Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015) was a Canadian film and television actress. She was known for her roles as Dr. Rebecca Meyer on Buck James (1987-88), Madeline on La Femme Nikita (1997-2001) and Erin Driscoll on 24 (2004-05).

Watson was a Gemini Award (out of five total nominations) and a two-time Genie Award nominee (Best Supporting Actress, 1978, for In Praise of Older Women; Best Actress, 1997, for Shoemaker). She also shared the National Board of Review Award for Best Cast with the ensemble of Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter (1997).

Early life

Watson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1955. She grew up in Toronto with her mother Grace, a factory worker, and her brother. She began performing with a local Toronto theatre group, T.H.O.G. (Theatre House of God), of the Bathurst Street United Church, at age 15.

Watson took a workshop for the Hair musical. While at the workshop she acted in Hamlet, which was directed by René Bonnière, who later directed her in La Femme Nikita.

Career

Watson got her first role at age 19 in a CBC movie called Honor Thy Father. Early in her career she portrayed the role of Mitzi in George Kaczender's In Praise of Older Women (1978), for which she received a Genie nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A year later she received the Best Actress award at the Yorkton Film Festival for "Exposure".

Watson lived in New Jersey for eight years with her husband until they divorced. a mother who has an incestuous relationship with her son. The role was turned down by several actresses such as Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange and others. Producers at La Femme Nikita worked around her treatment and limited her appearances.

Filmography

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| rowspan="2" |1978

|In Praise of Older Women

|Mitzi

|

|-

|Power Play

|Donna

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |1979

|Exposure

|Barbara

|Short film

|-

|Stone Cold Dead

|Olivia Page

|

|-

|1980

|Virus

|Litha

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |1981

|Dirty Tricks

|Tony

|

|-

|Black Mirror

|Tina

|

|-

|1982

|'

|Susan Goodman

|

|-

|1983

|'

|Eva Cuza

|

|-

|1984

|Best Revenge

|Dinah

|

|-

|1987

|White of the Eye

|Ann Mason

|

|-

|1989

|Destiny to Order

|Thalia / Marla / Nicole

|

|-

|1991

|'

|Christine De Vera

|

|-

|1992

|Zebrahead

|Phyliss

|

|-

|1994

|Spanking the Monkey

|Susan Aibelli

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |1995

|What's His Face

|Woman

|Short film

|-

|Hackers

|Lauren Murphy

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |1996

|Shoemaker

|Anna

|

|-

|Sweet Angel Mine

|Megan

|

|-

|1997

|'

|Risa

|

|-

|1998

|Seeds of Doubt

|Jennifer Kingsley

|

|-

|1999

|'

|Nita

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |2000

|Desire

|Simone

|

|-

|Deeply

|Fiona

|

|-

| rowspan="4" |2001

|Hedwig and the Angry Inch

|Hansel's Mom

|

|-

|Chasing Cain

|Denise McGoogan

|

|-

|Tart

|Lily Storm

|

|-

|'

|Caterin

|

|-

|2002

|'

|Natalie

|

|-

| rowspan="4" |2004

|'

|Amy Morgan

|

|-

|My Brother's Keeper

|Helen Woods

|

|-

|Vendetta: No Conscience, No Mercy

|Anne Phelan

|

|-

|Some Things That Stay

|Liz Anderson

|

|-

| rowspan="3" |2006

|Citizen Duane

|Bonnie Balfour

|

|-

|Away from Her

|Dr. Fischer

|

|-

|'

|Martha Brewer

|

|-

|2007

|'

|Barbara Pratt

|

|-

|2008

|Growing Op

|Marilla

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |2009

|Helen

|Dr. Sherman

|

|-

|The Spine

|Mary Rutherford

|Short film

|}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| rowspan="2" |1980

|King of Kensington

|Mitzi

|Episode: "War and Peace"

|-

|War Brides

|Norma

|TV film

|-

|1983

|I Am a Hotel

|Suzanne

|TV short

|-

| rowspan="2" |1984

|Hill Street Blues

|Prostitute

|Episode: "Fuched Again"

|-

|Deadly Nightmares

|Jill Friedlander

|Episode: "Remembering Melody"

|-

| rowspan="3" |1985

|Murder in Space

|Dominica Mastrelli

|TV film

|-

|'

|Carla Holden

| Episode: "The Distant Fire"

|-

|Kane & Abel

|Zofia Rosnovski

|TV miniseries

|-

| rowspan="2" |1986

|Fortune Dane

|Amy Steiner

|Pilot episode

|-

|Women of Valor

|Lt. Helen Prescott

|TV film

|-

|1987

|Street Legal

|Mercedes Puentes

|Episode: "Tango Bellarosa"

|-

|1987–88

|Buck James

|Dr. Rebecca Meyer

|Main role (19 episodes)

|-

| rowspan="3" |1989

|'

|Taffy Gould

| Episode: "The Caper"

|-

|Shannon's Deal

|Terry Lomax

|TV film

|-

|Street Legal

|Maria Lopez

|Episode: "Partners and Other Strangers"

|-

| rowspan="2" |1990

|Island Son

|Nina Delaney

|Episode: "Separations"

|-

|Grand

|Andrea

|Episode: "The Return of Yale Pinhaus"

|-

|1991

|Law & Order

|Miss Hanley

|Episode: "His Hour Upon the Stage"

|-

|1992

|Law & Order

|Angela Brandt

|Episode: "Skin Deep"

|-

| rowspan="2" |1993

|Relentless: Mind of a Killer

|Ellen Giancola

|TV film

|-

|Matrix

|Marie Sands

|Episode: "Conviction of His Courage"

|-

|1994

|Jonathan Stone: Threat of Innocence

|Deborah Walsh Bradford

|TV film

|-

| rowspan="2" |1995

|'

|Lynda Tillman

|Episode: "If These Walls Could Talk"

|-

|'

|Agent Lynette Graham

| rowspan="3" |TV film

|-

| rowspan="2" |1996

|Giant Mine

|Peggy Witte

|-

|Gotti

|Victoria Gotti

|-

|1997–2001

|La Femme Nikita

|Madeline

|Main role (89 episodes)<br>Nominated - Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series

|-

|1998

|'

|Mary Bradley

|TV film

|-

|2000

|Soul Food

|Judge Olivia Delaney

|Episode: "The More Things Stay the Same"

|-

|2001

|After the Harvest

|Amelia Gare

| rowspan="5" |TV film

|-

| rowspan="2" |2002

|Guilt by Association

|Angie

|-

|Chasing Cain: Face

|Det. Denise McGoogan

|-

| rowspan="4" |2003

|'

|Amanda Knowles

|-

|Penguins Behind Bars

|Babs (voice)

|-

|Missing

|Mrs. Mastriani

|Episode: "Pilot"

|-

|Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story

|Chava Rosenfarb-Morgentaler

|TV film

|-

| rowspan="3" |2004

|Puppets Who Kill

|Judge

|Episode: "Bill Sues"

|-

|'

|Susan

|Recurring role (4 episodes)

|-

|Show Me Yours

|Toni Bane

|Recurring role (8 episodes)

|-

|2004–05

|24

|Erin Driscoll

|Regular role (13 episodes)

|-

|2005

|Million Dollar Murder

|Ted's Lawyer

|TV film

|-

| rowspan="2" |2006

|At the Hotel

|Camille

|Recurring role (4 episodes)

|-

|Angela's Eyes

|Lydia Anderson

|Recurring role (6 episodes)

|-

|2008

|'

|Minister Suzanne Fleischer

|Recurring role (10 episodes)

|-

|2010

|Heartland

|Sarah Craven

|Episode: "Where the Truth Lies"

|-

|2011–12

|Nikita

|Senator Madeline Pierce

|Recurring role (9 episodes)

|}

Bibliography

  • Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Alberta Watson". Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles: Persistence of Vision Press, 2006. pp.&nbsp;88–93. . In-depth conversation with Alberta Watson about her role as Madeline on La Femme Nikita, as well as her more recent acting experiences.

References

  • An Alberta Watson interview
  • (Wayback version)
  • Alberta Watson; Aveleyman