Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley Headshot

Actress • Writer • Director • Producer • Activist

Birth Date: January 8, 1979

Age: 44 years old

Birth Place: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Actress-writer-director Sarah Polley's diverse career has taken her from child star in her native Canada to an acclaimed filmmaker and performer, whose refusal to conform to Hollywood conventions allowed her a creative freedom enjoyed by few of her contemporaries. Polley began acting at an early age, but a traumatic experience under director Terry Gilliam in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988), a growing disillusionment with the industry, and a series of personal upheavals led a teenage Polley to reconsider her chosen profession during the early 1990s. She returned to deliver an emotionally devastating performance in Atom Egoyan's heartrending drama "The Sweet Hereafter" (1997) and later took part in genre fare such as Zack Snyder's caffeinated zombie remake, "Dawn of the Dead" (2005). A growing interest in filmmaking eventually yielded Polley's debut as a writer-director, "Away from Her" (2006), an affecting drama that garnered widespread critical acclaim. Although she still acted in projects such as the sci-fi horror story "Splice" (2009), Polley continued to grow as a writer-director with her second feature "Take This Waltz" (2011), starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, and "Stories We Tell" (2012), an inventive documentary about her own childhood. Immeasurably talented and fiercely independent, Polley bravely continued to pursue her own artistic inclinations as an actor and filmmaker.

Credits

Here Comes the Sun

Guest
Show
2022

Women TalkingStream

Director
Movie
2022
90%

Women TalkingStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2022
90%

GMA3: What You Need to Know

Guest
Show
2020

Hey Lady!

Director
Show
2020

Alias GraceStream

Producer
Miniseries
2017
99%

Alias GraceStream

Writer
Miniseries
2017
99%

The Filmmakers

Guest
Show
2017

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

q

Guest
Show
2014

etalk 2013: The Canadians

Guest
Show
2013

Stories We Tell: Extras

Actor
Show
2013

Stories We Tell

Actor
Movie
2012

Stories We Tell

Director
Movie
2012

Stories We Tell

Writer
Movie
2012

Q With Jian Ghomeshi

Guest
Show
2011

On Story

Guest
Show
2011

Take This Waltz

Director
Movie
2011

Take This Waltz

Producer
Movie
2011

Take This Waltz

Screenwriter
Movie
2011

Trigger

Actor
Hillary
Movie
2010

Splice

Actor
Elsa
Movie
2009

Mr. Nobody

Actor
Elise Adult
Movie
2009

John AdamsStream

Actor
Abigail Adams Smith
Miniseries
2008
82%

Away from HerStream

Director
Movie
2006
94%

Away from HerStream

Writer
Movie
2006
94%

Wrath of Gods

Actor
Movie
2006

Don't Come Knocking

Actor
Sky
Movie
2005

Beowulf & Grendel

Actor
Selma
Movie
2005

The Secret Life of Words

Actor
Hanna
Movie
2005

Dawn of the DeadStream

Actor
Ana
Movie
2004
76%

Sugar

Actor
Pregnant Girl
Movie
2004

The I Inside

Actor
Clair
Movie
2004

Siblings

Actor
Tabby
Movie
2004

Slings and ArrowsStream

Actor
Series
2003

The Event

Actor
Dana
Movie
2003

My Life Without Me

Actor
Ann
Movie
2003

My Life Without Me

Director
Movie
2003

Luck

Actor
Margaret
Movie
2003

Last Call With Carson Daly

Guest
Talk
2002

The Law of Enclosures

Actor
Beatrice
Movie
2001

No Such Thing

Actor
Beatrice
Movie
2001

The Weight of Water

Actor
Maren Hontvedt
Movie
2000

The Claim

Actor
Hope Dillon
Movie
2000

Love Come Down

Actor
Sister Sarah
Movie
2000

Go

Actor
Ronna Martin
Movie
1999

eXistenZStream

Actor
Merle
Movie
1999
75%

The Life Before This

Actor
Connie
Movie
1999

GuinevereStream

Actor
Harper Sloane
Movie
1999
86%

Kickin' It: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1998

Jerry and Tom

Actor
Deb
Movie
1998

White Lies

Actor
Catherine Chapman
Movie
1998

Last Night

Actor
Jennifer 'Jenny' Wheeler
Movie
1998

The Sweet HereafterStream

Actor
Nicole
Movie
1997
98%

The Hanging Garden

Actor
Teen Rosemary
Movie
1997

The Planet of Junior Brown

Actor
Butter
Movie
1997

Joe's So Mean to Josephine

Actor
Josephine
Movie
1996

ExoticaStream

Actor
Tracey Brown
Movie
1994
95%

Johann's Gift to Christmas

Actor
Show
1992

Road to Avonlea

Actor
Sara Stanley
Show
1990

Lantern Hill

Actor
Jody Turner
Movie
1990

Road to Avonlea

Actor
Sara Stanley
Movie
1990

The Adventures of Baron MunchausenStream

Actor
Sally Salt
Movie
1989
90%

Friday the 13th: The Series

Guest Star
Series
1987

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

News about
Sarah Polley