Sarah Wayne Callies
Callies in 2016
Born (1977-06-01) June 1, 1977 (age 46)
La Grange, Illinois, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
National Theatre Conservatory (MFA)
OccupationActress
Years active2003–present
Spouse
Josh Winterhalt
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2

Sarah Wayne Callies (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Sara Tancredi in Fox's Prison Break, Lori Grimes in AMC's The Walking Dead, and more recently, as Birdie Nicolletti in ABC's The Company You Keep. She has also starred as Katie Bowman in USA Network's Colony and Robin Perry in NBC's Council of Dads and has had film roles in Whisper (2007), Blac Gold (2011), and The Show (2017).

Early life and education

Callies was born in La Grange, Illinois.[citation needed] Her parents Valerie Wayne and David E. Callies were both professors at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.[1]

Callies moved to Honolulu, Hawaii with her family when she was one year old. Throughout her youth, she expressed an interest in acting through participating in various school plays at the independent Punahou School. After graduating from high school, Callies entered Dartmouth College where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama in 1999, with a minor in women's studies and a senior fellowship in Indigenous theology.[2][3] In conjunction with her studies, Callies remained involved in theatre. She continued her education at the National Theatre Conservatory, where she obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2002.[1]

Career

Callies moved to New York in 2003 and then quickly landed her first television role as Kate O'Malley, a recurring part on the short-lived CBS show Queens Supreme.[4] Her first starring role was as Detective Jane Porter on The WB's Tarzan.

Callies at Comic-Con in 2012

Prison Break

After making various guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dragnet (2003), and NUMB3RS, Callies gained a starring role on Fox's Prison Break as Sara Tancredi. She played the role in the first two seasons, but her character was killed off for the third season before being brought back for the fourth season. According to Prison Break's executive producer Matt Olmstead, although the writers, the network, Callies herself, and he all wanted her to stay on the show, the character was written out due to contract disputes.[5] She stated through a spokesperson to TV Guide in fall 2007:

As hard as we all tried, the Prison Break powers that be and I were unable to find a way to meet both the needs of the story and the needs of my family. We parted wishing each other well. I had a wonderful time working with the creative team and have a world of respect for all of them; they took great care of Sara. I'm also enormously grateful to the fans. They've been so gracious and supportive, and I hope they continue to enjoy the show.[5]

Callies at the Edmonton Expo 2013

However, in March 2008, Olmstead stated that the character of Sara is still alive and would return in season four. Though the character Sara Tancredi appeared to have a violent death, Olmstead stated "...we realized that there was actually a way she could still be alive."[6] Executive Producer Matt Olmstead admitted the fans' overwhelming response to her death had influenced the decision to bring the character, and Callies, back to the show.[7]

The Walking Dead

In 2010, Callies was cast in the major role of Lori Grimes on the AMC post-apocalyptic drama series The Walking Dead, based on the comic-book series of the same name.[8] The drama became the highest-rated show in AMC's history.[9] Callies played the role from the show's pilot until the third season.[10]

Other projects

Callies starred in her first feature, the independent film The Celestine Prophecy, in 2006.[11] She also starred in the horror film Whisper alongside Josh Holloway the following year.[12] In April 2010, she appeared on the Fox Television drama House as a patient of the week, whose open marriage fascinates House and the team.[13] In August 2010, Callies' first screenplay, an adaptation of Campbell Geeslin's children's book Elena's Serenade, was optioned by French production company Fulldawa Films.[14]

Callies starred in the Nigerian movie Black Gold (2011) and one of the female lead roles in the Canadian thriller Faces in the Crowd (2011).[14] In 2015, she co-starred with Nicolas Cage in Uli Edel's thriller film Pay the Ghost.[15] In 2016, she returned to television in the lead role of Katie Bowman in Colony.[16]

Personal life

Callies is married to Josh Winterhalt, whom she met at Dartmouth University.[17] On January 23, 2007, her publicist announced that the couple were expecting their first child.[18] Their daughter was born in July 2007.[19] Their second child, an adopted son, was born in 2013.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Celestine Prophecy Marjorie
2007 Whisper Roxanne
2008 Bittersweet Robyn
2010 Lullaby for Pi Josephine
2011 Black Gold Kate Summers
Faces in the Crowd Francine
Foreverland Fran
2012 Black November Kate Summers
2014 Into the Storm Allison Stone
2015 Pay the Ghost Kristen
2016 The Other Side of the Door Maria
2017 The Show Karina

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Dragnet Kathryn "Kate" Randall Episode: "The Brass Ring"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jenny Rochester Episode: "Privilege"
Queens Supreme Kate O'Malley Episode: "Flawed Heroes"
Tarzan Jane Porter Main role
2004 The Secret Service Laura Kelly Pilot
2005 Numbers Kim Hall Episode: "Counterfeit Reality"
2005–2009; 2017 Prison Break Sara Tancredi Main role (seasons 1–2, 4–5)
2007 Queens Supreme Kate O'Malley 4 episodes
2009 Prison Break: The Final Break Sara Tancredi Television film
2010 House Julia Episode: "Open and Shut"
Tangled Chloe / Sally Pilot
2010–2013; 2018 The Walking Dead Lori Grimes Main cast (seasons 1–3)
Voice (season 9, episode: "What Comes After")
2016–2018 Colony Katie Bowman Main role
2017 The Long Road Home Leann Volesky Main role
Robot Chicken Lori Grimes (voice) Episode: "The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking"
2018; 2019; 2021; 2022 Letterkenny Anita Dyck Supporting role
2019 Unspeakable Margaret Sanders Main role
2020 Council of Dads Robin Perry Main role
2023 The Company You Keep Birdie Main role

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2011 Saturn Awards Best Actress on Television The Walking Dead Nominated
2012 Scream Awards Best Horror Actress The Walking Dead Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Cast – Television Series The Walking Dead Won
2017 Leo Awards Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture The Show Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b Gary C.W. Chun (March 20, 2006). "Prison M.D." Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment and Media Association". Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  3. ^ Contributor Sarah Wayne Callies - website of American news aggregator HuffPost
  4. ^ "Sarah Wayne Callies". tvguide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Prison Break Exclusive: The Real Story Behind Sara's Death Ausiello Report, TVGuide.com, October 8, 2007, Retrieved March 28, 2008
  6. ^ TV Guide Editors' Blogs: Prison Break Stunner: Sarah Wayne Callies Returns!, Michael Ausiello, TVGuide.com, March 27, 2008, Retrieved March 28, 2008
  7. ^ Breaking! Prison Break Brings Back Sarah Wayne Callies! Kristin, eonline.com, March 27, 2008, Retrieved March 31, 2008
  8. ^ Wigler, Josh (April 30, 2010). "Sarah Wayne Callies Joins 'The Walking Dead' As Lori Grimes". MTV News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  9. ^ Bibel, Sara (October 13, 2014). "'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Premiere Hits Series High Ratings in Adults 18-49 & Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  10. ^ Memmott, Carol (December 3, 2012). "'Walking Dead' cliffhanger leaves fans dangling". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Mohr, Ian (March 16, 2004). "Kretschmann on indie quest for 'Celestine'". The Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 383, no. 2. pp. 4–60.
  12. ^ "Über Content Signs Director Hendler". SHOOT. Vol. 48, no. 9. May 11, 2007. p. 6. ISSN 1074-5297.
  13. ^ Wightman, Catriona (April 26, 2010). "Sarah Wayne Callies teases 'House' cameo". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Fernandez, Jay A. (August 9, 2010). "'Prison Break' actress' screenplay optioned". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  15. ^ "Horror thriller 'Pay the Ghost' follows a father's quest". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Wigler, Josh (March 10, 2016). "How 'Walking Dead' (and Nicolas Cage) Helped Sarah Wayne Callies Book 'Colony'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Plottner, Sean (December 2021). "Actor Sarah Wayne Callies '99 takes a deep dive into audio with her new podcast drama". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "'Prison Break' Doc Pregnant". CBS News. January 23, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  19. ^ "Update: Sarah Wayne Callies welcomes a daughter". People. September 19, 2007. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019.
  20. ^ "Sarah Wayne Callies on adopting baby in Vegas, Richard Armitrage talks 'Into The Storm'". Associated Press. March 29, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2024.

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