Canadian actors/actresses recipients of Governor General’s lifetime achievement awards

#NAC; #GGPAAF; #VéritéFilms; #GovGenOfCanada’ #LifetimeAchievementAward

Ottawa/Canadian-Media: The National Arts Centre (NAC), in partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (GGPAAF) and Vérité Films, presented Governor General’s lifetime achievement awards Canadians whose accomplishments have both inspired and enriched the cultural life of Canadians.

The bilingual show, shot in spectacular outdoor locations across Canada was broadcast Friday on CBC, after a nearly two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring recorded segments and performances from across the country and celebrating the extraordinary achievements of 2021 film, television, and stage actor and activist Tantoo Cardinal; philanthropist Lynda Hamilton; composer Alexina Louie; choreographer, dancer, instructor, philosopher and writer Zab Maboungou; actor and writer Catherine O’Hara; actor, producer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and activist Ryan Reynolds; and singer-songwriter and guitarist Florent Vollant.

A lifetime artistic achievement award was bestowed on Cardinal, one of the most recognizable Indigenous actors in Canada. Her performance credits include roles in such films as Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall and Smoke Signals, as well as television roles on North of 60, Moccasin Flats and Stumptown.

Another lifetime recipient of the artistic achievement award was Comedic icon O’Hara, also a member of the original cast of SCTV. O’Hara’s film credits include Home Alone and Beetlejuice, Schitt’s Creek with an award-winning role of Moira Rose.

Reynolds, the star of Deadpool whose other credits include Van Wilder, The Proposal, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu, received the National Arts Centre Award.

Other lifetime artistic achievement winners include Vancouver-born composer Alexina Louie, stage and screenwriter, and Quebec-based Innu singer-songwriter Florent Vollant, who has worked extensively with Indigenous musicians, Montreal-based dancer-choreographer Zab Maboungou.

Maboungou pioneered a contemporary movement technique that draws on the rhythms of traditional Central African music and dance.

Lynda Hamilton of British Columbia, ballroom dancer and human resources consultant received the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for voluntarism in the performing arts.

Created in 1992, the awards are presented annually to “Canadians whose accomplishments have inspired and enriched the cultural life of our country,” according to a news release. Nominations are submitted by members of the public.