Devon Edward Sawa (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian actor. Sawa began acting when he was a teenager and appeared in several films in the 1990s including '' Little Giants'', ''

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * Da ...

'', '' Now and Then'', '' Wild America'', ''

Idle Hands ''Idle Hands'' is a 1999 American teen black comedy horror film directed by Rodman Flender, written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer, and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A. Fox. The main plot follows ...

'', and '' Final Destination''. He also played the title character of the

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

music video " Stan" and starred as Owen Elliot in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

action spy drama series '' Nikita''.

Early life

Sawa was born on September 7, 1978, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, the son of Joyce and Edward Sawa, a mechanic. He has two older siblings. His father is Polish, and his mother is "a little bit of everything".

Career

Sawa began his career in 1992 as a children's action toy spokesman. He made his film debut in '' Little Giants'' in 1994 and received wide recognition for playing the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

as a human boy in ''

'' the following year. In '' Now and Then'', Sawa played the town bully, Scott Wormer. Sawa also appeared in the films '' Wild America'', ''

'', and '' Final Destination''. In 2000, Sawa played the title character of the

music video " Stan". Sawa later did voice acting, voicing Flash Thompson in '' Spider-Man: The New Animated Series''. Sawa continued to work steadily in the 2000s and appeared in several independent films, including ''Extreme Dating'', ''Shooting Gallery'', '' Devil's Den'', ''Creature Of Darkness'', ''Endure'', ''

388 Arletta Avenue ''388 Arletta Avenue'' is a 2011 Canadian horror- thriller film written and directed by Randall Cole and starring Nick Stahl and Mia Kirshner as an unhappily married couple who are unknowingly stalked by an intruder. It premiered at the 2011 To ...

'', '' The Philly Kid'', and '' A Resurrection''. In 2010, Sawa portrayed the role of Owen Elliott on

action drama series '' Nikita''. In July 2012, he was promoted to series regular in the third season of ''Nikita''; the show ended after four seasons in 2013. In 2017, Sawa portrayed the role of Nico Jackson in '' Somewhere Between''; the show ended after one season. Sawa appeared as Lester Clark Jr. in '' Escape Plan: The Extractors''. In 2019, he starred in the thriller '' The Fanatic'', where he played Hunter Dunbar, an actor who is stalked by a character named Moose. The movie was directed by

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

vocalist Fred Durst.

Personal life

Sawa is married to Canadian producer Dawni Sahanovitch. They wed in 2013. They have two children together, a son born in 2014 and a daughter born in 2016. Sawa has described himself as being

irreligious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and anti ...

, an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and supportive of

religious freedoms Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

. In June 2022, Sawa gave a lengthy interview to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', where he said that he sought out roles in which the character smoked marijuana to help get away from his teen heartthrob status which began with ''Casper''. Sawa also said that between 2004 and 2009, he "drank a lot" until going sober after meeting his wife in Vancouver.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawa, Devon 1978 births 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male child actors Canadian male film actors Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian atheists Living people Male actors from Vancouver