Martha Burns – Slings & Arrows

If you think Martha Burns and Paul Gross have chemistry in their roles as Ellen Fanshaw and Geoffrey Tennant in the six-ep Slings & Arrows, a witty behind-the-scenes look at the Swan Theatre, a major reason – acting ability aside – is the fact they are married in real life.

This is the first-ever Gemini nom for the Winnipeg-born Burns, although she did win a 1996 Genie for her supporting turn in David Wellington’s little-seen but highly acclaimed Eugene O’Neill adaptation Long Day’s Journey into Night. Burns has a couple of dozen movie and TV credits to her name, including Siblings, The Skulls III and Paint Cans.

Catherine Disher – Snakes & Ladders

A graduate of the National Theatre School, Montreal-born Catherine Disher is nominated for her performance as Minister of Human Resources and Government Services Audrey Flankman in CBC’s dramatic comedy Snakes & Ladders. A big part of her success can be attributed to her on-camera chemistry with costar Amy Price-Francis as the minister’s new special assistant.

Disher has been nominated three times in the past. In 1993, it was for a supporting role in the Stephen Surjik-helmed MOW Grand Larceny; she was also twice nominated (1994 and 1996) for her lead role in the Toronto-set vampire series Forever Knight.

Cara Pifko – This Is Wonderland

Toronto native Cara Pifko has exploded onto the scene in the past year, and the 28-year-old thesp finds herself nominated twice in her first trip to the Gems. She has been given the nod for her lead performance in the CBC legal drama This Is Wonderland and for her supporting work in the CBC mini Human Cargo.

In Wonderland, Pifko plays criminal lawyer Alice De Ray, who seems overwhelmed by her new job at Toronto’s Old City Hall, but perseveres through humor and tenacity. Pifko has had numerous movie and TV roles since appearing on Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Elephant Show at age eight, with more recent credits including the feature The In-Laws and the mini Salem Witch Trials.

Waneta Storms – The Eleventh Hour

For the second year in a row, Academy voters have eyed The Eleventh Hour’s strong cast of women – which also includes Sonja Smits and Tanya Reid – and seen fit to nominate Waneta Storms for best actress.

Storms, from Vancouver, plays producer Isobel Lambert on the acclaimed series about investigative TV reporters. She was also nominated for a Gem in 2002 for a guest spot on the now-defunct Global cop show Blue Murder.

On the big screen, Storms has appeared in the features The Happy Couple and Joe’s So Mean to Josephine. She is a graduate of Montreal’s prestigious National Theatre School.

Tracy Waterhouse – Blue Murder

It must be tough – although so Canadian – to be up for a series that has gotten the axe, but that is exactly where Tracy Waterhouse finds herself with her first-ever nomination for her work on the Global cop drama Blue Murder.

Waterhouse came in for the fourth – and ultimately the last – season of the series to play Detective Ronnie Stahl. She has guested on numerous other series and also appeared in the Meg Ryan feature Against the Ropes and the MOW The Elizabeth Smart Story.

Waterhouse has landed on her feet with a role on the promising Epitome Pictures/CTV pop music soap opera Instant Star.

Playback predicts:
* Waneta Storms SD, MD, IE
* Cara Pifko LB,MH
* Martha Burns PV