Alberta Watson
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Faith Susan Alberta Watson (born March 6, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian movie and television series actress known professionally as Alberta Watson.
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[edit] Career
Perhaps among her well-known film roles are the bed-ridden mother Susan Aibelli in the 1994 American independent film Spanking the Monkey, Lauren Murphy (the mother of Jonny Lee Miller's character Dade, aka "Crash Override"/"Zero Cool") in the 1995 cult film Hackers, and Risa in the 1997 Canadian film The Sweet Hereafter, directed by Atom Egoyan.
After playing the major role of Madeline in the TV series La Femme Nikita for four seasons from 1997-2001 (with guest appearances in the short fifth season), Alberta Watson's first name inspired the character Alberta Green in the first season of 24. Its creator/executive producer Joel Surnow - who had previously created Nikita - wanted her to perform a recurring role in an arc of his new series but the network wanted another actress for it; the role was renamed Alberta Green in her honor and ultimately played by Tamara Tunie.[citations needed] In 2005, Alberta Watson finally did join the cast of 24, playing CTU Director Erin Driscoll for twelve episodes of the show's fourth season, thus exceeding the six episodes in which Tunie appeared in 2002.
[edit] Selected filmography
- 24 (2005) ... as Erin Driscoll
- The Prince and Me (2004) ... as Amy Morgan
- Puppets Who Kill ("Bill Sue's") (2004) ... as Judge
- The Newsroom (2004) ... as Susan
- 1-800-Missing (2003) (pilot) ... Mrs. Mastriani
- Irish Eyes (2002) ... as Anne Phelan
- Tart (2001) ... as Lily Storm
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) ... as Hansel's Mom/Hedwig Schmitt
- La Femme Nikita (1997-2001) ... as Madeline
- Deeply (2000) ... as Fiona McKay
- The Sweet Hereafter (1997) ... as Risa
- Giant Mine (1996) ... as Peggy Witte
- Sweet Angel Mine (1996) ... as Megan
- Gotti (1996) ... as Victoria Gotti
- Hackers (1995) ... as Lauren Murphy
- The Outer Limits (1995) ... as Lynda Tillman
- Spanking the Monkey (1994) ... as Susan Aibelli
- Law & Order ("His Hour Upon the Stage") (1991) ... as Miss Hanley, ("Skin Deep") (1992) ... as Angela Brandt
- Street Legal ("Tango Bellarosa") (1987) ... as Mercedes Puentes, ("Partners and Other Strangers") (1989) ... as Maria Lopez
- Red Earth, White Earth (1987)
- The Equalizer ("The Distant Fire") (1985) ... as Carla Holden
- The Hitchhiker ("Remembering Melody") (1984) ... as Jill Friedlander
- Hill Street Blues ("Fuched Again") (1984) ... as Prostitute
- The Keep (1983) ... as Eva Cuza
- King of Kensington ("War and Peace") (1980) ... as Mitzi
[edit] Selected Bibliography
- Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Alberta Watson." Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles: Persistence of Vision Press, 2006. 88-93. ISBN 0-9787625-0-9. In-depth conversation with Alberta Watson about her role as Madeline on La Femme Nikita, as well as her more recent acting experiences.
