Deborah Kara Unger (born 12 May 1966) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994), Crash (1996), The Game (1997), Payback (1999), The Hurricane (1999), White Noise (2005), Silent Hill (2006), 88 Minutes (2008) and The Way (2010).
Early life Deborah Kara Unger was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to a nuclear disposal specialist mother and a gynaecologist father. She was the first Canadian to be accepted into Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Career Upon graduation Unger found steady work in Australian films and television series, including Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. Following her return to North America in the early 1990s she appeared in David Lynch's 1993 HBO mini-series Hotel Room, and a year later appeared in Highlander III: The Sorcerer opposite Christopher Lambert.
Unger's breakthrough role came in David Cronenberg's 1996 erotic drama Crash, about a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents, a notable form of paraphilia. Unger followed up her performance in Crash by starring with Michael Douglas in the psychological thriller The Game, directed by David Fincher. In 1998 she played Ava Gardner in HBO's The Rat Pack, and in 1999 she appeared in Payback with Mel Gibson, The Hurricane with Denzel Washington and the award-winning ensemble drama Sunshine.
Unger appeared in many independent films in the early 2000s, such as Signs and Wonders, Ten Tiny Love Stories, Fear X, Thirteen, Stander, Hollywood North, Emile, Paranoia 1.0 and A Love Song for Bobby Long. She played a leading role opposite Sophia Loren and Mira Sorvino in the 2002 independent movie Between Strangers, about three women who confront their pasts which changes their futures, for which she was nominated on Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
From 2005 to 2010, Unger appeared in White Noise, Things That Hang from Trees, The Alibi, Silent Hill, 88 Minutes, Walled In, Messages Deleted and The Way. She also appeared in the music video for "Jesus of Suburbia" by American rock band Green Day. In 2011, she took a starring role in the television series Combat Hospital, and in 2012 reprised her role as Dahlia Gillespie in the horror film sequel Silent Hill: Revelation.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1990Blood OathSister LittellOriginal title: Prisoners of the Sun1990BreakawayMarionOriginal title: Escape from Madness1991Till There Was YouAnna Vivaldi1992Whispers in the DarkEve Abergray1994Highlander III: The SorcererDr. Alexandra Johnson / Sarah Barrington1996CrashCatherine Ballard1996No Way HomeLorraine1997Keys to TulsaVicky Michaels Stover1997Christine / Claire1998Luminous MotionMom1999PaybackLynn Porter1999Marian Kerr1999SunshineMaj. Carole Kovács1999Lisa Peters2000Signs & WondersKatherine2002Colette Vaughn2002Between StrangersCatherine2002LeoCaroline2002Ten Tiny Love StoriesSeven2003ThirteenBrooke LaLaine2003Fear XKate2003Hollywood NorthSandy Ryan2003StanderBekkie Stander2003EmileNadia / Nadia's Mother2004Paranoia 1.0Trish2005Georgianna2005White NoiseSarah Tate2006Dorothy2006Things That Hang from TreesConnie Mae Wheeler2006Silent HillDahlia Gillespie200788 MinutesCarol Lynn Johnson2007Shake Hands with the DevilEmma2009Walled InMary2010TransparencyDanielle2010Sarah2010Sophie & ShebaTina Bradshaw2010Messages DeletedDet. Lavery2011Lynn Court2012Helena2012Morgan Swinton2012186 Dollars to FreedomConsul Powers2012Silent Hill: RevelationDahlia Gillespie2013Samuel BleakRoselyn Ramirez2015RehearsalEllen Sinclair2017Vengeance: A Love StoryAgnes2017Liz Archer2017JackalsKathy Powell2017TorchSister Ingrid2022 The Long NightThe Master
Television Year Title Role Notes1989Bangkok HiltonAstraTV miniseries1990 Rafferty's RulesJill BennettEpisode: "Many Happy Returns"1993Hotel RoomSashaEpisode: "Getting Rid of Robert"1994State of EmergencySue PaytonTV film1998Ava GardnerTV film2009Angel and the Bad ManTemperanceTV film2011Combat HospitalMaj. Grace Pederson, M.D.13 episodes2015SamanthaTV film2015 The HollowAunt CoraTV film
Video games Year Title Role Notes2011Star Wars: The Old RepublicSCORPIOVoice
Music videos Year Artist Title Role 2005 Green Day "Jesus of Suburbia" Jimmy's/Jesus's mother
Awards and nominations Year Result Award Category Film 2000 Seattle International Film Festival Citation of Excellence for Ensemble Cast Performance The Weekend Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Sunshine 2003 Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Between Strangers Dubrovnik International Film Festival Libertas Award Sonoma Valley Film Festival Imagery Honors Award 2004 Method Fest Best Actress Emile 2005 Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema Best Actress One Point O 2010 Action on Film International Film Festival Half-Life Award
References
External links
Interview with Deborah Kara Unger on Eurochannel