CBC ACTORS CONSERVATORY

On January 25th 2023, we hosted an industry showcase to celebrate the latest cohort of residents to complete the Conservatory - Blessing Adedijo, Chritef Desir, Janet-Rose Nguyen, Izad Etemadi, Katherine Fogler, Leighton Williams and Zara Jestadt - who showcased their range, depth and talent through their “Close Ups,” character-driven pieces following original characters they created.

The Close-Up exercise was really beneficial in a lot of ways. It was a great opportunity to be in those creative meetings and make decisions that guide the rest of production. That helped give me the confidence to step into some of these other roles that I’ve taken on since then.

Learn more about these actors here

The Conservatory has launched 95 actors who are landing impactful roles and are breaking out internationally – appearing on screens all over the world, including:

− Women Talking, the Oscar-winning film from CFC alumna Sarah Polley, featured Actors Conservatory alumna Michelle McLeod, who stars alongside Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara and Claire Foy as part of the ensemble cast nominated for 2023 SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

− Grace Glowicki’s performance in the film Until Branches Bend earned her a nomination for Best Female Actor in a Canadian Film at the 2023 Vancouver Film Critics Awards, and a 2023 ACTRA Awards in Toronto nomination for Outstanding PerformanceGender Non-Conforming or Female

− Actor alumni picked up four 2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations, including Andy McQueen for his work on Coroner

More than 15 CFC Actors Conservatory alumni lit up the big screens this past year:

- Charlie Carrick starring alongside Anna Kendrick in Alice, Darling

- Lovell Adams-Gray and Alsseny Camara in Clement Virgo’s Brother

- Trevor Hayes and Nicki Whitely in Soft, from writer-director Joseph Amenta

- Augusto Bitter in So Much Tenderness

- Devery Jacobs in V.T. Nayani’s feature debut This Place

- Kimberly Sue-Murray in the feature comedy The End of Sex

CFC alumni can be seen on hit TV series as well, including:

- Varun Saranga in CTV’s hit new series Shelved, from creator Anthony Q. Farrell

- Supinder Wraich continues to shine in season 2 of the critically acclaimed CBC / HBO Max series Sort Of

- Giacomo Gianniotti returns a s Leslie Garland in the latest season of Murdoch Mysteries

- Devery Jacobs in Reservation Dogs

- Andy McQueen in Outer Banks season 3

- Benjamin Sutherland and Emmanuel Kabongo in The Kings of Napa