Sarah Gadon

Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Mutant X (2002), and Dark Oracle (2004). She also worked as a voice actress on various television productions. Gadon gained recognition for her roles in David Cronenberg's films A Dangerous Method (2011), Cosmopolis (2012), and Maps to the Stars (2014). She also starred in Denis Villeneuve's thriller Enemy (2014), the period drama Belle (2013), and the action horror film Dracula Untold (2014).

In 2015, Gadon portrayed a young Elizabeth II in the comedy A Royal Night Out. The next year, she starred in the period film Indignation, and co-starred in the supernatural thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax, and as Sadie Dunhill in the Hulu miniseries 11.22.63, an adaptation of Stephen King's novel 11/22/63. In 2017, Gadon played the lead role of Grace Marks in the CBC miniseries Alias Grace, which is based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, and joined the cast of the Crave sitcom Letterkenny in its third season. The following year, she had a leading role in the period drama The Great Darkened Days. In 2019, Gadon starred in the third season of the HBO anthology series True Detective.

Gadon has received numerous accolades, including three Canadian Screen Awards for Alias Grace, Enemy, and The Great Darkened Days. In 2016, she earned the Award of Excellence by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA).

Early life and education Sarah Lynn Gadon was born on April 4, 1987 in Toronto, Ontario, to a psychologist father and teacher mother. She has an older brother named James. Gadon has British and Italian ancestry.

She spent much of her childhood and adolescence training and performing as a dancer, with time spent as a Junior Associate at The National Ballet School of Canada and as a student at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts as well as Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts. She graduated high school as an Ontario Scholar from Vaughan Road Academy in 2005.

By 2014, she had completed her studies in the University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Institute at Innis College.

Career

Gadon started acting at the age of 11 with her first acting role as Julia in an episode of La Femme Nikita (1998). For the next few years, she took episodic roles in various television series, including Monica in Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999), Young Laura Burnham in Twice in a Lifetime (2000), Catherine Hartman in Mutant X (2002), Claudia in Dark Oracle in 2004, Vicki in Life with Derek (2005), and Tasha Redford in Flashpoint (2008).

She also has a number of television films to her credit. She was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble in a TV movie for her first film, The Other Me (2000), portraying Heather. Other roles include Sarah in Phantom of the Megaplex (2000), Samantha in What Girls Learn (2001), Amanda in Cadet Kelly (2002), Julia Norton in Code Breakers (2005) and Celeste Mercier in The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream (2008). Gadon had recurring roles in many television series: Zoe Kessler in The Border (2008–2009), Katie Atkins in Being Erica (2009), Georgia Bravin in Happy Town (2010) and Ruby Odgen in Murdoch Mysteries (2009–2011). She is also behind the voice of the title character in the animated series Ruby Gloom (2006–2008), Beth in Total Drama (2007–2011) and Portia in Friends and Heroes (2007–2009). Gadon was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2008 for Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series for her work in Ruby Gloom.

In 2005, she filmed for Where Love Reigns, a promotional film co-starring Douglas Henshall.

Her filmography includes both feature-length and short films. Her first feature film was Fast Food High (2003) where she portrayed Zoe. She portrayed Margaret in the dark comedy Siblings, Priscilla in Charlie Bartlett (2007) and Laura in Leslie, My Name is Evil (2009).

Her short film work includes Haley in Burgeon and Fade (2007), Julia in Grange Avenue (2008) and Gabrielle in Spoliation (2008). Burgeon and Fade won the Special Jury Award at the WorldFest Houston Festival for original dramatic short film. She also starred in the short indie film, The Origin of Teddy Bears, as Madison.

In 2011, Gadon starred in David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, alongside Robert Pattinson, as his on-screen wife of 22 days, Elise Shifirin. She played Phillippa in the television adaptation of Ken Follett’s bestseller World Without End, an eight-hour event series. She featured in Brandon Cronenberg's debut feature, Antiviral as Hannah Geist, a mega-star in a sci-fi world where fans pay to be infected with the diseases of the rich and famous.

In 2012, she appeared as Carl Jung's wife Emma in the David Cronenberg film A Dangerous Method and in a Canadian short film, Yellow Fish, alongside J. Adam Brown. On May 23, 2012 in Cannes, Birks presented the first Birks Canadian Diamond award to Gadon and Emily Hampshire during Telefilm Canada's inaugural Tribute To Canadian Talent press event and reception.

She played Miss Elizabeth Murray in the 2013 release of the film Belle. She co-starred in Denis Villeneuve's Enemy (2013), based on the José Saramago book, The Double (2002), and in David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars (2014), a dark comic look at Hollywood excess.

She participated in the CBC "Canada Reads" competition in March 2014. In September 2014, it was announced that she was cast in Miramax's supernatural thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax, along with Jamie Dornan and Aaron Paul. The film was released in September 2016. Gadon played Dracula's wife Mirena (and briefly the modern-day Mina) in the historical action film Dracula Untold, released in October 2014.

Gadon made her directorial debut with an episode of Reelside, a documentary series, which focused on her collaborative relationship with photographer Caitlin Cronenberg; the episode premiered on The Movie Network in Canada June 4, 2015. In 2015, Gadon appeared as Princess Elizabeth in A Royal Night Out, a deeply fictionalized account of the future Queen's incognito night on the town, along with her sister Princess Margaret, on the evening of VE Day.

In 2016, Gadon starred opposite Logan Lerman in Indignation, an adaptation of Philip Roth's 2008 novel of the same title, and opposite James Franco in 11.22.63, a television mini-series version of Stephen King's novel of the same title. In 2017, Gadon played Victorian era convicted murderer Grace Marks in the CBC miniseries Alias Grace, which is based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. For her performance, she won her second Canadian Screen Award.

In 2019, she starred in the third season of the HBO anthology series True Detective. She also co-starred with Hong Chau in the film American Woman directed by Semi Chellas.

In 2021, she starred in the film All My Puny Sorrows with Alison Pill, as two Mennonite sisters who leave their religious lives behind. Gadon won Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards for her role in the movie.

In September 2022, it was announced that Gadon has signed to direct her first feature film, an adaptation of Heather O'Neill's 2006 novel Lullabies for Little Criminals.

Personal life Gadon was in a relationship with film editor and director Matthew Hannam. She revealed her pregnancy by showing off her baby bump at the premiere of Ferrari in December 2023.

Television

Awards and nominations YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult 2001 Young Artist Award Best Ensemble in a TV Movie The Other Me 2008 Gemini Award Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series Ruby Gloom 2009 ACTRA Award Outstanding Performance – Female Flashpoint Gemini Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series Flashpoint 2012 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Cosmopolis 2014 Canadian Screen Award Best Supporting Actress Enemy International Online Cinema Award Best Supporting Actress Enemy Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Enemy 2016 ACTRA Award Award of Excellence Herself 2018 Canadian Screen Award Best Lead Actress, Television Film or Miniseries Alias Grace Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Limited Series Alias Grace ACTRA Award Outstanding Performance – Female Alias Grace 2019 Kingston Reelout Film Festival Outstanding Lead Performance Octavio Is Dead! Canadian Screen Award Best Supporting Actress 2022 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film All My Puny Sorrows