Karyn Dwyer
Karyn Dwyer | |
---|---|
Born | Karyn Elizabeth Dwyer March 22, 1975 Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada |
Died | September 25, 2018 | (aged 43)
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1993–2018 |
Karyn Elizabeth Dwyer, also known as Karen Dwyer or Karyn O'Dwyer (March 22, 1975 – September 25, 2018), was a Canadian actress, whose best known role was as "Maggie" in the 1999 film Better Than Chocolate.
Early life
One of five children born into an Irish Catholic family in Corner Brook, Newfoundland on March 22, 1975,[1][2] Dwyer studied acting with Youth Theatre. She made her stage debut at the Arts and Culture Center at the age of 10, playing the title role in Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's production of Alice in Wonderland and went on to become an accomplished child stage actress performing in various theatres throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. She also performed in her school productions, won awards for acting, public speaking, singing and instrumental performance and wrote for the school newspaper. She moved to Toronto to attend the George Brown Theatre School. Dwyer attended theatre school for one year and then began studying with David Rotenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto and later John Riven's Meisner.
Career
After moving to Toronto, Dwyer landed her first film role acting opposite David Cronenberg in the Canadian cult classic Boozecan. She soon began appearing regularly in film and television roles opposite actors such as Jon Voight, Gary Busey, Jacqueline Bisset and Julian Sands. She wrote and starred in her one-woman show Bad Girls at the Rivoli in Toronto. In 1994 she played Phoebe in As You Like It opposite Seana McKenna and Albert Schultz in the Du Maurier World Stage theatre festival.
In 1999 Dwyer starred as 19-year-old Maggie in Better Than Chocolate, winning the role over hundreds of others who auditioned in a cross Canada search. The film won numerous audience choice awards at film festivals around the world, was ranked 31st on The Hollywood Reporter's Top 200 independent films list of 1999 and had one of Canada's highest international box office grosses, earning Dwyer a loyal cult following. Better Than Chocolate opened to rave reviews at both The Berlin Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was hailed by Variety as "a terrifically entertaining romantic comedy." The Hollywood Reporter called Dwyer "the film's heart and soul", Better Than Chocolate ranked 31 on The Hollywood Reporter's list of best independent films. The Chicago Tribune review declared that the "highlight of the movie is unquestionably Dwyer's performance as Maggie."[citation needed]
Also that year, Dwyer played Summer Falls in the bigger budget studio film Superstar playing opposite Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell and produced by Lorne Michaels. Dwyer returned to the stage playing the title role in Native Earth's Romeo and Juliet, performance artist Sooze in Eric Bogosian's Suburbia and originated the role of Carrie, a junkie prostitute in Exercises in Depravity, opposite R.H. Thompson.[citation needed]
She also starred in award-winning short films adapted from plays; Pony, adapted from White Biting Dog by playwright Judith Thompson; Dying Like Ophelia, adapted from Lion in the Streets also by Judith Thompson; Polished, adapted from Polished by James Harkness. In 2005, Dwyer reunited with her Better Than Chocolate director Anne Wheeler, guest starring in the awarding winning Canadian series This Is Wonderland. True to her roots, Dwyer returned to Newfoundland where she studied filmmaking at NIFCO, guest starred on Republic of Doyle, and shared her talent at 'For the Love of Learning, Inc', a not-for-profit empowerment and creativity-based learning program, teaching theatre to Newfoundland and Labrador's youth to use their creativity to overcome social and/or economic obstacles. In 2006, Dwyer was profiled on The Hottest Canadian. [citation needed]
Death
Dwyer died on September 25, 2018 at the age of 43 from undisclosed causes.[3]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Boozecan | Rosy | |
1994 | The Paperboy | Brenda | |
1996 | Lethal Tender | Sparky | |
1998 | Tian shang ren jian | Jenny | |
1999 | Better Than Chocolate | Maggie | |
1999 | Superstar | Summer Falls | |
2000 | The List | Kathy Miller | |
2001 | An Intrigue of Manners | Lady Emelia | |
2001 | Dead by Monday | Christine | |
2002 | Polished | Jo | Short |
2002 | Dying Like Ophelia | Joanne 'Ophelia' | Short |
2004 | The Right Way | Amy | |
2007 | Last Call Before Sunset | Morgan | Video |
2012 | Monster Mountain | Carrie | Video |
2013 | The Art of the Steal | Ginger | |
2014 | A Trip to the Island | Woman | |
2015 | Burning, Burning | The Woman | |
2017 | Goodbye, Hello | Woman | Short |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | J.F.K.: Reckless Youth | Sadie | TV miniseries |
1993 | Family Pictures | Stephanie | TV film |
1993 | Class of '96 | Julia | "David Is Authorized", "See You in September" |
1993 | The Hidden Room | Rhoda | "Transfigured Night" |
1994 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Ginger Dawson | "May I Ride with You" |
1995 | A Taste of Shakespeare | Ophelia / Horatio | "Hamlet" |
1995 | End of Summer | Jenny Malone | TV film |
1995 | Due South | Mary Ann | "Heaven and Earth" |
1996 | Due South | Tiffany | "Some Like It Red" |
1996 | Road to Avonlea | Laura | "Woman of Importance" |
1996 | Double Jeopardy | Melanie Marks | TV film |
1996 | A Husband, a Wife and a Lover | Samantha | TV film |
1998 | Psi Factor | Karen Russell | "The Labyrinth" |
1998 | The Fixer | Irene | TV film |
1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Deeni | TV miniseries |
2000 | Cheaters | Angela Lam | TV film |
2000 | The Stalking of Laurie Show | Jennifer | TV film |
2000 | Sailor Moon | Besubesu (voice) | TV series |
2002 | Bliss | Mitzi | "The Footpath of Pink Roses" |
2005 | This Is Wonderland | Tammy | "2.7" |
2010 | Republic of Doyle | Brooke | "He Sleeps with the Chips" |
2011 | First World Problems | Karyn | TV series |
2011 | Rose Bud's Guide to Seduction | Rose Bud | "When to Jump a Feller's Bones", "Orgasm: Coming or Going" |
2013 | Shit Mainlanders Say to Newfoundlanders | Mainlander | TV series |
References
- ^ "Karyn Dwyer". Listal.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ "Karyn Dwyer". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ "'Better Than Chocolate' star Karyn Dwyer dies at 43". 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
External links
- Canadian film actresses
- Canadian television actresses
- Canadian voice actresses
- Canadian stage actresses
- Canadian child actresses
- Canadian people of Scottish descent
- Canadian people of Irish descent
- People from Corner Brook
- 1975 births
- 2018 deaths
- Canadian actresses who committed suicide
- Actresses from Newfoundland and Labrador
- 20th-century Canadian actresses
- 21st-century Canadian actresses