10th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2012 Winners Announced

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2012 /CNW/ - ACTRA Toronto is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 ACTRA Awards in Toronto.

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Voice
Billy MacLellan (Afghanada)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Female
Amy Price-Francis (King)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Male
Christopher Plummer (Barrymore)

Peter Keleghan presented Rick Mercer with ACTRA Toronto's 2012 Award of Excellence.

"If Christopher Plummer had the year he's been having 30 years ago, we would say he'd been having a good year. But to have the kind of year he's having at this stage of his career, is an inspiration to his fellow actors," said Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto. "The win for Billy MacLellan is, I believe, not only a tribute to his work, but a fitting tip of the hat to the end of this wonderful CBC radio drama series, Afghanada. Amy Price-Francis is a shining star, who carries the Canadian series, King, with wit and aplomb." In her remarks during the show, Ms Allin spoke about the Award of Excellence recipient, Rick Mercer. "We all know Rick Mercer is a funny man. But he's also a strong voice for Canadian culture. He defies gravity, stands up to bullies, and speaks truth to power - all in a way that makes us laugh, think and dare to make a difference."

AMY PRICE-FRANCIS (King) ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Female
Film: Cake, Alien Tracker TV: Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Chicago Code, Life Unexpected, The Mentalist, Nip/Tuck, The Cleaner, 24, Californication, Medium, Rumours, Corner Gas, Tilt, Show Me Yours, Snakes & Ladders, Train 48, Tracker.

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER (Barrymore) ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Male
Companion of the Order of Canada. Oscar nominations for The Last Station and Beginners. Emmy Awards for Madeline¸ Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers. Genie Award for Murder by Decree. For Beginners: Golden Globe Award, SAG Award, Critics Choice Movie Award, Hollywood Film Festival Award, LA Film Critics Association Award, National Board of Review Award, Online Film Critics Award, Southeastern Film Critics Association Award, Toronto Film Critics Association Award, Gotham Award (shared with ensemble). Boston Society of Film Critics Award, LA Film Critics Association Award, National Society of Film Critics Award for The Insider. Method Fest Award (with ensemble), Palm Beach International Film Festival Award for Man in the Chair. National Board of Review Award (with ensemble) for Nicholas Nickleby. 35 more nominations.  Also known for: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Up, Ararat, A Beautiful Mind, Malcolm X, The Amateur, The Silent Partner, The Thorn Birds, The Sound of Music. Voice: Madeline, Counterstrike. Currently: Five Good Years.  

BILLY MacLELLAN (Afghanada) ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance - Voice
Gemini nomination for ReGenesis. Previous ACTRA Award nominee for Afghanada. Film: Please Kill Mr. Know it All, Hello October. TV: Bomb Girls, Lost Girl, Flashpoint (multiple characters), Combat Hospital, Republic of Doyle, Heartland, Insecurity, Rookie Blue, The Border, ReGenesis (multiple characters), Murdoch Mysteries, Warriors of Terra, Slings and Arrows. Writer: Afghanada. Writer/Producer/Director: Between the Mountain and the Shore. Cinematographer: Hamlet: Solo.

RICK MERCER - ACTRA Toronto's 2012 Award of Excellence winner
Rick Mercer has enjoyed tremendous success from a young age with This Hour has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada, and Talking to Americans and the Rick Mercer Report. He has garnered over 25 Gemini Awards, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2004, 7 Canadian Comedy Awards, 3 Writers Guild of Canada Awards and the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award. He holds honorary degrees from six universities. His charitable work includes Spread the Net which provides mosquito nets to children in Africa, Casey House and the Walk for Life which raises funds for people living with HIV/AIDS and It Gets Better, Canada, a video campaign to help LGBT youth overcome bullying. He has entertained Canadian Forces troops in Afghanistan and is the sole civilian recipient of the Canadian Arms Forces Commander Land Force, Command Commendation. Recently, he became an Honorary Patron for Hope Air which arranges free flights for low-income Canadians to get to healthcare. For ACTRA, he has leant his considerable celebrity to our fight for Canadian culture since 2003.

The Awards Gala evening was hosted by Elvira Kurt with music by RAOUL and THE BIG TIME.
The annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at The Carlu on February 25, 2012. The ACTRA Awards in Toronto recognize outstanding performances by ACTRA Toronto members. ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada's 22,000 professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven organization that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

ACTRA Toronto thanks the generous sponsors of The 10^th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto:

Diamond Sponsor
Actra Fraternal Benefit Society

Platinum Sponsor
ACTRA National and ACTRA Performers' Rights Society

Gold Sponsors
CBC, Copyright Collective of Canada, Deluxe, Rhombus Media, ROI Fund Inc.,
Shaftesbury Films, United Steelworkers

Silver Sponsors
Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA), Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish LLP,  Entertainment One, Royal Bank of Canada

Bronze Sponsors
Breakthrough Entertainment, City of Toronto Film & Television Office,
Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union, Don Carmody Productions, Grant Thornton LLP, Indian Grove Productions and Dynamic Films, New Real Films,
Serendipity Point Films, Take 5 Productions, Writers Guild of Canada

Image with caption: "Billy Maclellan (CNW Group/ACTRA Toronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120225_C7377_PHOTO_EN_10450.jpg

Image with caption: "Christopher Plummer (CNW Group/ACTRA Toronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120225_C7377_PHOTO_EN_10451.jpg

Image with caption: "Rick Mercer (CNW Group/ACTRA Toronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120225_C7377_PHOTO_EN_10452.jpg

Image with caption: "Amy Price-Francis (CNW Group/ACTRA Toronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120225_C7377_PHOTO_EN_10453.jpg

Karen Woolridge, Public Relations Officer
Mobile: [phone]
email: [email protected]