<<

‘LIES BETWEEN FRIENDS’

CAST BIOS

GABRIELLE ANWAR (Joss) – Born in Berkshire, England, the endearing and accomplished Gabrielle Anwar has more than 45 film and television performances to her credit in both Europe and the , including her breakout film, “Scent of a Woman,” where she was whisked off her feet into an acclaimed tango with Al Pacino.

Anwar has enthralled in a vast array of diverse characters from the blind diving horse circus performer in Disney’s biopic “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” to the risqué royal in Showtime’s “” to the supercilious counterpart to Noah Wyle in TNT’s “The Librarian II.” She also played the fatal object of desire in “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead,” the regal Queen Anne in “The Three Musketeers,” the party girl in BBC’s adaptation of Mortimer’s “Summer’s Lease” and the coquette pursuing Dermott Mulroney and Hope Davis in the independent feature “Happy Together.” Currently, Anwar stars as Fiona in the USA Network original series “Burn Notice.”

With three children, a canine, a feline, an art studio, a yoga fanatic, a garden and a slew of literature in the works, Anwar lacks any free time.

# # #

CRAIG SHEFFER (Sheriff Zach Watts) – After studying theatre at East Stroudsburg University, Craig Sheffer immediately relocated to New York to pursue a career in acting. Early auditions landed him a role in the off-Broadway play Punchy, and he soon found himself co- starring in the award-winning Broadway production Torch Song Trilogy. In less than a year, producers spotted his work on Broadway and cast him in his feature-film debut opposite Emilio Estevez in “That Was Then, This Is Now.”

Sheffer later landed starring roles in the John Hughes comedy “Some Kind of Wonderful” and the father/son drama “Split Decisions,” with Gene Hackman. He returned to the stage to star in the Vietnam-inspired play G.R. Point, for which he won the L.A. Critics Drama Desk Award. He then starred opposite Brad Pitt in Robert Redford’s critically acclaimed “A River Runs Through It.”

Sheffer’s subsequent film roles have included starring roles in Touchstone Pictures’ hard-edged drama “The Program,” MGM’s “Sleep with Me,” Sony/TriStar’s first-ever 3-D IMAX film, “Wings of Courage,” and the critically acclaimed motion picture “Bliss,” from Columbia/Triumph. In addition, he starred with Lawrence Fishburn and Alfre Woodard in the Emmy-winning HBO world premiere of “Miss Evers’ Boys.”

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘LIES BETWEEN FRIENDS’ – Cast Bios – Page 2

Established on both the big and small screens, Sheffer returned to television to play Keith Scott for several seasons in the CW’s “One Tree Hill,” finally leaving to pursue his interests in screenwriting and directing. His screenwriting and directorial debut, the dark comedy “American Crude,” was recently released by Sony.

Most recently, he appeared opposite Kim Basinger in the independent feature “While She Was Out.”

###

SUSAN HOGAN (Rebecca) – Canadian-born Susan Hogan is a Leo Award nominated actress who has had roles in the 1980s crime drama, “,” “Family Passions,” and, more recently, Showtime’s “” and “Battlestar Galactica” for . Hogan has also had guest starring spots on ABC’s “Men in Trees,” Fox’s “Millenium,” CW’s “Life Unexpected,” “Bionic Woman” and “The Outer Limits.”

Hogan has recently appeared in three Lifetime television movies, “Ashes to Ashes,” “It Was One of Us” and “Cleaverville,” in addition to starring in the made-for-television movies “Liar, Liar” and “No Greater Love,” among others.

Hogan received a Leo nomination for Best Supporting Performance by a Female for the 2005 film, “Marker.” She has also had roles in “Butterfly Effect 2,” “Every Second Tuesday,” “Everything’s Gone Green,” “Rupert’s Land,” for which she received a second Leo nomination for Best Actress, and “White Fang.”

Hogan met her husband, Michael Hogan, at the National Theatre School of Canada, and they have three children.

###

VENUS TERZO (Stephanie) – A Montreal native, Venus Terzo graduated with a professional actor's degree from Dawson College, and moved out west to pursue her acting career. Terzo has built an extensive resume and has worked as a series lead on “Davinci's Inquest,” “Davinci's City Hall” and “Street Legal.” She was bestowed with a Gemini Award nomination, two Leo Award nominations and a win for Best Female Actress in a Dramatic Series for the role of Detective Angela Kosmo. She has also had recurring roles in the television series “Madison,” “Whistler” and, most recently, “The Guard.”

Other guest starring and lead roles include “,” “,” “Stargate” “Circle of Friends,” “Road to Redemption,” “Meltdown” and “Spectacular.” Terzo also has an extensive voice-over resume for cartoon series as well. She's the voice of in “X-Men

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘LIES BETWEEN FRIENDS’ – Cast Bios – Page 3

Revolution,” Black Arachnia in “ Wars,” Rainbow Dash in “My Little Pony” and Lila in “Barbie.”

# # #

SARAH-JANE REDMOND (Laura) – Accomplished actress Sarah-Jane Redmond has gathered an extensive resume in dance, theatre, film and television work. Born in Cyprus, Redmond and her family eventually settled in Canada when she was just ten years old.

Redmond attended Dancemakers Studio in for six years, under Brian Foley, before moving to London after graduation. Redmond later returned to Canada to study at the famous William Davis Centre in , and launched her own theatre company. During one of her performances, she was discovered by an agent, and has accumulated many credits in professional film and television since.

Many of Redmond’s credits are in the sci-fi genre, including guest star and recurring roles on television series like “The X-Files,” “Millennium,” “Harsh Realm,” James Cameron’s “Dark Angel,” “,” Steven Spielberg’s “,” “The Dead Zone” and “Kyle XY.” She has also had roles in Showtime’s “The L Word,” “Harper’s Island” and “Falcon Beach,” and supporting roles in the television movies “Sorority Wars,” “The Building” and “Anna’s .” Redmond’s feature film credits include “Disturbing Behaviour,” “See Spot Run,” “The Invitation,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “The X-Files” and, most recently, “30 Days of Night.” In 2007, Redmond was nominated for a Leo Award for her performance in “The Entrance,” a horror movie in which Redmond plays a detective who gets mixed up with forces of evil.

Redmond lives in Canada, and has a two-year-old son, Lucas.

###

THEA GILL (Cait) – Thea Gill is best known for her starring role in Showtime’s original series, “,” which aired on the network from 2000 to 2005. She has also starred in numerous other television movies, miniseries and series, as well as in film and theater.

Originally from Vancouver, Gill attended York University in Toronto and earned her BFA in Theater Performance. After graduation, Gill began working in theatre and commercials before landing the role of Lindsay Peterson on “Queer As Folk,” a woman with a partner, played by Michelle Clunie, who has a child by artificial insemination. For the role, Gill received an ACTRA Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female in 2002.

Gill’s other television credits include guest spots on “Masters of Horror,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Andromeda,” “The Collector,” for which she won a Leo Award for Best Guest Performance, “Just Cause” and “Bliss,” for which she received a Golden Sheaf Award for Best Actress in 2003.

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘LIES BETWEEN FRIENDS’ – Cast Bios – Page 4

Gill also had a recurring role on the Here! TV network’s series, “Dante’s Cove.”

In 2007, Gill was nominated for a second Leo Award for her work in the short television drama, “Swap.” She has also had roles the movies, “Seed,” “Lesser Evil,” “Eighteen,” “Mulligans,” and “Four Steps,” and is slated to appear in “The Boy She Met Online” for the Lifetime Network.

In addition to acting, Gill is also a jazz singer and performer.

###

CARRIE GENZEL (Beth) – Vancouver-based actress Carrie Genzel has been building her resume with television and feature film credits since her start at age 20 as an extra in the 1991 cult hit, “Ski School.” She has appeared on several daytime dramas, including “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “All My Children” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Genzel has also appeared in episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The Outer Limits,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Supernatural,” “The Dead Zone,” “Smallville,” “Kyle XY,” “Psych” and “Wizards of Waverly Place.” She was most recently seen as Vestra in the SyFy series “Flash Gordon,” and in a recurring role in the My Network TV , “Under One Roof,” alongside Flavor Flav.

Genzel’s impressive film credits include parts in Zack Snyder’s 2009 sci-fi action , “Watchmen,” alongside Malin Akerman and , Jennifer’s mom in “Jennifer’s Body,” written by Diablo Cody and starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, and the Terry Gilliam feature, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

###

ANNE OPENSHAW (Wendy) – Anne Openshaw got her start in the mid-90s with small roles in films and stand-in parts. She has since made a name for herself in commercials, voiceover work, television and film.

Openshaw has had roles on several television series, both in Canada and the U.S., including “Smallville,” “Blood Ties,” “Supernatural,” “Falcon Beach” and “Stargate: Atlantis.” In 2007, she appeared in six episodes of “Across the River to Motor City.” Her television movie credits are extensive, spanning the networks from PAX TV to Lifetime. They include “Just Cause,” “Criminal Intent,” “We’ll Meet Again,” “Fatal Reunion” and “Captive Hearts,” among others.

Openshaw’s voiceover work includes “Xbox Damnation,” “Blood: A Butcher’s Tale” and “The Jade Book.”

###

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘LIES BETWEEN FRIENDS’ – Cast Bios – Page 5

FRANCOISE ROBERTSON (Marti) – Born in Montreal, Francoise Robertson has had guest appearances on “The Invisible Man,” “,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Crusade,” “Matrix,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Poltergeist: The Legacy.” She is most known for her portrayal of D’orothea Wilson in the Showtime miniseries “More Tales of the City,” and it’s sequel, “Further Tales of the City,” starring Laura Linney. The series, which follows a controversial group of friends in 1970s , was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and three .

Robertson’s career, spanning two , has also accumulated credits in “The Minion,” “For Love Alone: The Ivana Trump Story,” “Rugrats in Paris: The Movie,” “Ties That Bind” and, most recently, a lead role as Detective Jean Wagner in the 2009 movie, “Desperate Escape.”

###

ROMAN PODHORA (Billy) – Roman Podhora grew up in the ski resort town of Fernie, British Columbia, and has amassed over 100 film and television credits during his long career as an actor. He most recently appeared as a guest star on episodes of “Psych,” “The Guard” and “Men in Trees,” starring Anne Heche.

Podhora’s feature film credits include “,” “Cinderella Man,” directed by Ron Howard, “The Good Shepard,” “Assault on Precinct 13,” “It’s a Boy Girl Thing” and “The Sentinel,” working with many successful actors, such as Renee Zellweger, Russell Crowe, Ethan Hawke and Christian Slater. Podhora has also had roles in several made-for-television movies and miniseries, including 2008’s “The Andromeda Strain,” “Widow on the Hill” for the Lifetime Network and “Every Second Counts,” for Hallmark Channel.

###

JOHN NEWTON (Doug) – Actor John Newton starred as Cody Cullen in Hallmark Channel’s most successful production to date, "The Christmas Card.” Newton got his start as young Superman/Clark Kent in the late 80's TV series, "Adventures of Superboy.” He was also a series regular on “Melrose Place” and “The Untouchables.” More recently, he has had guest star and recurring roles in such series as “,” “ER,” "Tru Calling," "Nash Bridges," “Walker, Texas Ranger,” and most recently, "CSI: Miami."

The North Carolina native got his start in New York, studying and performing on stage for more than three years before moving to Los Angeles and working in TV and feature films. His movie credits include "Yesterday was a Lie," "Alive,” “S.S. Doomtrooper,” “Operation Sandman,” “Goodbye America” and “Desert Kickboxer” for HBO.

--HALLMARK CHANNEL--