Diane D’Aquila – Elizabeth Rex

The Timothy Findley play Elizabeth Rex was first workshopped in 1997 before making it to the Stratford Festival stage in a well-received production directed by Martha Henry with Paul Thompson.

Audiences have been thrilled by the dramatic interplay between effeminate Shakespearean actor Ned, played by the nominated Brent Carver, and Diane D’Aquila’s Queen Elizabeth I, distraught that her favorite, the Earl of Essex, is to be executed for treason.

The filmed version brings D’Aquila, a 30-year Stratford veteran, her first nomination. She recently won an ACTRA Toronto Award for Elizabeth Rex.

Megan Follows – Open Heart

Megan Follows was Canada’s sweetheart for her lead role in the hugely popular Anne of Green Gables series, which brought her Gemini statuettes in 1986 and 1988. The 36-year-old Torontonian’s career continues to roll, and this year she finds herself up for another Gemini, for the CBC MOW Open Heart.

In the movie, Follows plays Sherry Cardinal, a pediatric cardiovascular scrub nurse who begins to suspect that her hospital’s highly regarded new cardiac surgeon is not what he purports to be, when too many child patients end up dead.

Kate Nelligan – Human Cargo

The 54-year-old pride of London, ON, Kate Nelligan is nominated for the CBC mini Human Cargo, in which she plays Nina Wade, a conservative politician who sits on Canada’s Refugee Review Board.

Nelligan has had a long and distinguished career on both sides of the border. She has appeared in a number of Hollywood films, including The Prince of Tides, for which she was nominated for an Oscar.

In 1993 she won Geminis for a guest spot on Road to Avonlea and for her lead turn in the MOW The Diamond Fleece.

Playback predicts:
– Diane D’Aquila SD, MD, PV
– Kate Nelligan IE, MH
– Megan Follows LB