TV’s most consistently and infamously naked Canadian has struck again, but this time you don’t need premium cable to see it.
Anna Paquin and co-stars Stephen Moyer (her real-life fiance) and Alexander Skarsgard appear on this week’s Rolling Stone magazine completely nude and splattered with blood.
Of course, most relevant parts are fairly strategically covered — for the most part — but the magazine is sure to incur some reaction for the shot.
Edmonton-born TV star Jill Hennessy is working on an album called “Ghost in My Mind.”
“I know there’s going to be a lot of skepticism,” Hennessy to the QMI Agency, via the Toronto Star. “People will say, ‘Oh, it’s a TV actress with a vanity project.’”
Hey, how did she know we’d say that? Seriously, we love Jill’s venture back into music, and her return to Edmonton makes her our Canadian of the Week!
“Not many people know that I actually started off as a musician. I would play on the streets in Toronto for money,” she continued. “Music’s basically where my heart has always been, to be honest. I was just lucky that acting took off. Music provides me with much more profound and personal satisfaction.”
She goes on to explain that she’s been working on the album for more than four years, and started it while she was filming “Crossing Jordan.” The songs are based on experiences from her life from 2005 to 2007, including one situation “of extreme loss.”
In an ideal world, Hennessy says she’d have a full-fledged music career on her hands. But she knows acting is what puts food on the table.
She’ll be playing the Edmonton Music Festival this weekend.
Check out Jill performing “Ghost in My Head” on QTV right here:
Editor’s note: Our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season continues with No. 5, whose particular brand of TV stardom is best served by “Scara,” who runs GhoulsonFilm.net, a tremendous site for ladies and by ladies who happen to be fans of horror films and TV.
Now, let’s sink our teeth into our choice for No. 5…
By Scara
Special to Canadian of the Week
Few of TV’s Top Canadians talents are so readily visible as Anna Paquin’s – who comes in a at No. 5 on our list.
Everyone’s favorite star of “True Blood” brings a special perkiness to the part of Sookie Stackhouse, the sunny lover of those who can’t go out in the day. You’ve got to hand it to this Winnipegger, she has done things onscreen that would make the average actress shiver with fear. Maybe it’s the hearty Canadian blood coursing through her veins that keeps her warm during her ever-increasing nude scenes. Or her northern pluck that allows her to go that extra mile when outrunning a Maenad, shooting a werewolf, giving advice to a newborn vampire and delivering lines like “BEEEEELLLLLLL.”
While not everyone is a fan of Paquin’s attempts at a traditional Louisiana accent, no one can deny that she has made the character of Sookie her own and fully embraced the campy aspects of the show including some thoroughly outlandish sex scenes. She claims those scenes are no big deal when the one you’re embracing is your fiancé. A fact she joked about to the Huffington Post:
“I’m really close with all of our cast, and we’ve all seen each other in various compromising and odd situations,” she told them when asked about her scandalous sex scenes. “I think that one great bonus is we don’t need a fluffer.”
Editor’s note: Getting back to our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season, we check in at No. 6, which is brought to us by a big fan of “Smallville” and, in particular, Canadian actress Erica Durance.
If you hadn’t figured it out yet, No. 6 is Calgary’s own Erica Durance. Here’s why…
By Nadia Costa
Special to Canadian of the Week
Erica Durance has been playing the iconic Lois Lane on “Smallville” for the past six years, and her growth has been clear to see. Over the years, Durance has earned praise for her professionalism and the great understanding she has for the character she is portraying. Lois has been on an amazing journey and Erica has done a great job playing her.
Previous choices: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
9. Graham Yost (“Justified” and “The Pacific”)
8. Pamela Anderson (“Dancing with the Stars”)
7. Howie Mandel (“America’s Got Talent”)
Last season, for the first time, Erica had the most screen time on the show (second only to star Tom Welling’s Clark Kent). Lois finally got a chance to shine and, boy, did she deliver. Lois Lane was linked to every major storyline, from the materialization of Zod’s evil plans to the emergence of Checkmate. Having Lois at the forefront gave “Smallville” a new lease of life. The Lois-centric episode, “Idol” was an instant fan favorite, achieving higher ratings than the season premiere. Not many shows have the ability to keep things fresh for its fans but in its ninth season, “Smallville” pulled it off.
Portraying a character as complex as Lois Lane isn’t an easy task. One minute she’s the Army brat fighting bad guys and the next she’s the woman with a crush on Clark Kent’s alter ego, “The Blur.” Erica has truly shown her versatility, which is why this girl from Calgary, Alberta, can easily be regarded as one of TV’s Top Canadians.
Canadian of the Week is not typically a website that talks about itself in the third person, but Canadian of the Week has mixed feelings about today’s Emmy nominations.
There were certainly some highlights, and a solid group of Canadians earned themselves well deserved nominations. But there were a couple of snubs that Canadian of the Week cannot let stand.
Saskatchewan’s Evangeline Lilly, after six seasons of snubbery from the Emmy voters, ended her run on “Lost” unrecognized one last time despite a fabulous turn in the show’s final season. Always a central figure in the “Lost” narrative, Lilly’s Kate was full of twists and turns in the last season, both back on the island and in the “alternate timeline” as she tried to do right by Claire while still running from the law.
Perhaps we’re thinking more with our heart here than with our critical eye for television, but the overlooking of Winnipeg’s Anna Paquin on “True Blood” can’t be overlooked. The show was nominated for Best Drama, overcoming Emmy’s general distaste for vampires, but bubkis for Paquin and co-star Stephen Moyer. (Don’t worry, Anna. Once we get around to finishing our Top 10 Canadians of the TV season, you’ll be pleased).
Now to the good news.
The best story to come out of this year’s nominations, as far as COTW is concerned, is the record set by “Saturday Night Live.” The brainchild of Torontoan Lorne Michaels hauled in 13 nominations, giving it 126 over its 35-year history and making it the most nominated show in Emmy history, surpassing “ER.”
“We’ve been on a long time, and the nice part about being on a long time is you are going to break some records,” Michaels told The New York Times. When the reporter told him he didn’t have to be modest, Michaels said, “Well, it’s the Canadian part of me.”
That’s why we’re here, Lorne.
More Canadians were earned Emmy nods were:
Martin Short for his eye-catching dramatic role on “Damages”
Catherine O’Hara for her role in HBO’s “Temple Gradin”
Director Jeremy Podeswa, who co-directed the eighth installment of “The Pacific”
Funnyman Dave Foley, who landed a voiceover nomination for his role in Disney’s “Prep & Landing.”
Choreographer Stacey Tookey, whose routine, “Fear,” on “So You Think You Can Dance,” was danced by Kathryn and Legacy to Patti LaBelle’s “2 Steps Away.” (Editor’s note: Canadian of the Week will always have a soft spot for Stacey Tookey, who was the first star to give us an interview).
Finally, we’ll give Calgary’s Cory Monteith some love for his contribution to “Glee’s” astounding 19 Emmy nominations, including one for Best Comedy and another for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy
Don’t fret, the FCC is alright with it. Leave it to Canadian funnyman Howie Mandel, though, to ask the question that really everyone wanted to have answered when singer Hannibal stepped onto the stage with, well, a cock on his head.
Hannibal, an eccentric operatic vocalist who managed to make it past the first round of the “America’s Got Talent” auditions hit the Las Vegas stage in the second round of the auditions with a homemade, colorful robe and a hat with a rooster on it that he said symbolized “a new dawn.” (We’ll take it as coincidence that his performance followed one by another singer who calls himself Prince Poppycock. Isn’t this meant to be family entertainment?)
Check out the clip below. Move to 3:30 into the clip for Hannibal and his cock hat.
The countdown of the TV’s Top Canadians of the 2009-10 season continues. And, yes, we’re a few days late in getting entry No. 7 up onto the site, but is anyone really setting their watch by Canadian of the Week? Really?
Coming in at No. 7 on our list is America’s favorite Canadian germaphobe. Howie Mandel has had himself quite the resurgence in the last few years with a hosting gig on “Deal Or No Deal” getting things jump-started.
This summer, though, the hairless Howie fills the recently vacated seat of the finely coiffed David Hasselhoff on “America’s Got Talent.” The selection of Howie completes a judges’ table that is made of two Brits and a Canadian, meaning America may have talent, but it apparently lacks the capacity to judge talent.
The pick was a wise one, though, as Howie has brought new life to the show. He’s genuinely funny, his observations are unique and he replaces The Hoff, who seemed to think the show was more about him than about the performers on the stage trying to catch a break and a $1 million performing contract.
Check out this clip, in which Howie talks about the show’s wildest acts:
If having the best match at a WWE Pay Per View event was a reason to name someone the Canadian of the Week, Chris Jericho’s mantle would be littered with the diamond-studded, gold-plated COTW plaques we send out.
Note: Those plaques absolutely do not exist.
So what put Mr. Jericho over the top this week? It was the pairing of his show-stealing match against up-and-comer Evan Bourne at WWE’s “Fatal 4 Way” event on Sunday followed by his engaging effort as the host of the new ABC game show “Downfall” on Tuesday.
And while Jericho isn’t as surefooted with his new hosting duties as he is while performing his trademark Lionsault or Codebreaker wrestling maneuvers, he makes up for it with his genuine enthusiasm and natural charisma. He also manages to strike a good balance between portraying the excitement of winning valuable prizes and the ridiculousness of a giant conveyor belt that launches prizes off of a 100-foot building.
Mr. Jericho, your plaque is in the mail. (No, it totally isn’t.)
If Jay-Z didn’t accurately predict the “Death of Auto-Tune,” it’s as good as dead now.
Last night, everyone’s favorite Canadian game show host Alex Trebek introduced a new category on “Jeopardy”: Alex Meets Auto-Tune.
The clues from the category were “sung” by Trebek with some technological assistance.
We here at Canadian of the Week love us some Trebek, but when any trend hits “Jeopardy,” you know it’s over. It’s a couple of steps beyond when a trend like “sexting” or Twitter hits CBS dramas like “CSI,” “NCIS” or “The Good Wife.”
Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images North America
Pay no attention to the man in the photo. Well, that’s usually the case, anyway.
You likely don’t recognize his face because he typically is the man behind the proverbial curtain, but trust me when I tell you that Graham Yost has had a hell of a TV season, and that’s why he’s the No. 9 choice in our countdown of the Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season.
Previous choice: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
The 50-year-old Toronto native snuck up on everyone by giving FX its latest bona fide hit in “Justified” midseason. The testosterone-fueled cop drama stars Timothy Olyphant as a U.S. marshal reassigned from beautiful Miami to his old stomping grounds of Kentucky.
It received “universal acclaim,” with most TV critics roundly praising the show, on metacritic.com. Matt Roush of TV Guide called “Justified” “the best new series, network or cable, of the midseason,” and Jonathan Storm of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that it is “an instant entrant in the best-new-show sweepstakes in a TV season that already has several solid candidates.”
If that wasn’t enough, Yost also co-wrote and directed an episode of the HBO miniseries, “The Pacific,” which also won universal acclaim and is sure to rake in some awards later this year.
Without giving away too much, I’ll tell you now that Yost’s contribution to fine television this season earns him the distinction of being the only “behind-the-camera” personality on our Top 10 list.
If you’re into watching tremendous TV, check out the season finale of “Justified” here:
TV’s most consistently and infamously naked Canadian has struck again, but this time you don’t need premium cable to see it.
