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Ella Ballentine

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Ella Ballentine
Ella Ballentine in 2016
Born
Ella Hope Ballentine

(2001-07-18) July 18, 2001 (age 23)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActor
Years active2011–present

Ella Ballentine (born July 18, 2001[1]) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress. Ella is known for her roles in diverse range of projects from musicals through television and film dramas to thrillers and horror. In 2015 she was selected to play the role of Anne Shirley,[2] in a new retelling of the Canadian classic, Anne of Green Gables. She acted next to Martin Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert, and Sara Botsford as Marilla Cuthbert in the television movie adaptation directed by John Kent Harrison. In the same year Ella landed the role of Lizzy in writer/director, Bryan Bertino's horror, The Monster. In this movie Ella co-starred with Zoe Kazan and Scott Speedman who she already worked with a couple of years back in The Captive.

In her first feature lead role, Ella co-starred with Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane in writer, Adam Alleca's directorial debut, Standoff.

Ella played the role of Jennifer[3] in Atom Egoyan's feature, The Captive, an official selection for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[4] The same year Ella shared the screen with Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows and Christopher Heyerdahl, in The Calling, directed by Jason Stone.

She has starred in television productions such as Clara's Deadly Secret[5] a Lifetime movie, directed by Andrew C. Erin where she played Kate, one of the main characters, and in her film acting debut Baby's First Christmas[5] for Hallmark Channel in 2012 directed by Jonathan Wright, and as Meddie Reno in Time Tremors.

Ella's stage roles include playing Little Cosette / Young Eponine[6] in the Mirvish Productions 25th Anniversary Les Miserables production, and (2013/2014), and Felicia the leading role in Numbers,[7] a 2012 Toronto Fringe Festival play for which she received rave reviews.[8][9]

In 2013 Ella was invited to the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Gala as one of the "renowned Canadian performers enlivened the evening with dramatic readings of the five prize-nominated titles."[10]

Recognition

In 2015, Ballentine costarred in Standoff with Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane. Although the movie received mixed reviews[11], Ballentine's performance was praised by several media. Rene S. Garcia, JR. of Workingauthor.com wrote "And let’s not forget Ella Ballentine. I typically have no faith in child actors, but Ella strikes the perfect tone with her burgeoning independence, but emotional and physical dependency."[12] Eoin Friel from ActionElite felt that "Ella Ballentine almost steals the movie as Bird, the girl being pursued by Sade. The poor thing goes through an absolute nightmare and manages to never be the “annoying kid” in the film; she brings genuine heart to proceedings and is essential for Carter’s redemption."[13] According to in an interview on Collider.com, co-Lead, Thomas Jane "[Ella] was pretty wonderful. She was fun, too."[14]

Ballentine received critical acclaim.[15][16][17] for her portrayal of the classic character, Anne Shirley in a new 3 part TV movie adaptation of the classic Canadian novel, Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables was the first instalment, followed by The Good Stars. "Ballentine is charming as Anne” wrote Francesca Rudkin in the New Zealand Herald[18], while Louise Keller in Urbancinefile states “[Ballentine] is outstanding. Wide-eyed and innocent, she proffers just the right amount of worldliness as the orphan who asks for just two things as she prays for the first time. That is a lovely scene.”[19] "I was absolutely delighted by actress Ella Ballentine’s portrayal of Anne Shirley. She was a worthy Anne.” wrote Sarah M Miduski.[20] Martin Sheen also has high opinion of Ballentine. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sheen said "I adore [Ella]...She’s an extraordinary talent...She’s remarkable. And she’s very funny as well. We have great fun on the set and she’s got a great sense of humor. She’s a joy to work with.”[21]

According to critics, in the the horror movie, The Monster "the spooky-good Ella Ballentine”[22] came up as "a minor revelation. She’s terrific as the child forced to grow up much faster than she’d like due to her negligent mother.”[23], "a young actress chock-full of pure talent, Ella Ballentine gives an ... stunning performance as Lizzy”.[24] According to the Los Angeles Times’ Justin Chang "Ballentine gives a fine, fierce performance as a child wise beyond her years and unafraid of confrontation.”[25], and Matt Donato from We Got This Covered writes "Ballentine rolls with the punches well for an actress her age, and this shouldn’t be understated”.[26] The Monster ended up on many websites top horror list for 2016[27][28][29], and Ballentine gained a few suggestions for award considerations and a couple of award nominations, such us Fangoria Magazine's 2017 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and the iHorror Award nomination for Best Actress in a Horror Film in 2017[30]. "If horror movie performances were given Oscars, [Kazan] would be a shoo-in. Same with Ballentine. These two are so believable” wrote Staci Layne Wilson in Dread Central[31] Bloody Disgusting, an American horror genre website with millions of visitors/month [32], called Ballentine "The Most Baddas Horror Hero of 2016" in article devoted to her and her character.[33]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Words
2012 The Intergalactic Space Adventures of Cleo and Anouk Anouk
2013 Lunchbox Loser Missy
2014 The Captive Jennifer
The Calling Rose Batten
2015 Standoff Bird
2016 Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti Emma Croft
The Monster Lizzy aka. There Are Monsters
Milton's Secret Anna

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Baby's First Christmas Karen Pendrell Television film
2013 'Clara's Deadly Secret Kate Television film
Time Tremors Medie Reno S1 E1-7'
2014 Reign Voland Girl Episode: "The Plague"
Saving Hope Rachel Stewart Episode: "The Other Side of Midnight"
2016 L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables Anne Shirley Television film
2017 Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars
2017 Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew

Video games

  • Time Tremors (2013), as Medie Reno

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2011 The Railway Children Francis Perks Roundhouse Theatre
2012 Numbers Felicia Factory Theatre
2013–2014 Les Misérables Little Cosette / Young Eponine Princess of Wales Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2013 34th Young Artist Awards Best Performance in Live Theater - Young Actress[34] Numbers Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, Special or Pilot - Supporting Young Actress[35] Baby's 1st Christmas Nominated
2014 35th Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, Special or Pilot - Young Actress[36] Clara's Deadly Secret Nominated
Best Performance in Live Theater - Young Actress[37] Les Misérables Nominated
Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Performance - Ensemble in a Musical[38] Les Miserables Nominated
2016 Joey Awards Young Actress - MOW[39] L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables Won
2017 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Supporting Actress[40] The Monster Pending
iHorror Awards Best Actress - Horror Film[41] Pending

References

  1. ^ "Ella Ballentine's twit". Twitter. July 18, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Anne of Green Gables: A glimpse of the filming of a much-loved story", CBC.ca, retrieved August 3, 2015
  3. ^ "Cannes Film Review: 'The Captive'", Variety online, retrieved May 17, 2014
  4. ^ "Cannes Unveils 2014 Official Selection Lineup", Variety online, retrieved May 8, 2014
  5. ^ a b Kondoloy, Amanda (October 10, 2013). "LMN Presents New Original Movie 'Clara's Deadly Secret'". Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Les Miserables, Toronto: Cast and Creatives", Les Miserables Official Website, archived from the original on June 7, 2014, retrieved May 8, 2014 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Numbers 2012, retrieved May 17, 2014
  8. ^ "Toronto Fringe Festival", Ontario Arts Review, retrieved May 7, 2014
  9. ^ "Numbers portrays the Holocaust through dance sequences", The Canadian Jewish News, July 9, 2012, retrieved July 16, 2012
  10. ^ "Hon. Hilary M. Weston and the Writers' Trust Present $60,000 Literary Award to Graeme Smith for Account of Afghan War", Writer's Trust of Canada, retrieved May 17, 2014
  11. ^ "Standoff Rotten Tomatoes listing “, "Rotten Tomatoes”, Retrieved 01 March 2017.
  12. ^ Garcia. Jr., René S. "Standoff (2016) Review”, “Workingauthor”, 9 August 2016. Retrieved 01 March 2017
  13. ^ Friel, Eoin. "Standoff (2016 Review), “The Actionelite”, 05 March 2016. Retrieved 01 March 2017.
  14. ^ Radish, Christina. "Thomas Jane on Working with Laurence Fishburne for the Indie Thriller ‘Standoff’”, "Collider.com”, 12 February 2016. Retrieved 01 March 2017.
  15. ^ Rabinowitz, Dorothy. "‘Anne of Green Gables’ Review: Winning Hearts and Minds”, [The Wall Street Journal]]”, 17 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  16. ^ Croot, James. "Movie Review: Anne of Green Gables” "Stuff.co.nz”, 10 July 2016. Retrieved 01 March 2017.
  17. ^ Bruk, Diana. "Here's How PBS' "Anne Of Green Gables" Compares To The Classic Film”” "Country Living”, 21 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March, 2017.
  18. ^ Ruskin, Francesca "Movie review: Anne of Green Gables” “The New Zealand Herald”, 07 July 2016. Retrieved 01 March 2017.
  19. ^ Keller, Louis. ”Anne of Green Gables” Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  20. ^ M Miduski, Sarah. "An “Anne Of Green Gables Superfan Watches The Latest Adaptation” “Biff Bam Pop” 28 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  21. ^ Raynor, Madeline. "Martin Sheen on PBS' Anne of Green Gables, the 1985 version, and farm animals” "Entertainment Weekly” 21 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  22. ^ Whitty, Stephen. “'The Monster' review: Zoe Kazan faces her fears” “NJ.com” 09 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017
  23. ^ Lyles, Jeffrey. “Lyles Movie Files” Lyles Movie Files. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  24. ^ “The Monster (2016) - Dark and Beautiful: Not Your Average Monster Story” “PopHorror” Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  25. ^ Chang, Justin. "Mother-daughter drama raises goosebumps in 'The Monster’” “Los Angeles Times” 10 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  26. ^ Donato, Matt ["The Monster Review” November 2016. retrieved 02 March 2017.
  27. ^ Lee, Carter."The Six Best Horror Movies of 2016 that are Truly Scarry" "Inquisitr" 10 January 2017. Retrieved 02 March 2017
  28. ^ Sanchez. Stephen."GEEK Year in Review: Top Ten Horror Films of 2016" "Geek" 07 January 2017. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  29. ^ Peintzman, Louis "The 19 Best Horror Films Of 2016""BuzzFeed 28 December 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017
  30. ^ Horror Awards 2017 Nominations: Best Actress - Horror Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  31. ^ Jayne Wilson, Stacy. “The Monster (2016)”“Dread Central” 09 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  32. ^ Graser, Marc "Collective nabs Bloody-Disgusting" "Variety 12 September 2007. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  33. ^ Squires, John. "‘The Monster’: The Most Badass Horror Hero of 2016 May Be a Child" “Bloody Disgusting” 17 November 2016. Retrieved 02 March 2017.
  34. ^ "34th Young Artist Awards!". Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  35. ^ "34th Young Artist Awards!". Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  36. ^ "35th Young Artist Awards!". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  37. ^ "35th Young Artist Awards!". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  38. ^ "awards database". tapa.ca. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  39. ^ "Joey Awards" (PDF). Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  40. ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!". FANGORIA®. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  41. ^ "iHorror Awards". ihorror.com. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
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