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................................................................. ACTRA AWARDS IN TORONTO 2004 ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS Toronto, February 20, 2004 - Richard Hardacre , President of ACTRA Toronto Performers, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2004 ACTRA Awards in Toronto: Diane D'Aquila is the winner of the Outstanding Performance - Female award and Brent Carver is the winner of the Outstanding Performance - Male award . Sonja Smits received ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence. The awards were presented by ACTRA Toronto at The Carlu on February 20, 2004 .
Brent Carver is the winner of ACTRA Toronto's Award for Outstanding Performance - Male for his role as Ned in Elizabeth Rex. He received an Emmy nomination for his performance in Whiskers , was awarded the 2001 Capital Critics Theatre Award for Best Actor in Larry's Party , and was critically acclaimed for his role as the Countess in the feature film Lilies . Most recently Brent has performed in Atom Egoyan's Ararat and Thom Fitzgerald's The Event . He is currently in New York rehearsing for the Lincoln Centre's presentation of King Lear with Christopher Plummer. Canadian star Sonja Smits received ACTRA Toronto's 2004 Award of Excellence. A renow ned actor well known to audiences for The exciting awards gala evening event was hosted by Peter Keleghan ( The Newsroom ). Gordon Pinsent, who received ACTRA Toronto's inaugural Award of Excellence in 2003, presented this years' Award of Excellence to Sonja Smits. Adrian Truss is the scriptwriter, and the awards show featured the music of ACTRA member Eliza Jane Scott. The ACTRA Award statuette is by sculptor Adrienne Alison. The annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto recognize outstanding performances by ACTRA Toronto members and celebrate accomplishment and excellence in our industry. The ACTRA Awards were re-instituted in 2003 as part of ACTRA's 60 th Anniversary. Many thanks to the generous sponsors of The ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2004: Gold Sponsors ACTRA National, CTV Inc., Don Carmody Productions and Zero Hour Entertainment, Silver Sponsors Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., Muse Entertainment Enterprises & Indian Grove Productions, Bronze Sponsors Actra Fraternal Benefit Society (AFBS), Barna-Alper Productions, Breakthrough Film and Television Inc., Supporters Eyes Post Group, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, oscars abrams zimel + associates inc., PLAYBACK, Friends AMI Artist Management, K.G. Talent ACTRA Toronto Performers is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing over 13,000 of Canada 's 21,000 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 the rights and respect for the work of professional performers. - 30 - For media inquiries please contact: Carol Taverner , Public Relations Officer, ACTRA Toronto Performers Dir: (416) 642-6751ctaverner@actratoronto.com |
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her roles in Street Legal and Traders, she currently stars in the acclaimed TV series The Eleventh Hour. A Gemini Award-winning performer, Ms. Smits has been working with ACTRA Toronto's Campaign for Canadian Programming, lobbying federal politicians and cabinet ministers to reverse the decline in Canadian television drama.