Ubiquitous Canadian Actresses

After previously discussing the Top Four Canadian actors who constantly pop up on TV series filmed in Canada, it only seems fair to cover the ladies. Incidentally, these are in order of how often they seem to appear when I watch shows filmed in Canada, not ranked by acting quality or attributes that a superficial man might consider important, though they are all both lovely and talented. Anyway, on with the list:


#4. Jewel Staite - Widely known to fans of quality television as the adorable Kaylee from Firefly and the subsequent Serenity movie (neither filmed in Canada), Jewel Staite has actually had a long career in television. As young as 12, she was making guest appearances in Canadian-filmed shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The X-Files, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Da Vinci's Inquest, Dead Like Me, the pilot of Huff (I think after the pilot, the show moved to LA, but the pilot was definitely a Vancouver shoot), and Stargate: Atlantis.

She also had a great recurring role on Wonderfalls as the slutty nemesis of the main character in the last few episodes. Sadly, none of her episodes made it to air since the series was seemingly cancelled beffore the opening credits had finished on episode one, but her appearances made it to the DVD, which is worth at least a spot on your Netflix queue.


#3. Erica Cerra - She's kind of hard to miss these days on the SciFi channel, with a minor recurring role as Maya (who was given custody of Hera) on Battlestar Galactica, and costarring on Eureka as the tough, sexy, and heavily armed Deputy Jo.

According to her imdb bio, she had been a child actor but quit acting for a while, only returning when she was 22 in 2001, and quickly built up a lengthy resume. Since 2003, in addition to the above, she's logged guest appearances on Black Sash, Dead Like Me, Jake 2.0, The Dead Zone, the Huff pilot, The 4400, Smallville, and The L Word.

#2. Missy Peregrym - Lots of TV viewers will recognize her from her role as Candace on Heroes this year. Others from the gymnastics movie Stick It that she starred in last year. Others still will not care if they recognize her or what from, and just enjoy the picture. I'm pretty sure that if she hadn't suddenly become a (relative) star, she'd have ascended to #1 on this list. But in any case, prior to Stick It, she was a staple on Canadian-filmed TV.

I first noticed her on Black Sash, a short-lived (and lousy) WB series about a martial arts school where she played one of the students. At that point, she'd already appeared on Jake 2.0, The Chris Isaak Show, and Dark Angel. She followed Black Sash up with a few more guest spots (Smallville, Tru Calling, and Andromeda) before landing another lead in Life as We Know It. I was a fan of the latter series, which wasn't without its flaws, but it was an interesting take on a teen drama. Plus... she's hot.

#1. Keegan Connor Tracy - Admittedly, she first caught my attention from a somewhat racy Stuff Magazine spread, and like Missy Peregrym, she's a very fine looking woman, but she's here because I see her on TV all the time. Her most notable TV role was on Jake 2.0, as the nerdy-hot scientist who played Q to the protagonist's James Bond (or perhaps more accurately, Bonnie to his KITT), but before and since, she's been hard to miss on TV.

With appearances on First Wave, The Net, Millenium, Viper (a show that was a lot like Knight Rider, Street Hawk, or Airwolf, only this one was underwritten by Dodge), Night Man, Seven Days (that awful UPN time travelling show with Anthony LaPaglia's brother), Strange Frequency, Dark Angel, Da Vinci's Inquest, The 4400, Stargate: SG-1, Supernatural, Psych, and most recently at the end of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, in a role that seems like it might show up in season four as well. And she's still managed to find time to appear in movies like Duets, 40 Days and 40 Nights, and Final Destination 2.

Honorable Mention: Sarah Lind, Grace Park.