Deborah Kara Unger (born 12 May 1966) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' Highlander III: The Sorcerer'' (1994), '' Crash'' (1996), '' The Game'' (1997), '' Payback'' (1999), '' The Hurricane'' (1999), ''

White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...

'' (2005), ''

Silent Hill is a horror media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four main games—'' Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', '' Silent Hill 3'', and '' Silent Hill 4: The ...

'' (2006), '' 88 Minutes'' (2008) and '' The Way'' (2010).

Early life

Deborah Kara Unger was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada to a nuclear disposal specialist mother and a

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

father. She was the first Canadian to be accepted into

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

Career

Upon graduation Unger found steady work in

n films and television series, including ''

Bangkok Hilton ''Bangkok Hilton'' is a three-part Australian mini-series made in 1989 by Kennedy Miller Productions and directed by Ken Cameron. The title of the mini-series is the nickname of a fictional Bangkok prison in which the main protagonist (Nicole ...

'' with

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

. Following her return to North America in the early 1990s she appeared in

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's 1993

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

mini-series ''

Hotel Room ''Hotel Room'' (sometimes referred to as ''David Lynch's Hotel Room'') is an American drama anthology series that aired for three episodes on HBO on January 8, 1993, with a rerun the next night. Created by Monty Montgomery and David Lynch (who ...

'', and a year later appeared in '' Highlander III: The Sorcerer'' opposite

Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957), commonly known as Christopher Lambert, is a French-American actor, producer, and writer. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally f ...

. Unger's breakthrough role came in

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...

's 1996 erotic drama '' Crash'', about a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents, a notable form of

paraphilia A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...

. Unger followed up her performance in ''Crash'' by starring with

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

in the psychological thriller '' The Game'', directed by

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

. In 1998 she played

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

in HBO's ''

The Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...

'', and in 1999 she appeared in '' Payback'' with

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

, '' The Hurricane'' with

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

and the award-winning ensemble drama ''

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

''. Unger appeared in many independent films in the early 2000s, such as ''

Signs and Wonders Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be miraculous as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern charismatic movements and Pentecostalism. This ...

'', '' Ten Tiny Love Stories'', '' Fear X'', ''

Thirteen Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

'', '' Stander'', ''

Hollywood North Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the cities T ...

'', '' Emile'', '' Paranoia 1.0'' and ''

A Love Song for Bobby Long ''A Love Song for Bobby Long'' is a 2004 American psychological drama film directed and written by Shainee Gabel, based on the novel ''Off Magazine Street'' by Ronald Everett Capps. It stars John Travolta as the title character, an aging alcoho ...

''. She played a leading role opposite

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

and

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born ) is an American actress. She rose to stardom with her performance as a prostitute in the comedy film ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995), which won her both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Academy Award for Best S ...

in the 2002 independent movie '' Between Strangers'', about three women who confront their pasts which changes their futures, for which she was nominated on Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. From 2005 to 2010, Unger appeared in ''

'', '' Things That Hang from Trees'', ''

The Alibi ''The Alibi'' is a 2006 American film directed by Kurt Mattila and Matt Checkowski and written by Noah Hawley. It stars Steve Coogan, Rebecca Romijn, and Selma Blair. The film was shown at 2006 CineVegas. The film was released to DVD on Decemb ...

'', ''

'', '' 88 Minutes'', ''

Walled In ''Walled In'' is a 2007 Canadian horror- thriller film directed and co-written by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and starring Mischa Barton, Cameron Bright, and Deborah Kara Unger. The film is based on the best-selling French novel ''Les Emmurés'' b ...

'', '' Messages Deleted'' and '' The Way''. She also appeared in the music video for " Jesus of Suburbia" by American rock band

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

. In 2011, she took a starring role in the television series ''

Combat Hospital ''Combat Hospital'' is a medical drama television series, filmed in Toronto, that debuted on Global in Canada and ABC in the United States on June 21, 2011. Its final episode was broadcast on September 6, 2011. The series was known for a time ...

'', and in 2012 reprised her role as

Dahlia Gillespie The survival horror video games series ''Silent Hill'' features a large cast of characters. The games' player characters are " everymen", in contrast to action-oriented survival horror video game series featuring combat-trained player characte ...

in the horror film sequel '' Silent Hill: Revelation''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Interview with Deborah Kara Unger on Eurochannel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Deborah Kara 1966 births Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Living people Actresses from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses