ACTRA Award#ACTRA Toronto Awards
{{Short description|Canadian award for television/radio excellence}}
{{Infobox Film Festival
| name = ACTRA Awards
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| location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| language = English
| founded = {{Start date and age|1972}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.actra.ca/branch-awards/}}
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The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/actra-awards/ "ACTRA"]. The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 6, 2006. Initially it was organized and presented by the Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, which represented performers, writers and broadcast journalists, and were responsible for awarding the Nellie statuettes until 1986."Canada's new TV award makes debut". Toronto Star, April 22, 1986. In 1987, they were taken over by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to create the new Gemini Awards,"Last Nellie: Charlie Grant's War; Chaykin and Willoughby top actors in final ACTRAs". Montreal Gazette, April 3, 1986. although ACTRA continued to present Nellies in radio categories."CBC sweeps radio awards: CKO's Peter Varley sole winner in private sector". Toronto Star, December 3, 1986.
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists retook control of the awards in 2003, this time as a more local-focused film industry award, separately presented by each of ACTRA's regional chapters to honour performances in local film and television production, since expanded to incorporate web series and video games.
History
ACTRA began presenting the John Drainie Award for distinguished lifetime contribution in broadcasting in 1968,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105707175/ "Broadcasters Honor W.O. Mitchell"]. Calgary Herald, October 5, 1968. before launching a comprehensive program for television and radio awards in 1972. The 1st ACTRA Awards that year only presented the Drainie Award alongside the new Earle Grey Award for actors and Gordon Sinclair Award for broadcast journalism,Michael Walsh, "Let's hear it for Canada...". The Province, April 21, 1972. with its roster of categories beginning to expand the following year.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105754542/ "Murray, Pinsent win ACTRA awards"]. Red Deer Advocate, May 1, 1973.
By 1978, there began to be talk in the industry of a "Nellie curse", as several broadcast personalities in the past couple of years had been fired or had their shows cancelled very soon after winning an ACTRA award.Don Hammersmith, "Lights, Camera, ACTRA". The Globe and Mail, March 18, 1978. The same year also saw the first widespread complaints about ACTRA's nomination criteria, which limited honours in most categories to ACTRA members; even if ACTRA members had collaborated with non-ACTRA members, then only the ACTRA member could be considered for nomination.Morris Wolfe, "Politics of exclusion seen cheapening ACTRA Awards". The Globe and Mail, March 15, 1978.
That year further saw the public revelation of an unconfirmed but longstanding industry rumour that if Lloyd Robertson had won the award for Best News Broadcaster at the 4th ACTRA Awards in 1975, elements in the audience were planning to pie him in the face just to see if they could cause the normally unflappable Robertson to lose his composure.
By 1980, the CTV network decided to boycott the awards, on the grounds that the members-only rule biased the awards in favour of CBC Television productions;"CTV dropping role in ACTRA Awards". The Globe and Mail, December 31, 1980. the issue arose because the CBC produced most of its programming directly, and thus nearly all CBC programming involved ACTRA members, while CTV broadcast far more programming from independent non-ACTRA producers. The boycott, which continued for several years thereafter, sparked discussions through the early 1980s about how to improve the management and delivery of Canadian television awards.
In this era, there was also significant concern about the fact that ACTRA only presented awards in categories such as acting, writing and journalism, but had no categories for television crafts such as cinematography or editing,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105784174/ "Tonight's ACTRA Awards may be last"]. Owen Sound Sun-Times, April 16, 1983. as well as a controversy when ACTRA rejected the CBC's proposal of Dan Aykroyd as host,Sid Adilman, "Aykroyd willing to host show". Toronto Star, April 12, 1982. on the grounds that he was working in the United States and not an active ACTRA member.Sid Adilman, "'Thanks a lot, ACTRA,' angry Aykroyd says". Toronto Star, April 15, 1982.
By 1983, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's experimental Bijou Awards, which had been presented for the first time in 1981, were being proposed to replace the ACTRA Awards,Lorne Parton, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105780702/ "TV trade looking at alternatives to the ACTRA awards"]. The Province, April 21, 1983. but this did not proceed at this time; ultimately, responsibility for presenting the Canadian television awards was transferred to the Academy's new Gemini Awards in 1986.Matthew Fraser, "New awards for TV films announced". The Globe and Mail, May 31, 1985.
Awards transferred to the Academy included the John Drainie Award, a lifetime achievement award for distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting, and the Earle Grey Award, which transitioned from ACTRA's award for best performance in a television film into the Academy's lifetime achievement award for acting.
Following the launch of the Geminis, the ACTRA Awards continued to honour radio programming.
Revival
Beginning in 2002, ACTRA took management of the John Drainie Award back from the Academy, presenting it thereafter at the Banff Television Festival."Suzuki recognized with award". Barrie Examiner, June 11, 2002.
On the 60th anniversary of the national union in 2003, now renamed the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and representing only performers, the ACTRA Awards were resurrected in several of its branches across Canada as a local film and television award, presented by the organization's local chapters in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Maritimes to honour achievements in film and television within their own regions.{{Cite web|url=http://www.actra.ca/actra/control/hotnews1?category=hn&id=10355|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405062132/http://www.actra.ca/actra/control/hotnews1?category=hn&id=10355|url-status=dead|title=ACTRA: Paul Gross to receive ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence|archive-date=April 5, 2005}} Depending on the level of production activity in their respective regions, some chapters of ACTRA present their awards annually, while others present their awards every two years.
However, the revived ACTRA Awards program also includes a national Award of Excellence, presented to an actor to honour their lifetime achievements;"ACTRA awards make cameo this week". Calgary Herald, February 25, 2003. the national award of excellence is most commonly presented to an actor who is working in Hollywood, and would thus not be eligible for a regional chapter's local award of excellence. However, the national award of excellence is not necessarily always presented annually.
Some awards are handed out for performances, while others are given for union activism and contributions to the industry.{{Cite web|url=http://www.actra.ca/media-centre/actra-awards/|title=ACTRA National – ACTRA Awards|website=www.actra.ca}}
National ACTRA ceremonies
| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align: center" | ||||
| style="width:180px;"|Ceremony
! style="width:150px;"|Date ! style="width:200px;"|Host(s) ! style="width:180px;"|Best Television Program ! style="width:180px;"|Best Radio Program | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ACTRA Awards | April 14, 1972 | rowspan=6| Pierre Berton | colspan=2 rowspan=3 align=center | Not presented | |
| 2nd ACTRA Awards | April 30, 1973 | |||
| 3rd ACTRA Awards | March 2, 1974 | |||
| 4th ACTRA Awards | April 23, 1975 | colspan=2| Next Year in Jerusalem | ||
| 5th ACTRA Awards | April 21, 1976 | Emily Carr | Pro Nobis Peccatoribus | |
| 6th ACTRA Awards | April 14, 1977 | Beaverbrook: Life and Times of Max Aitken | The Assassination of Christopher Marlowe | |
| 7th ACTRA Awards | March 22, 1978 | Gordon Pinsent | Aberfan | A Bite of the Big Apple |
| 8th ACTRA Awards | April 4, 1979 | Gordon Pinsent, Don Harron | A Gift to Last | The Other Self |
| 9th ACTRA Awards | April 9, 1980 | Dave Broadfoot | Drying Up the Streets | Aftermath of Jonestown |
| 10th ACTRA Awards | April 3, 1981 | Gordon Pinsent | The Canadian Establishment | Sunday Morning |
| 11th ACTRA Awards | May 12, 1982 | Jim Carrey, Dixie Seatle | Just Another Missing Kid | This Year In Jerusalem |
| 12th ACTRA Awards | April 16, 1983 | Don Harron | Billy Bishop Goes to War | Fruit of the Poisoned Tree |
| 13th ACTRA Awards | April 3, 1984 | Laurier LaPierre, Ann Mortifee, Jayne Eastwood | The Undaunted | The Panther and the Jaguar |
| 14th ACTRA Awards | April 3, 1985 | Roger Abbott, Joyce Davidson | Chautauqua Girl | George Orwell: A Radio Biography |
| 15th ACTRA Awards | April 2, 1986 | Don Harron, Pierre Berton, Barbara Frum, Gordon Pinsent, Dave Broadfoot, Ann Mortifee | Charlie Grant's War | Glenn Gould: The Well-Tempered Polymath |
National Award of Excellence recipients
- 2003 — Leslie Nielsen{{Cite press release |title=Leslie Nielsen receives ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=October 23, 2003 |publisher=ACTRA |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2003/10/leslie-nielsen-receives-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2004 — Lloyd Bochner{{Cite press release |title=Special ceremony held in Los Angeles honouring ACTRA Member Lloyd Bochner |date=December 2, 2004 |publisher=ACTRA |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2004/12/special-ceremony-held-in-los-angeles-honouring-actra-member-lloyd-bochner/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2005 — Tonya Williams{{Cite press release |title=Tonya Lee Williams to Receive ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=November 7, 2005 |publisher=ACTRA |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2005/11/tonya-lee-williams-to-receive-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2007 — Kiefer Sutherland{{Cite press release |title=Kiefer Sutherland presented with ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=September 20, 2007 |publisher=ACTRA |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2007/09/kiefer-sutherland-presented-with-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2009 — Sandra Oh
- 2010 — Eugene Levy
- 2011 — Bruce Greenwood
- 2015 — Jason Priestley
- 2016 — Neve Campbell{{Cite press release |title=Neve Campbell honoured with 2016 ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=February 1, 2016 |publisher=ACTRA |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2015/12/neve-campbell-to-be-honoured-with-2016-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2017 — Kim Coates{{Cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3070351/sons-of-anarchy-star-kim-coates-getting-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |title='Sons of Anarchy' star Kim Coates getting ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=November 16, 2016 |website=globalnews.ca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107041059/https://globalnews.ca/news/3070351/sons-of-anarchy-star-kim-coates-getting-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |access-date=February 22, 2019}}
- 2018 — Molly Parker{{Cite press release |title=Molly Parker to be honoured by Canadian performers with 2018 ACTRA National Award of Excellence |date=November 15, 2017 |publisher=ACTRA |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=https://www.actra.ca/press-releases/2017/11/molly-parker-to-be-honoured-by-canadian-performers-with-2018-actra-national-award-of-excellence/ |access-date=June 6, 2018}}
- 2019 — Jay Baruchel{{Cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/jay-baruchel-gets-award-of-excellence-from-canada-s-performers-union-actra-1.4252548 |title=Jay Baruchel gets award of excellence from Canada's performers' union, ACTRA |date=January 14, 2019 |website=CTVNews.ca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116043009/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/jay-baruchel-gets-award-of-excellence-from-canada-s-performers-union-actra-1.4252548 |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |access-date=February 22, 2019}}
- 2020 — Catherine O'Hara{{Cite web |url=https://www.timescolonist.com/canadian-actors-union-to-honour-schitt-s-creek-sctv-star-catherine-o-hara-1.24051327 |title=Canadian actors' union to honour 'Schitt's Creek,' 'SCTV' star Catherine O'Hara |date=January 13, 2020 |work=Times Colonist |access-date=January 13, 2020}}
Regional awards ceremonies
=UBCP/ACTRA Awards (Vancouver)=
=ACTRA Montreal Awards=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:99%;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Award of Excellence ! scope="col" | Outstanding Performance – Male ! scope="col" | Outstanding Performance – Female ! scope="col" | Outstanding Voice Performance – Male ! scope="col" | Outstanding Voice Performance – Female ! scope="col" | Outstanding Performance – Stunt ! scope="col" | Outstanding Videogame Performance – Male ! scope="col" | Outstanding Videogame Performance – Female ! scope="col" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
|---|
| scope="row"| 2005
| Bruce Ramsay (Baby for Sale) | colspan="2"| Terrence Scammell (Tripping the Rift) | {{N/a}} | colspan="2" {{N/a}} | style="text-align:center;"| {{cite web |url=http://www.actramontreal.ca/actra-awards-in-montreal/ |title=ACTRA Awards in Montreal |publisher=UBCP/ACTRA |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528045455/http://www.actramontreal.ca/actra-awards-in-montreal/ |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |url-status=dead }} |
| scope="row"| 2007
| Alain Goulem (The Tournament) | Laurence Leboeuf (Human Trafficking) | colspan="2"| Michel Perron (Monster Allergy) | Stéphane Lefebvre (Last Exit) | colspan="2" {{N/a}} |
| scope="row"| 2008
| Ellen David (Surviving My Mother) | colspan="2"| Rick Jones (Fred's Head) | {{N/a}} | colspan="2" {{N/a}} |
| scope="row"| 2010
| Conrad Pla (Burning Mussolini) | Kaniehtiio Horn (The Trotsky) | colspan="2"| Pauline Little (The True Story of Puss n' Boots) | Jean-Francois Lachapelle (Punisher: War Zone) | colspan="2" {{N/a}} |
| scope="row"| 2011
| Joe Cobden (Peepers) | Emily VanCamp (Ben Hur) | colspan="2"| Tony Robinow, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | {{N/a}} | colspan="2" {{N/a}} |
| scope="row"| 2013
| Christopher Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels) | Christina Broccolini (Face Divided) | colspan="2"| Lucinda Davis (Supernatural: The Animation) | Patrick Kerton (Everywhere) | colspan="2"| Julian Casey (Far Cry 3) |
| scope="row"| 2015
| Mark Camacho (X-Men: Days of Future Past) | colspan="2"| Liz MacRae, Bounty Hunters | Héléna Laliberté and Naomi Frenette (Pompeii) | colspan="2"| Dan Jeannotte (Assassin's Creed: Unity) |
| scope="row"| 2017
| {{N/a}} | Jesse Camacho (We're Still Together) | colspan="2"| Jennifer Seguin, 2 Nuts and a Richard | Mich Todorovic (X-Men: Apocalypse) | colspan="2"| Victoria Sanchez (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) |
| scope="row"| 2019
| {{N/a}} | Neil Napier (The Disappearance) | Katy Breier (FANatic) | Brian Froud, Zafari | Michael Scherer (XXX: Return of Xander Cage) | Julian Casey (We Happy Few) | Catherine Kidd (For Honor) | style="text-align:center;"| {{cite web |url=http://www.actramontreal.ca/press-releases/2019/05/2153/ |title=2019 ACTRA Montreal Awards winners |publisher=ACTRA Montreal |date=May 6, 2019 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528044752/http://www.actramontreal.ca/press-releases/2019/05/2153/ |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |url-status=live }} |
| scope="row"|2020
| colspan="8" style="text-align:center;"|No awards were made in 2020. |
| scope="row"|2021
|colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"|Awards were not made in most categories in 2021. |
| scope="row"|2022
|{{N/a}} |Ayham Abou Ammar (Peace by Chocolate) |Sarah Booth (Last Call) |Vlasta Vrana (Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa) |Eleanor Noble (Pil's Adventures) |{{N/a}} |Alex Weiner (Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy) |Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez (Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy) |
=ACTRA Awards in Toronto=
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Canadian journalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:ACTRA Awards}}