Deborah Kara Unger

Deborah Kara Unger (born 12 May 1966)[1][2][3] is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994), Crash (1996), The Game (1997), Payback (1999), The Hurricane (1999), White Noise (2005), Silent Hill (2006), 88 Minutes (2008) and The Way (2010).

Deborah Kara Unger
Unger at the premiere of Cassandra's Dream, Toronto International Film Festival 2007
Born (1966-05-12) 12 May 1966
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active1989–present

Early life

Deborah Kara Unger was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to a nuclear disposal specialist mother and a gynaecologist father.[4] She was the first Canadian to be accepted into Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art.[5]

Career

Upon graduation Unger found steady work in Australian films and television series, including Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. Following her return to North America in the early 1990s she appeared in David Lynch's 1993 HBO mini-series Hotel Room, and a year later appeared in Highlander III: The Sorcerer opposite Christopher Lambert.[2][5]

Unger's breakthrough role came in David Cronenberg's 1996 erotic drama Crash, about a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents, a notable form of paraphilia.[5] Unger followed up her performance in Crash by starring with Michael Douglas in the psychological thriller The Game, directed by David Fincher. In 1998 she played Ava Gardner in HBO's The Rat Pack, and in 1999 she appeared in Payback with Mel Gibson, The Hurricane with Denzel Washington and the award-winning ensemble drama Sunshine.[2]

Unger appeared in many independent films in the early 2000s, such as Signs and Wonders, Ten Tiny Love Stories, Fear X, Thirteen, Stander, Hollywood North, Emile, Paranoia 1.0 and A Love Song for Bobby Long. She played a leading role opposite Sophia Loren and Mira Sorvino in the 2002 independent movie Between Strangers, about three women who confront their pasts which changes their futures, for which she was nominated on Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.[6]

From 2005 to 2010, Unger appeared in White Noise, Things That Hang from Trees, The Alibi, Silent Hill, 88 Minutes, Walled In, Messages Deleted and The Way. She also appeared in the music video for "Jesus of Suburbia" by American rock band Green Day. In 2011 she took a starring role in the television series Combat Hospital, and in 2012 reprised her role as Dahlia Gillespie in the horror film sequel Silent Hill: Revelation.[2]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Blood Oath Sister Littell AKA, Prisoners of the Sun
1990 Escape from Madness Marion
1991 Till There Was You Anna Vivaldi
1992 Whispers in the Dark Eve Abergray
1994 Highlander III: The Sorcerer Dr. Alexandra Johnson / Sarah Barrington
1996 Crash Catherine Ballard
1996 No Way Home Lorraine
1997 Keys to Tulsa Vicky Michaels Stover
1997 The Game Christine / Claire
1999 Payback Lynn Porter
1999 The Weekend Marian Kerr
1999 Sunshine Maj. Carole Kovács
1999 The Hurricane Lisa Peters
2000 Signs & Wonders Katherine
2002 The Salton Sea Colette Vaughn
2002 Between Strangers Catherine
2002 Leo Caroline
2002 Ten Tiny Love Stories Seven
2003 Thirteen Brooke LaLaine
2003 Fear X Kate
2003 Hollywood North Sandy Ryan
2003 Stander Bekkie Stander
2003 Emile Nadia / Nadia's Mother
2004 Paranoia 1.0 Trish
2005 A Love Song for Bobby Long Georgianna
2005 White Noise Sarah Tate
2006 The Alibi Dorothy
2006 Things That Hang from Trees Connie Mae Wheeler
2006 Silent Hill Dahlia Gillespie
2007 88 Minutes Carol Lynn Johnson
2007 Shake Hands with the Devil Emma
2009 Walled In Mary
2010 Transparency Danielle
2010 The Way Sarah
2010 Sophie & Sheba Tina Bradshaw
2010 Messages Deleted Det. Lavery
2011 The Maiden Danced to Death Lynn Court
2012 The Samaritan Helena
2012 A Dark Truth Morgan Swinton
2012 186 Dollars to Freedom Consul Powers
2012 Silent Hill: Revelation Dahlia Gillespie
2013 Samuel Bleak Roselyn Ramirez
2015 Rehearsal Ellen Sinclair
2017 Vengeance: A Love Story Agnes
2017 A Thought of Ecstasy Liz Archer
2017 Jackals Kathy Powell
2017 Torch Sister Ingrid

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1989 Bangkok Hilton Astra TV miniseries
1993 Hotel Room Sasha "Getting Rid of Robert"
1994 State of Emergency Sue Payton TV film
1998 The Rat Pack Ava Gardner TV film
2009 Angel and the Bad Man Temperance TV film
2011 Combat Hospital Maj. Grace Pederson, M.D. Main role
2015 A Dangerous Arrangement Samantha TV film
2015 The Hollow Aunt Cora TV film

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic SCORPIO Voice

Music videos
Year Artist Title Role
2005 Green Day "Jesus of Suburbia" Jimmy's/Jesus's mother

Awards and nominations
Year Result Award Category Film
2000 Won Seattle International Film Festival Citation of Excellence for Ensemble Cast Performance The Weekend
Nominated Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Sunshine
2003 Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Between Strangers
Won Dubrovnik International Film Festival Libertas Award
Nominated Sonoma Valley Film Festival Imagery Honors Award
2004 Won Method Fest Best Actress Emile
2005 Won Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema Best Actress One Point O
2010 Won Action on Film International Film Festival Half-Life Award

References
  1. "Deborah Unger". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  2. "Deborah Kara Unger". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. "Deborah Kara Unger- Biography". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  4. Hochman, David (3 October 1997). "Unger Strikes". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. Ojumu, Akin (13 February 2000). "Everyone's talking about... Deborah Kara Unger's big cover-up". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  6. "Deborah Kara Unger". Allmovie. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
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