Ellen Muth

Ellen Muth

Muth close up, with her eyes looking to one side, and her blonde hair filling most of the image.

Muth in April 2007
Born Ellen Anna Muth
(1981-03-06) March 6, 1981
Milford, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1995–present

Ellen Anna Muth[1] /ˈmjuːθ/[2] (born March 6, 1981) is an American actress, known for her role as George Lass in Showtime's series Dead Like Me.

Early Life

Muth was born in Milford, Connecticut, the daughter of Rachel and Erich Muth.[3]

In 2004, Muth was a member of Intertel and Mensa. She has attended the Skip Barber Racing School.[2]

Career

After a brief stint as a model with Ford Models and Rascal's Agency, Muth pursued a career in acting, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City, and getting her first professional experience doing commercials in 1993.[4] Her first major role was in the 1995 film Dolores Claiborne. She followed that with a role in the eighth season premiere of Law & Order.[5]

Muth's appearance as the daughter in the 1999 film The Young Girl and the Monsoon prompted the following review by Stephen Holden of The New York Times:[6]

Ellen Muth, a 19-year-old actress who looks considerably younger, virtually explodes in the role of Constance, the volatile 13-year-old only child of divorced parents. An emotional powder keg who one minute can be as clinging as a baby and the next delights in cruelly demolishing the nearest grownup with laser-like sarcasm, Constance is a flailing mood swing on a circuitous warpath. The film ... crackles dangerously to life whenever Constance (who narrates the film) is on the screen with her father Hank (Terry Kinney).

In 2000, her work included appearances in episodes of The Beat and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as a role in The American Collection adaptation of "Cora Unashamed", a short story by Langston Hughes from his 1934 collection The Ways of White Folks.[7] Muth also had a guest role in "Don't Ask", the original unaired pilot episode of the 2000 Fox show eventually airing as Normal, Ohio, but the show was revamped, resulting in the elimination of her role.[8] This same year, Muth played the lead in the Lifetime Original Movie The Truth About Jane, about a high school girl's struggle with her sexuality and acceptance.

Muth's most widely known work was as the star of the 2003–04 Showtime television series Dead Like Me, where she played Georgia "George" Lass, the protagonist and one of a team of reapers led by Rube, played by Mandy Patinkin.

Muth's next roles were lower in profile. She appeared in Jack 'n' Jill, a 2007 MFA thesis film.[9] She voiced the character of Addie Vost in the first animated short of Tofu the Vegan Zombie[10] and a character in the audio dramatization "Anne Manx in the Empress Blair Project".[11] In September 2008 she joined three other actors at the Theatre Artist Workshop in Norwalk, Connecticut in a reading of Fleece the Flock, an original musical comedy in development and directed by Joel Vig.[12]

After some delay, Dead Like Me: Life After Death a film directed by Stephen Herek, based on Dead Like Me, and featuring many members of the show's cast, was released direct-to-video in March 2009.[13]

In 2012 Muth returned to the big screen in the romantic comedy Margarine Wars alongside Robert Loggia and Doris Roberts. The film debuted in Los Angeles on March 29, 2012.[14]

Muth made a guest appearance in two episodes of the first season of the TV series Hannibal, produced by Bryan Fuller, the creator of Dead Like Me.[15][16]

Awards and nominations

Muth was one of two actresses who shared a best supporting actress award at the 1995 Tokyo International Film Festival, recognition Muth earned for her screen debut in Dolores Claiborne.[17] In 1999 she won the American Film Institute (AFI) Best Actress Award for The Young Girl and the Monsoon.

In 2004, Muth was nominated twice for Dead Like Me. This included a Saturn Award nomination in the Best Actress in a Television Series category. She was nominated for a Satellite Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama series.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Dolores Claiborne Young Selena St. George Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999 Young Girl and the Monsoon, TheThe Young Girl and the Monsoon Constance AFI Award for Best Actress
2001 Rain Jenny
2002 Gentleman's Game, AA Gentleman's Game Mollie Kilduff
2007 Tofu the Vegan Zombie in Zombie Dearest Addie Vost Short film
2008 Jack N Jill Jill Short film
2009 Dead like Me: Life After Death George Lass Video
2011 Rose and Violet Rose Short film
2012 Margarine Wars Katie Trumbull
Rudyard Kipling's Mark of the Beast Natalie

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Law & Order Adele Green Episode: "Thrill"
1998 Only Love Rachel TV film
2000 Beat, TheThe Beat Jacqueline Hutchinson Episode: "The Beat Goes On"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Elaine Harrington Episode: "Chat Room"
Truth About Jane, TheThe Truth About Jane Jane TV film
Normal, Ohio Dana Le Tour Original pilot
Cora Unashamed Jessie at 18 TV film
2002 Superfire Jill Perkins TV film
Two Against Time Emma Portman TV film
2003–2004 Dead Like Me Georgia "George" Lass Lead role (29 episodes)
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
2012 Are We There Yet? Episode: "The Inappropriate Website Episode"[18]
2013 Hannibal Georgia Madchen Guest (2 episodes)

References

  1. ↑ Ellen Muth at the Internet Movie Database
  2. 1 2 Moore, Scott (August 22, 2004). "Ellen Muth Is Reaping Life's Rewards". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  3. ↑ "Ellen Muth Biography". Film Reference. NetIndustries. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  4. ↑ "The Official Ellen Muth Website – Biography". Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  5. ↑ "Episode Guide > Season 8, Episode 1 ("Thrill") > Cast List". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  6. ↑ Holden, Stephen (May 4, 2001). "Film in Review:The Young Girl and the Monsoon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  7. ↑ "Cora Unashamed". PBS. October 2000. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  8. ↑ "Episode Summary > Season 1, Episode 1 ("Don't Ask")". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-07-14. From the story of two roommates (LaPaglia and Goodman) – one straight and one gay – dealing with their sons, the storyline was changed to "gay man returns home after coming out of the closet and running away to LA". There was major recasting and some characters were dumped.
  9. ↑ "Jack and Jill production photos ©2007". Kahlil Hudson. September 2007.
  10. ↑ "Students at the Dave School Created Tofu the Vegan Zombie". 3Dup.com. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  11. ↑ "Radio Repertory Company of America". Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  12. ↑ Gans, Andrew (August 15, 2008). "Stevens, Poarch, Muth and Wheat to Be Part of Fleece the Flock Reading". Playbill. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  13. ↑ "DVD – Dead Like Me: Life After Death". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  14. ↑ "Margarine Wars, A Romantic Comedy, Goes Hollywood With The LA Premiere" (Press release). PR Web. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  15. ↑ "Milford actress Ellen Muth to make guest appearance on new TV thriller". The Milford Mirror. 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  16. ↑ Hannibal S01E10 March 30, 2013 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2373019/
  17. ↑ "History - 8th Tokyo International Film Festival". Tokyo International Film Festival. The Best Supporting Actress Award: Ellen Muth (Dolores Claiborne) and Gledys Ibarra (Sicario – Assassin for Hire)
  18. ↑ "The Inappropriate Website Episode". Are We There Yet?. Season 3. Episode 40.

External links

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