Alison Bruce
| Alison Bruce | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1962 (age 53–54) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1986 - present |
Alison Bruce (born 1962) is a New Zealand television and movie actress, who starred in 1999 feature Magik and Rose. International viewers may know her for her parts in teen series Being Eve and guest roles on Xena: Warrior Princess.
Life and career
Bruce was born in Tanzania to a Scottish father and an English mother. Her family moved to New Zealand when she was around eight.[1] After training at Auckland's Theatre Corporate in the early 1980s, she began a busy acting career with stage roles that include starring in Hamlet (as Ophelia) and Cyrano de Bergerac (as Roxane).
Bruce made her screen debut in 1984 teleplay The Minders. Since then she has acted in more than 30 screen roles, including sizeable parts in two feature films: 1990 chase comedy User Friendly, in which her character steals a keenly-sought dog statue from a crazed former boss; and 2001 feature Magik and Rose, which Bruce later described as a turning point in terms of the type of roles she is offered.[2] The comedy-drama saw Bruce playing Magik, a fortune-teller who arrives in a Kiwi town in a house-truck, seeking the daughter she gave up for adoption many years before.
Bruce also acted in based-on-a-true-story feature The World's Fastest Indian (as a doctor) and short film Mon Desir, which was selected to play in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
Television
Bruce's television roles include the eccentric mother of Eve, the main character in award-winning series Being Eve, and the hospital personal assistant who falls pregnant in Mercy Peak. The latter part would win Bruce two consecutive New Zealand television awards for best supporting actor. She also had a number of small roles on the Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys franchise, including playing an Amazon Queen (Queen Melosa). Bruce enjoyed the chance to take part in fight scenes, and "do all this stuff you normally don't get to do in television".[3]
More recently she played estranged mother to a family of gods in television series The Almighty Johnsons, and worked with New Zealand director Jane Campion on 2012 series Top of the Lake.
References
- ↑ "Alison Bruce". NZOnScreen.com. December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ↑ "Alison Bruce: on Being Eve, Hercules and Agnetha". NZOnScreen.com. February 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ↑ "An Interview with Alison Bruce". Whoosh.org. May 1998. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Heroes | Glenda | Episode: "2.2" |
| 1987 | Adventurer | Sovay Banks | TV movie |
| 1990 | User Friendly | Augusta | Feature Film |
| 1990 | Shark in the Park | Christina Long | Episode: "Fall from Grace" |
| 1990 | Star Runner | TV movie | |
| 1990 | An Angel at My Table | Dora | Mini-Series/Feature Film |
| 1991 | Mon Desir | Short Film | |
| 1991 | Old Scores | Ngaire Morgan | TV Movie |
| 1991 | End of the Golden Weather, TheThe End of the Golden Weather | Auntie Kass | Feature Film |
| 1992 | Rainbow Warrior, TheThe Rainbow Warrior | Leslie Holbrook | |
| 1992 | Alex | Female Journalist | Feature Film |
| 1995 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Queen Melosa | Episode: "Hooves and Harlots" |
| 1995 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Postera | Episode: "Gladiator" |
| 1998 | Chosen, TheThe Chosen | Denise | TV Mini-Series |
| 1998 | City Life | Katherine Dwyer | Episode: "1.15" Episode: "1.24" |
| 1998 | Shortland Street | Danni Brown / Nurse Lindsay Maguire | TV Series |
| 1998–1999 | Young Hercules | Simula | 6 episodes |
| 1999 | Willy Nilly | Carol | Short film |
| 1999 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Talia | Episode: "Animal Attraction" |
| 2000 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Kahina | Episode: "Legacy" |
| 2001 | Magik and Rose | Magik | Feature Film |
| 2001–2002 | Mercy Peak | Louise Duval | 27 episodes |
| 2001–2002 | Being Eve | Vivienne Baxter | 21 episodes |
| 2003 | Sylvia | Elizabeth | Feature Film |
| 2004 | As Dreams Are Made On | Ruth | Short film |
| 2004 | Spooked | Sheila Miller | Feature Film |
| 2005 | World's Fastest Indian, TheThe World's Fastest Indian | Doctor | Feature Film |
| 2005 | Us | Woman | Short film |
| 2006 | Perfect Creature | TV presenter | Feature Film |
| 2006 | Maddigan's Quest | Witch-Finder | Episode: "Witch-Finder" |
| 2007 | Reckless Behavior: Caught on Tape | Grace Leister | TV movie |
| 2007 | Tattooist, TheThe Tattooist | Charge Nurse | Feature Film |
| 2009 | Life's a Riot | Nell Edmonds | TV Movie |
| 2010 | Legend of the Seeker | Sister Verna | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | This Is Not My Life | Jude | 9 episodes |
| 2010 | Avalon High | Coach Miganov | TV movie |
| 2011–2012 | Almighty Johnsons, TheThe Almighty Johnsons | Agnetha | 8 episodes |
Awards
Bruce won the New Zealand Screen Awards Best Performance in a Short Film award in 2006, for her role in James Blick relationship drama Us, and won in the category Best Supporting Actress for Mercy Peak in 2002 and 2003.