Martha Burns
| Martha Burns | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1958 (age 57–58) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1983 - Present |
| Spouse(s) |
Paul Gross (1988 - present) 2 children |
Martha Burns is a Canadian actress known for her stage work and youth outreach in Ontario and her leading role as Ellen Fanshaw in the TV dramedy series Slings and Arrows.
Burns was born 1958[1] in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was nominated three times for a Gemini Award for her performance as Shakespearean diva Ellen Fanshaw in Slings and Arrows, and won twice: in 2006 and 2007. She has also won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role twice, for Long Day's Journey into Night in 1996 and for Love and Savagery in 2010.[2]
Burns is a founding member and a former associate director of Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company, a company that includes a number of theatre veterans from the Canadian Stratford Shakespeare Festival. She has also performed leading roles at Stratford, the Shaw Festival, the National Arts Centre and the Tarragon Theatre, to name just a few. She was nominated five times for a Dora Mavor Moore Award and won twice: in 1986 for The Miracle Worker and in 1984 for Trafford Tanzi.
As associate artistic director at Soulpepper, Burns headed up its extensive youth outreach program. Earlier in her career, she founded the Toronto Arts for Youth Association and was a co-founder of another youth theatre project in Toronto, Masterclass Theatre. She has also worked as an instructor for the theatre programs at George Brown College and Ryerson University. In 2005 she was honoured for her career in the theatre with the Barbara Hamilton Award.[3]
Burns lives in Toronto with her husband, director and actor Paul Gross, and their two children, Hannah and Jack.
Her recent show is called The Foundation which airs on Showcase in Canada. Her character is named Selena Selkirk. She also appeared in the Canadian television sitcom Michael, Tuesdays and Thursdays, on CBC Television in fall 2011.[4]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Passage of the Heart | Kate Ward | |
| 1994 | Paint Cans | Melda | |
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Maura | |
| 1999 | Life Before This, TheThe Life Before This | Gwen Maclean | |
| 2000 | Hindsight | Trina | Short film |
| 2004 | Siblings | Miss Bradford | |
| 2006 | Screening | Helen Thompson | Short film |
| 2007 | Silk | Mme. Joncour | |
| 2008 | Rewind | Heather Beckett | Short film |
| 2009 | You Might as Well Live | Dr. Elizabeth | |
| 2009 | Dinner at Lucy's | Lucy | Short film |
| 2009 | Love & Savagery | Mother Superior | |
| 2009 | Wake, AA Wake | Sabina | |
| 2010 | Reception, TheThe Reception | Debra | Short film |
| 2011 | French Immersion | Cathy | |
| 2012 | Fury | Gretchen | |
| 2013 | Mad Ship | Judith | |
| 2013 | Hardsell | Sandra Hipps | Short film |
| 2015 | Boxing | Janet | Short film |
| 2016 | False Sense of Security, AA False Sense of Security | Debra | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Backstretch | Kelly | TV series |
| 1987 | Street Legal | Margaret | "Take My Jokes, Please" |
| 1990 | Last Best Year, TheThe Last Best Year | Sally | TV film |
| 1991 | E.N.G. | Joanna Miles | "Tyger, Tyger" |
| 1995 | Great Performances | Cathleen | "Long Day's Journey Into Night" |
| 1996 | Side Effects | Andrea Burrows | "Sex, Death and Rock 'N' Roll" |
| 1996 | Traders | Rita Hutchison | "Two Steps Forward" |
| 1997 | Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye | Lisette Boudreau | TV film |
| 1997 | Due South | Nadia | "Spy vs. Spy" |
| 1998 | Witness to Yesterday | Amelia Earhart | "Amelia Earhart" |
| 1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Dr. Rosemary Dove | TV film |
| 1999 | What Katy Did | Aunt Izzie | TV film |
| 1999 | Due South | Caroline Fraser | "Call of the Wild: Part 2" |
| 1999 | Emily of New Moon | Eve Kinch | "Under the Wishing Moon: Part 1", "Bridge of Dreams: Part 2" |
| 1999 | Murder Most Likely | Alice Malinson | TV film |
| 2003 | Profoundly Normal | Dr. Maswell | TV film |
| 2003-06 | Slings & Arrows | Ellen Fanshaw | Main role |
| 2008 | Trojan Horse, TheThe Trojan Horse | Mary Miller | "Part One" |
| 2009 | Murdoch Mysteries | Mrs. Burgess | "Convalescence" |
| 2009 | Foundation, TheThe Foundation | Selena Selkirk | "The Face of Hope", "The African Prince", "Springing Jett" |
| 2011 | Republic of Doyle | Joyce | "Something Old, Someone New" |
| 2011 | Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays | Jasmina Hart | Main role |
| 2013 | After All These Years | Phyllis Deitrichson | TV film |
| 2013 | Cracked | Alice Kelly | "The Valley" |
| 2014 | Darknet | Mother | "Darknet 3" |
| 2014-15 | Remedy | Rebecca Baker | Main role |
References
- ↑ "Martha Burns returns to her roots".Toronto Star, March 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Polytechnique sweeps Genie Awards". Toronto Star, April 12, 2010.
- ↑ http://tapa.ca/doras/barbara_hamilton_award
- ↑ "Camelot & cover songs: Inside CBC’s new fall lineup". National Post, June 8, 2011.