Actors - Karyn Dwyer

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	Actors - Karyn Dwyer

Although Karyn Dwyer has often been praised for her all American looks, this gifted actress is quick to point out she was actually born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada. She has worked in Canadian and American films and some Canadian television series but so far is best known for the hit independent film, Better Than Chocolate
. The petite fiesty redhead has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favour of more intriguing ingénues and as a result, she's built an eclectic résumé; that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to modern day comedy and erotica. Often compared to Julianne Moore and Kate Winslet, fans agree that Karyn Dwyer is truly an original.

Born in Newfoundland to an Irish Catholic family of five children, Dwyer came into her talent at the early age of 10 when she won the title role in Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's production of Alice in Wonderland and went on to become a theatre veteran, while maintaining an A+ average. Upon graduating high school with honours, she turned down a journalism scholarship to the prestigious Carleton University in Ottawa and made the long hike to Toronto for Theatre School. When money ran out she got an agent and started appearing regularly in a wide range of film and television roles. Meanwhile she wrote and starred in her hilarious one woman show Bad Girls at The Rivoli, and played Phoebe in As You Like It for the internationally acclaimed theatre festival DuMaurier World Stage opposite distinguished stage veterans Seana McKenna and Albert Schultz. 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.

Her first big break came when after a cross Canada search, the Newfoundland native won the starring role in Better Than Chocolate. Still a relative unknown, she had originally been brought in to audition for the smaller role of main character's girlfriend. She made an immediate impression on the film's director, Anne Wheeler, who asked her to do a cold read for the film's main character. Karyn beat out more than a hundred other hopefuls and lit up the screen in the starring role.

"Better Than Chocolate" opened to rave reviews at both The Berlin Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was hailed by Variety as "A terrifically entertaining romantic comedy." The Los Angeles Times declared " brims over with good humor and high spirits and has some moments of stunning yet tasteful eroticism. " Much of the praise received by the film was for Dwyer's performance. She was praised for her "charm", "effervescence" and "ability to light up the screen". The Hollywood Reporter called Dwyer "the film's heart and soul" raving "(Dwyer is) terrific, lending the goings on a heated, poignant credibility." Her ability to communicate the joy of sex, prompted Internet voters to rate her lesbian love scenes the hottest ever. "Better Than Chocolate " ranked 31 on The Hollywood Reporter's list of best independent films that year. It won numerous awards and earned Karyn a loyal cult following when it became one of Canada's highest grossing English speaking movies of all time, with a 30 million dollar world box office, according to The Cannes Film Festival website. Young lesbians the world over both idolized and identified with Dwyer. Internet voters loved her performance in the stunningly memorable erotic body painting sequence, rating her lesbian love scenes the hottest ever. The Chicago Tribune raved, "The highlight of the movie is unquestionably Dwyer's performance as Maggie. She brings a sexy intelligence to the role of a floating 19 year old trying to find a place to land that keeps us rooting for her…It may well be that Better Than Chocolate will be remembered as the film that kick starts her career."

Dwyer immediately followed it up with a big budget American comedy, Lorne Michaels' Superstar. In it she as a mean cheerleader opposite Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell. But then tragedy struck. The oldest of five siblings, Dwyer had already lost her father to cancer when she was 10. Now, after the swell of unexpected attention surrounding Better Than Chocolate and Superstar, Dwyer's brother tragically passed away. She then spent the next three years advocating programs to fight her brother's illness and was eager to spend time with her family and retreat into theatre and critically praised but little-seen independent short films.

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