in the movie. She was in the TV series Them, playing Betty Wendell. For the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, she played scientist Dr. Agnes Jurati. Pill returned to Broadway playing Sonya in the 2024 revival of the Anton Chekov play Uncle Vanya starring with Steve Carell, William Jackson Harper, Jayne Houdyshell, and Alfred Molina at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. David Cote of The Observer hailed her performance, "Pill proves to be the evening's MVP... [She] embodies that brokenness with a palpable heat I wish could have ignited everything around her".

Personal life Pill was engaged to actor Jay Baruchel from 2011 to 2013.

Pill and actor Joshua Leonard married on May 24, 2015, They have a daughter who was born in 2016. On August 15, 2025, Leonard announced their divorce via social media.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 The Life Before This Jessica Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang Shapiro / Emma 2000 Skipped Parts Chuckette Morris 2002 A.W.O.L. Patient Short film Perfect Pie Marie (age 15) 2003 Pieces of April Beth Burns Fast Food High Emma Redding 2004 Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen Ella Gerard The Crypt Club Liesl Short film 2005 Dear Wendy Susan 2007 Dan in Real Life Jane Burns Working in the Theatre Self Documentary 2008 Milk Anne Kronenberg 2009 The Awakening of Abigail Harris Abigail Harris Short film One Way to Valhalla Dale 2010 Goldstar, Ohio Kendra Harper Short film EMGOD Alison Short filmScott Pilgrim vs. the Animation Kimberly "Kim" Pine (voice) Short filmScott Pilgrim vs. the World Kimberly "Kim" Pine 2011 Midnight in Paris Zelda Fitzgerald Portraits in Dramatic Time Self Goon Eva 2012 To Rome with Love Hayley Denise Denise Short film Santa Baby Alice Short film 2013 Snowpiercer Pregnant Teacher 2014 Cooties Lucy McCormick 2015 Zoom Emma Boyles 2016 Hail, Caesar! Mrs. Mannix Woman in Deep Birdie Short film Cover Up Emma Short film Miss Sloane Jane Molloy 2017 Goon: Last of the Enforcers Eva Glatt 2018 Ideal Home Melissa Enright Vice Mary Cheney 2019 The Most Magnificent Thing Mom (voice) Short film 2020 We Are Animals Self Documentary 2021 The Same Storm Bridget Salt 2022 All My Puny Sorrows Yolandi "Yoli" Von Riesen 2023 Eric Larue Lisa Graff 2024 Trap Rachel Young Werther Charlotte Filming

Television Year Title Role Notes 1997 The New Ghostwriter Mysteries Lucy Episode: "Moving Parts" 1998 Fast Track Alexa Stokes Episode: "Real Time" Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal Sophie Schulman Episode: "The Night of the Setting Sun" The Last Don II Bethany Episode: "1.1" Anatole Paulette (voice) 5 episodes Degas & the Dancer Marie van Goethem Television film Stranger in Town Hetty Television film 1999 Locked in Silence Lacey Television film God's New Plan Samantha Hutton Television film Different Sally Reed Television film What Katy Did Katy Carr Television film Dear America: A Journey to the New World Remember Patience Whipple Television film A Holiday Romance Fern Television film Redwall Cornflower (voice) 13 episodes Poltergeist: The Legacy Paige Episode: "Forget Me Not" 2000 Traders Andrea Exter Episode: "Hawks" Redwall: The Movie Cornflower (voice) Television film The Dinosaur Hunter Julia Creath Television film The Other Me Allana Browning Television film Baby Larkin Malone Television film 2001 Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows Young Lorna Luft Television film Midwives Constance "Connie" Danforth Television film What Girls Learn Tilden Television film Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series Victoria (voice) Episode: "Butterflies!" 2002 The Pilot's Wife Mattie Lyons Television film An Unexpected Love Samantha Mayer Television film 2004 A Separate Peace Beth Television film Plain Truth Katie Fisher Television film 2006 The Book of Daniel Grace Webster 8 episodes Law & Order: Criminal Intent Lisa Ramsey Episode: "Wrongful Life" 2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kelsey Murphy Episode: "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" 2009 In Treatment April Recurring role, 7 episodes 2010 The Pillars of the Earth Princess Maude Miniseries, 8 episodes 2012–14 The Newsroom Margaret "Maggie" Jordan Main role, 25 episodes 2014 7p/10e Alison Episode: "Day 16" Therapy Lucy Episode: "1.1" Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends Herself Television short 2016 The Family Willa Warren 12 episodes 2017 American Horror Story: Cult Ivy Mayfair-Richards Main role, 9 episodes 2018 The Emperor's Newest Clothes Thomasina (voice) Television short 2020–22 Star Trek: Picard Dr. Agnes Jurati Main role, 20 episodes 2020 Devs Katie Miniseries, 8 episodes 2021 Them Elizabeth "Betty" Wendell 8 episodes 2022 Archer Alessia (voice) 3 episodes 2023 Hello Tomorrow! Myrtle Mayburn 10 episodes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Kimberly "Kim" Pine (voice) Main role 2025 RoboGobo Farmer Faye (voice) 2026 The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey Linda Arndt Rabbit, Rabbit Get Jiro Voice

Music videos Year Title Artist(s) 2004 "Drama Queen (That Girl)" Lindsay Lohan 2010 "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" Owen Pallett "Medicine" Nick Casey 2020 "Eat It (We're All In This Together)" David Cross featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic

Web Year Title Role Website 2016 Honest Phone Sex for Married Couples Wife Funny or Die Angel and Demon Demon WeatherFrom 2018 George's Cheese/Pizza Revenge Mother Porpoise Story Pirates 2020 Fight of the Century Narrator Simon & Schuster Skin Trade Nick Geffen Playhouse The Homebound Project C.A. Johnson The Homebound Theater The Line Jennifer The Public Theater Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Water Crisis Kim Pine / Vegan Police Water For People My Mouth Ran Away Mother Porpoise Story Pirates Raising Arizona Edwina "Ed" Pandemic Players 2022 The Doctor Is In Dr. Kate Spencer (voice) Echoverse The Rubber Room Lindsey Whittle SiriusXM

Theatre Year Title Role Venue Ref. 2003 None of the Above Jamie Ohio Theatre, West Village 2004 The Distance from Here Jenn MCC Theater, Off-Broadway 2005 On the Mountain Jaime Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway 2006 The Lieutenant of Inishmore Mairead Lyceum Theatre, Broadway 2007 Blackbird Una Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway Mauritius Jackie Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway 2008 Reasons to Be Pretty Steph Lucille Lortel Theatre, Off-Broadway 2010 The Miracle Worker Anne Sullivan Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway This Wide Night Marie Peter Jay Sharp Theatre 2011 The House of Blue Leaves Corrinna Stroller Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway 2013 Wait Until Dark Susan Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles 2018 Three Tall Women C John Golden Theatre, Broadway 2024 Uncle Vanya Sonya Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway

Discography with Sex Bob-Omb Soundtrack Title Year Album "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" 2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "Garbage Truck" "Threshold" "Summertime" "Indefatigable"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work ResultRef.2000 Burbank International Children's Film Festival Best Child Actress Performance The Dinosaur Hunter Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot – Supporting Young Actress Degas and the Dancer 2001 Best Ensemble in a TV Movie The Other Me 2002 Best Performance in a TV Movie or Special – Leading Young Actress What Girls Learn 2003 Gemini Awards Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series The Dinosaur Hunter 2004 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance The Distance From Here 2005 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Featured Actress On the Mountain 2006 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Play The Lieutenant of Inishmore 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a Play Blackbird 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Milk Gold Derby Awards Ensemble Cast 15th Critics' Choice Awards Best Acting Ensemble Online Film & Television Association Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series In Treatment 2010 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 2011 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance This Wide Night Gemini Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series The Pillars of the Earth Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Acting Midnight in Paris Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture2012 Gold Derby Awards Ensemble Cast 2013 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Goon 2014 San Diego International Film Festival Virtuoso Award for Best Breakthrough Performance The Newsroom 2018 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Acting Ensemble Vice Detroit Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Seattle Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Cast 2022 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Actress in a Canadian Film All My Puny Sorrows Festival du Film Canadien de Dieppe Best Actress Tell-Tale TV Awards Favorite Performer in a Network Sci-fi / Fantasy / Horror Series Star Trek: Picard Favorite Ensemble Cast in a Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror Series 2024 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Young Werther