Karyn Dwyer

Bio: Karyn Dwyer starred in Better Than Chocolate (1999), one of Canada's top films at the international box office. Better Than Chocolate (1999) ranked 31 on The Hollywood Reporter's list of best independent films that year, won numerous awards at international film festivals, and earned Karyn a loyal cult following. This Newfoundland native has gone on to play a… More Bio: Karyn Dwyer starred in Better Than Chocolate (1999), one of Canada's top films at the international box office. Better Than Chocolate (1999) ranked 31 on The Hollywood Reporter's list of best independent films that year, won numerous awards at international film festivals, and earned Karyn a loyal cult following. This Newfoundland native has gone on to play a diverse array of roles, large and small, in independent films. Karyn got her start in theater at age 10 when she starred in Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's production of Alice In Wonderland. She went on to become a theater veteran and after high school made the long hike to Toronto to attend theater school. Her first film role was acting opposite David Cronenberg in the Canadian cult classic Boozecan (1994). She went on to work with Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell in 'Lorne Michael's Superstar (1999) as well as Jon Voight, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gary Busey, Carrie-Anne Moss, Scott Speedman, Julian Sands, and Jacqueline Bisset to name a few. Later she gave gritty performances in Pony (2002) and Dying Like Ophelia (2002)(Bravo! Network) by two time Governor General Award-winning playwright, Judith Thompson. Karyn played to sold out audiences opposite, R H Thompson, in Exercises In Depravity. She played Juliet in Native Earth's Romeo and Juliet, Sooze in Eric Bogosian's Suburbia, wrote and starred in her one woman show Bad Girls at The Rivoli, and played Phoebe in As You Like It for the internationally acclaimed theater festival DuMaurier World Stage opposite Seana McKenna and Albert Schultz. The oldest of five siblings, Karyn lost her father to cancer when she was 9 and later her brother died at the age of 24. She then spent the next three years advocating programs to fight her brother's illness before returning to feature film roles and starring in the 2004 feature The Right Way (2004) and guest-starring in the award winning "This Is Wonderland" (2004) for her Better Than Chocolate (1999) director, Anne Wheeler. She divides her time between Toronto, Newfoundland, and Los Angeles.Better Than Chocolate was ranked 31st in Hollywood Reporter's top 200 independent films that year and is one of Canada's top grossing English speaking films.Won a scholarship to study journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa but chose to study theatre at George Brown in Toronto.Interests include going to the cottage, swimming, jogging, pilates, yoga, current events, reading, music, improv and comedy.Bruce McCulloch asked her take out her belly piercing for Superstar because he felt Catholic school girls shouldn't have belly piercing. In real life, Karyn attended Holy Heart of Mary Regional High, St. Michael's, St. Kevin's, St. Gerrard's, and Immaculate Conception.Volunteers once a week at a telephone helpline.Played a junkie prostitute in "Exercises in Depravity", opposite R.H. Thomson, staged in the bathroom of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Only 12 audience members were allowed per night. One night, during Dwyer's monologue when her character burns out her own eyes, an audience member fainted and had to be carried out. Other audience members assumed it was part of the show.In DuMaurier World Stage's production of "As You Like It", she played Phoebe opposite Albert Schultz and Seana McKenna The actors had no rehearsal and were given cue scripts with only their own lines and three words of the line before, which was their cue to speak.Oldest of five children. Father died when she was 10.Played Ophelia in The Bravo! Network's award winning short film "Dying Like Ophelia" as well as "A Taste of Shakespeare", played Juliet in Native Earth's "Romeo and Juliet", played Speed in "Two Gentlemen of Verona", played Phoebe in "As you Like It" at the internationally renowned DuMaurier World Stage Festival.After her father died, her family moved to her mother's hometown, Wabana, Bell Island (an island on the eastern edge of Canada - Wabana means "place where the sun shines first") and later St. John's, the oldest city in North America.The product of an Irish Catholic Newfoundland family, Karyn is the oldest of 5 children. Her father died at the age of 38. Her brother died at the age of 24.In 2006 she was listed as one of the top ten hottest redheads in the world, along with Lindsay Lohan, Laura Prepon, Isla Fisher, Julianne Moore, Allison Smith, Alyson Hannigan, Alicia Witt, Angie Everhart, and Nicole Kidman.On March 22, 2006 The Hottest Canadian featured Karyn Dwyer as their hottest Canadian. Other actresses that have been featured include:Rachel McAdams,Mia Kirshner, Sandra Oh, Molly Parker, Elisha Cuthbert, and Evangeline Lilly.Gained 20lbs to play the part of Amy in The Right Way.Was voted one of the Top Ten Hottest Actresses of 2006 by The Hottest Canadian.