Bio
Deborah Kara Unger (sometimes credited as Deborah Unger) is a Canadian actress known for supporting roles in movies like Highlander III: The Final Dimension, The Game, Payback, The Hurricane, The Salton Sea and Stander, the true story of South Africa's celebrity bank robber Andre Stander.
She also had a starring role in the medical drama television series Combat Hospital, in 2011.
As the first Canadian accepted into Australia's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), this award-winning actress debuted with Russell Crowe in Prisoners of the Sun, and has co-starred in such films as David Fincher's The Game with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn; Norman Jewison's The Hurricane with Denzel Washington; Payback with Mel Gibson; David Cronenberg's Crash with James Spader (Special Jury Prize in Official Competition in Cannes); Signs and Wonders with Stellan Skarsgard and Charlotte Rampling (Best Picture Nomination, Berlin); Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen with Holly Hunter; Salton Sea with Val Kilmer; and 88 Minutes with Al Pacino.
Unger is the recipient of the Geraldine Page Best Actress Award opposite Sir Ian Mckellen in Emile, Best Actress for One Point 0 at Spain's Malaga International Film Festival, and Genie award nominations co-starring opposite Sophia Loren and Gerard Depardieu in Between Strangers, as well as with Ralph Fiennes in Istvan Szabo's Sunshine.
Her additional films include the critically-acclaimed Stander with Thomas Jane; The Weekend with Gena Rowlands (Best Ensemble at Seattle International Film Festival); Fear X with John Turturro; Bette Gordon's Luminous Motion; Love Song For Bobby Long with John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson; White Noise with Michael Keaton; Leo with Dennis Hopper and Sam Shepard; and Roger Spottiswoode's Rwandan genocide film Shake Hands with the Devil with Canada's esteemed Roy Dupuis.
Uriger can also be seen in Emilio Estevez's The Way, costarring opposite Martin Sheen (which debuted in Gala Selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival); The Maiden Danced to Death (shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond); Transparency; Samuel Bleak; Sophie; and City of Gardens.
In 2011, Unger appeared in Silent Hill: Revelation 3D with Carrie-Anne Moss and Malcolm McDowell, and The Samaritan with Samuel Jackson.
In television, Unger made her debut in the award-winning series Bangkok Hilton starring Nicole Kidman; appeared in David Lynch's Hotel Room; and played Ava Gardner in HBO's The Rat Pack opposite Ray Liotta and Don Cheadle.
Deborah Kara Unger was the 2010 recipient of the Action On Film Festival Achievement Award, and has been honored with the Imagery Award at Cinema Epicurea, the Vladivostok Award of Excellence at Russia's VIFF, and the Dubrovnik International Film Festival's Libertae Award [for her commitment to the Spirit of Independence in Film].
In 2010, Unger became the first female recipient of a star on the Walk of Fame at Europe's prestigious Oldenburg International Film Festival.