Sheila McCarthy

Sheila McCarthy

Birth : 1956-01-01, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

History

Sheila McCarthy is a Canadian stage, film and television actress, singer and dancer, best known for playing Polly Vandersma in the feature film I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, as well as supporting character Sarah Hamoudi (Cunningham) in the television series Little Mosque on the Prairie. She's a graduate in Theatre and Art History from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. In her career, she's won 2 Genie Awards (film), 2 Gemini Awards (television), and 2 Dora Awards (theater), along with multiple nominations.

Profile

Sheila McCarthy
Sheila McCarthy

Movies

The Middle Man
Mrs. Stout
Frank Farrelli takes on the job as a middle man in the God-forsaken town of Karmack, USA, a community in a depression so deep that they need a middle man to professionally communicate more of the bad news.
Women Talking
Greta
A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.
Christmas in Rockwell
Juniper
A famous Hollywood actress returns to her hometown where she is enlisted to participate in a Christmas play which threatens her small peaceful village with the chaos of Hollywood.
Tenth Generation
Auntie
In a 1960s Maternity Home, a young pregnant woman comes into conflict with a nun when she decides that she does not want to give her baby up for adoption.
Like a House on Fire
Katherine
Dara returns home to reconnect with her husband and her young daughter, whom she left two years earlier. When she arrives, she discovers that a woman who is seven months pregnant has taken her place and that her daughter no longer recognizes her.
Happy Place
Joyce
"Welcome to the zoo," Samira is advised as she’s admitted to an in-patient care facility in the wake of a suicide attempt. As she slowly familiarizes herself with her fellow residents and their idiosyncratic traits, a makeshift community takes shape.
The Broken Hearts Gallery
Cheryl Gulliver
Lucy is a young gallery assistant who collects mementos from her relationships. She discovers that she must let go of her past to move forward, and comes up with a lovely, artistic way to help herself and others who have suffered heartbreak.
Anything for Jackson
Audrey Walsh
A bereaved Satanist couple kidnap a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spellbook to put their dead grandson's spirit into her unborn child, but they end up summoning more than they bargained for.
The Christmas Club
Miss Maggie
Two busy strangers meet when they help an elderly woman find her lost Christmas savings. Thanks to fate and Christmas magic, they also find something they were both missing: true love.
Christmas 9 to 5
Rose Stark
Jennifer is a tough crime beat reporter who gets the assignment of her life: to find the true meaning of Christmas. When she goes undercover in a department store as a 9 to 5 sales clerk from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, she finds her true calling and meets the man of her dreams. It's a Christmas she will never forget.
An Assortment of Christmas Tales in No Particular Order
Ellen
Directed dy Chris Agoston, Clara Altimas, Nabil Badine, Neil Huber
Isabelle
Ann Pelway
A young couple's dream of starting a family shatters as they descend into the depths of paranoia and must struggle to survive an evil presence that wants nothing more than their very own lives.
Level 16
Mrs. Denison
The teenage girls of Vestalis Academy are meticulously trained in the art of being “clean girls,” practicing the virtues of perfect femininity. But what exactly are they being trained for? Vivien intends to find out.
Still/Born
Sheila
Still/Born follows Mary, a new mother who lost one of her twins in childbirth. As she struggles with the loss of one of her children, she starts to suspect something sinister is after her surviving child - a supernatural entity that has chosen her child and will stop at nothing to take it from her.
Considering Love and Other Magic
Veronica
In desperate need of extra high school credits, Jessie agrees to tutor young Tommy Faber, but when the timid 14-year-old insists he hasn't left Veronica's mansion in more than half a century, Jessie knows that something's amiss.
Cardinals
Valerie Walker
When Valerie returns home from prison years after killing her neighbour in an apparent drunk driving accident, she wants nothing more than to move on - until the deceased's son shows up at her door and it becomes clear that the past is not easily forgotten.
Milton's Secret
Luz
11 year-old Milton Adams is growing up in an uncertain world. With his parents constantly stressing about their careers and finances, and the neighborhood bully tormenting him, Milton feels his whole world is in crisis. But when his Grandpa Howard comes to visit, he discovers anxiety about the past and worrying about the future only make things worse and prevent him from finding true happiness moment to moment.
Brace for Impact
Faradee Gilchrist
When disgraced Flight Crash Investigator Sofia Gilchrist's brother dies in the crash of a plane she was supposed to be on, Sofia breaks protocol and secretly begins investigating the crash.
Ice Girls
Aunt Ginger
A figure skater is injured during a competition. A coach that hired her then helps her rehab her injury so that she may live her dream.
A Fighting Man
Rose O'Connor
Two men meet in the ring for a fight that will change their lives.
Algonquin
Rita
A father-son camping expedition runs aground on misfortune and family secrets.
Dear Viola
Peggy
Kellie Martin plays an accountant who submits a reply to a "dear viola" letter to the editor that she works for, as an accountant. She has a real knack for writing to people and getting to the heart of the matter, and soon the whole town is involved in the romantics.
Antiviral
Dev Harvey
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.
Year of the Carnivore
Mrs. Smalls
YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE is a romantic-comedy-drama about a girl with an unrequited crush on a boy who thinks she's bad in bed, so she goes out to get more 'experience'. SAMMY SMALLS is a 21-year-old tomboy who works as a store detective at Big Apple Food Town. Her job is to deliver shoplifters to her boss who beats them up so they never re-offend. Sammy is head over heels for scruffy street musician EUGENE ZASLAVSKY. He's perfect for her, funny, irreverent and sensitive, but the problem is, he doesn't want to be in a relationship. After a disastrous one-night stand that goes beyond the boundaries of their friendship, Eugene suggests they play the field to get more experience. Following his advice, Sammy hatches a plan catapulting her on a quest that takes her through her neighbours' bedroom, the public swimming pool, and finally to blackmailing shoplifters into giving her sex lessons in the woods behind the supermarket.
Breakfast with Scot
Miss Patterson (uncredited)
The lives of Eric, an ex hockey player, and his partner Sam, are thrown into turmoil when they are forced to take in Scot, a flamboyant 11-year-old.
The Stone Angel
Doris
The feisty aging Hagar Shipley has lived an unconventional life. Her rebellious heart has always ruled and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. Faced with her own mortality, and desperate to find solace, she goes on the run. In both the past and the present, she is forced to come to terms with the pain and pleasure, the disappointments and the exhilarations of her life.
Cow Belles
Fran Walker
In order to learn how to be responsible, two wealthy teen sisters are forced to work in the family business by their exasperated father. When company funds goes missing, it's up to the girls to save the day.
Bailey's Billion$
Peggy Delaney
Sweet and savvy talking golden retriever, Bailey, is one doggone lucky pooch when his devoted owner, Constance Pennington, leaves him her entire billion-dollar fortune. Bailey is lucky, that is, until he becomes the target of an elaborately-designed dognap scheme hatched by Constance's nasty nephew Caspar and his money-hungry wife Dolores. The despicable duo's wicked plan is to ultimately gain custody of the canine so they can get their greedy paws on his inheritance. Unfortunately for them, there's a thing or two they don't know about Bailey. Not only does he have great street smarts, he has great pals too. Bailey's loyal guardian Ted, kind-hearted animal advocate Marge, her daughter Sam, and a clever border collie named Tessa set out on a hilarious madcap adventure to free their four-legged friend and put the nasty dognappers out of business-for good!
Geraldine's Fortune
Tina Larose
Being Julia
Grace Dexter
Julia Lambert is a true diva: beautiful, talented, weathly and famous. She has it all - including a devoted husband who has mastermined her brilliant career - but after years of shining in the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young American fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortuately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life.
The Day After Tomorrow
Judith
After years of increases in the greenhouse effect, havoc is wreaked globally in the form of catastrophic hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods and the beginning of a new Ice Age. Paleoclimatologist, Jack Hall tries to warn the world while also shepherding to safety his son, trapped in New York after the city is overwhelmed by the start of the new big freeze.
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Mrs. Gerard
When the always dramatic Lola and her family move form the center of everything in New York City to the center of a cultural wasteland in suburban New Jersey, she feels her life is simply not worth living! But no matter who or what gets in the way, Lola won't give up on her life's ambition: to be a star! In a crowd-pleasing movie treat bursting with music, dance and excitement, Lola's fun-filled adventure won't be glamorous or easy, but it might just show her that real life could exceed even her wildest dreams!
Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche
Polly Vandersma (archive footage)
This compelling documentary explores Canadian film culture and tries to discover what defines Canadian film through interviews with notable filmmakers.
Full-Court Miracle
Mrs. Klein
Inspired by the true story of University of Virginia basketball star Lamont Carr, the film centers on a group of young Jewish basketball players who search for a coach to help them out of a slump. The main character Alex Schlotsky is inspired by the true story of Alex Barbag and Chad Korpeck.
The Rats
Miss Paige
A clan of evil rats overtakes a Manhattan department store and threatens to overrun the city.
Lathe of Heaven
Penny
In a near future society a man claims that his dreams physically change reality. His therapist is confused at first but soon decides to use him for his own gain. The 2002 adaptation discards a significant portion of the original plot, some essential characters, and much of the philosophical underpinnings of the book and the original PBS production. Ursula K. Le Guin disapproved of the A&E production, and stated that she found it "misguided and uninteresting".
Duct Tape Forever
Easterbrook (uncredited)
When an evil land baron's limo falls into a sinkhole outside Possum Lodge, lodge leader Red Green is ordered to pay the baron $10,000 or lose his beloved lodge forever. Red considers various money-making schemes concocted by his buddies, but it's his nerdy nephew Harold who hits on an idea that just might save their wood-smoked bacon: a duct-tape sculpture contest in Minneapolis that offers a $10,000 third-place prize.
I Was a Rat
Mrs. Tapscrew
A little boy found wandering the streets is taken in by Bob and Joan, a kindly couple. The boy is cold, wet and desperate for shelter, but Bob and Joan are perplexed by his claims that he was once a rat. Meanwhile, rumours are rife at the newspaper about the prince's new love: a girl who captivated everyone at the palace ball.
Rare Birds
Claire
A down-and-out restaurateur and his neighbor hatch a plan to lure luminaries to their small Newfoundland town.
Haven
Eva
Based on the true story of a woman named Ruth Gruber who travels to Europe to help escort 1000 Jewish War victims to the United States. She comes to love and feel sorry for them all, and fights for their rights to live in America.
Custody of the Heart
A househusband (Martin Donovan) serves his wife (Lorraine Bracco) with divorce papers and charges her with being an unfit mother.
Virtual Mom
Executive Producer
Sometimes it takes something special to bring a mother and daughter together. For thirteen year-old Lucy and her mom, Holly, it took a little magic. One day a strange computer glitch causes Holly to transform into a teenager leading to craziness, fun and ultimately true friendship.
Virtual Mom
Teleplay
Sometimes it takes something special to bring a mother and daughter together. For thirteen year-old Lucy and her mom, Holly, it took a little magic. One day a strange computer glitch causes Holly to transform into a teenager leading to craziness, fun and ultimately true friendship.
Virtual Mom
Holly
Sometimes it takes something special to bring a mother and daughter together. For thirteen year-old Lucy and her mom, Holly, it took a little magic. One day a strange computer glitch causes Holly to transform into a teenager leading to craziness, fun and ultimately true friendship.
You Know My Name
Mrs. Lynn
In six months, the population of Cromwell, Oklahoma, has climbed from 500 to 10,000. Boom times have come to the oil-rich town. So has a new breed of criminal. You Know My Name is the fact-based story of Bill Tilghman, a lawman and former partner of Wyatt Earp confronted by an emerging era when outlaws run whiskey instead of cattle and are likely to tote a tommy gun as carry a six-gun. An ideally cast Sam Elliott plays Tilghman, whose life takes on a newfangled wrinkle of its own. Tilghman makes a moving picture of his Old West exploits; and the success of that silent film, The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws, spreads his reputation like a brushfire. But that reputation may mean nothing to a thug (Arliss Howard) who hides behind a badge.
Dead Husbands
Jane Armitage
Dr. Carter Elson is a man who finds a list of men's names among his wife Alex's possessions. When Carter discovers his own name at the bottom of the list, and that some of the other names are those of dead men, he confides in his friend/agent Betty. Time is ticking as they try and figure out what the list means before his name reaches the top. Alex, a small town girl who marries the up-and-coming doctor as an entry to the social-climbing world she always coveted, is frustrated when obstacles are placed in her path. She meets two other "unhappy wives," played by Sonja Smits and Donna Pescow, and discovers a way out that may be the answer to all of her prayers. The women conspire to 'shorten the list!'
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
Jesse's Mom
Thirteen-year-old Jesse is a typical teenager who hates his teacher, Mrs. Fink. While visiting a vintage clothing shop, Jesse sees a doll that looks exactly like his dreaded teacher, and he convinces the shopkeeper to sell it to him. When Jesse accidentally pierces the doll's arm with a sewing needle, he is shocked to find Mrs. Fink with her arm in a sling the next day and gets spooked when a spot on the doll's face appears, exactly where Mrs. Fink has a mole.
The Care and Handling of Roses
Carol Doster
A fondness for old movies brings together two fortysomethings, each happily married to other people.
House Arrest
Gwenna Krupp
High-schooler Grover Beindorf and his younger sister Stacy decide that their parents, Janet and Ned, are acting childishly when they decide to divorce after 18 years of marriage, so they lock them up in the basement until they'll sort out their problems.
The Awakening
Nancy
Sara lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody and her life is an open book. Left with the care of her family home, she has trouble meeting the mortgage payments and her ex-boyfriend is the bank manager attempting to foreclose. When she takes in boarders to meet expenses, she unwittingly rents a room to an international criminal hiding out from a bounty hunter, John Flynn. When the bounty hunter shows up, the criminal takes a hike. Reluctantly admitting that he might need her help, Flynn agrees to make Sara a partner for half the bounty if they catch the missing man in time. What follows is a wild ride where Sara discovered that she is anything but boring and predictable.
The Possession of Michael D.
Jenny
When a dark force begins to destroy a couple's happiness, they turn to decides to a parapsychologist who discovers that the husband is possessed by a demon.
A Woman of Independent Means
Totsie
Bess Steed marries her childhood sweetheart in the early part of the 20th century and begins a life in the high society of Dallas, Texas. As time goes by, things do not work out as she expects. Her husband dies of influenza, and she finds that she must pick up and carry along with her life. She proves to be a strong, committed, and loving individual who attracts new loves into her life and finds that she can take good care of the old ones. Despite further tragedy in losing her oldest son, and a second marriage that is not all that she expects it to be she continues to survive as independently as she has discovered the courage to do so.
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills
Jill Lansing
About the 1989 murders of Carolco Entertainment chairman, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, who were killed by their sons, Lyle and Erik, in Beverly Hills, allegedly for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
The Lotus Eaters
Diana Kingswood
Set off the West Coast of Canada in 1965, a hip new teacher with a miniskirt and lots of ideas turns a small town upside down. The soft autumn light of Galiano Island is beautifully rendered in writer/producer Peggy Thompson's The Lotus Eaters, and that's not the only elusive element that this film has captured. In revisiting its particular time and place - the Gulf Islands of the early '60s -Thompson obviously draws on her own family experiences there. For those who share Thompson's love of Gulf Islands magic, the elements she has assembled will feel as familiar as their own childhood blanket. But there are problems at the core of this story about a family's loss of innocence.
Liza Minnelli - Live from Radio City Music Hall
Self
Liza's dynamic show made history by breaking the box-office record for Radio City. A true superstar, this all-new extravaganza stars Liza and a host of singers, dancers and musicians, performing a selection of her favorite songs by the world's greatest songwriters. Judy Garland's famous daughter shows of her remarkable voice and spunky dance moves at New York's classiest, most famous venue. Some of the selections include "Live Alone and Like It," "Teach Me Tonight," "There Is a Time," "Quiet Love," "Imagine," and "Theme From New York, New York" (Martin Scorsese's musical, which she starred in with Robert DeNiro.
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Sophie
When his mother rents their vacant room to a peculiar composer, Christoph can't believe his bad luck. But as the abrasive boarder, Ludwig Van Beethoven, begins creating his masterful 9th Symphony, Christoph is won over by the majesty of his music. This lighthearted family drama was awarded the 1993 Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program.
A Private Matter
Diane Callaghan
The true story of Romper Room host "Miss Sherri" Finkbine, who, after the devastating effects of thalidomide were discovered in the early 1960s, sparked a firestorm of controversy with her determination to obtain an abortion.
Montreal Stories
Ann Stuart
Six stories about Montreal. 1: A young housewife from Toronto samples the nightlife using basic French. 2: The tale of a painting of Montreal's first mayor, Jacques Viger. 3: During a hockey game, Madeleine tries to tell Roger she wants a divorce after forty years of marriage. 4: A visitor to a conference on pictographs arrives at the airport, where the female customs officer steals a momento from each person. 5: As she is being driven to the hospital in an ambulance after an auto accident, Sarah recalls her life. 6: At a diplomatic reception, an older woman reminisces about her grand love in Montreal.
Stepping Out
Andy
Mavis (Liza Minnelli) was a chorus line dancer on Broadway. Just as she was on the verge of getting more prominent roles, she fell in love. Her full-of-himself boyfriend moved them to Buffalo, far from the theater scene. As a musician, he plays with a band in the local clubs, often with the very talented Mavis singing at his elbow. But, they are just two bit players, mostly because of his total lack of ambition. On the side, Mavis runs a dance studio for ordinary folks. In her classes, among others, are a lovely nurse, a librarian, a lady with an overbearing husband, a lady with an unemployed son, a bossy middle aged housewife (Julie Walters) and a lone, divorced, very shy male. The studio pianist is a strong-willed senior (Shelley Winters). One day, a woman who operates a more prominent dance school in Buffalo invites Mavis and her class to perform a number in a charity dance recital.
Paradise
Sally Pike
A 10-year-old boy spends a summer in the country with a childless couple and a precocious girl.
The Soulmates: The Gift of Light
(voice)
Wicked Angris McBragg sets out to ruin Christmas by undermining the forces of good. Santa Claus abandons his workshop and Comet, his head reindeer, summons Orion and Orilla, "Soulmates" from another planet. They show the Earth folks that if they believe in themselves they can defeat the evil McBragg.
Bright Angel
Nina
In Montana, naive teenager George longs to escape from his broken home before his dysfunctional parents push him over the edge. When George meets pretty drifter Lucy, she easily convinces him and his friend Claude to join her on a road trip to Montana in hopes of breaking her brother out of jail.
Pacific Heights
Liz Hamilton
A couple works hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately one of their tenants has plans of his own.
White Room
Zelda
Norm, a confused young man, lives two lives, one in and one out of reality. One night, he witnesses the murder of rock video star Madelaine X and feels guilty, as he did nothing to prevent it. At Madelaine’s funeral, he meets a mysterious woman in black. Norm then gets a job at a news stand through a Cindy Lauper like girl called Zelda. They discuss the mystery around Madelaine’s death.
Die Hard 2
Samantha 'Sam' Coleman
Off-duty cop John McClane is gripped with a feeling of déjà vu when, on a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation’s capital, terrorists seize a major international airport, holding thousands of holiday travelers hostage. Renegade military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer plot to rescue a drug lord from justice and are prepared for every contingency except one: McClane’s smart-mouthed heroics.
Beautiful Dreamers
Molly Jessop
When the superintendent of the Canadian insane asylum, Dr. Maurice Bucke, meets poet Walt Whitman, his life and that of his wife and patients is radically changed. Like Dr. Bucke, Whitman has avant-garde ideas on the subject of mental illness. "Dreamers" is based on true events. Dr. Bucke became an important biographer of Walt Whitman.
Friends, Lovers, & Lunatics
Kathy
An artist fired from his job comes home and discovers that his wife is having an affair and that she is leaving with her lover. He then sets off in pursuit of them, but in the process runs into another woman who is on the run from her crazed lover who is chasing her as much to get his stolen motorcycle back as he is to actually find her.
George's Island
Miss Birdwood
After telling his class about the ghost of Captain Kidd and his buried treasure on George’s Island, George is placed in a foster home. George and another foster child, Bonnie, flee to the island on Halloween but when they’re followed by adults Captain Kidd’s ghost is awakened.
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Polly Vandersma
Awkward, shy and delightfully funny, Polly Vandersma is an "organizationally impaired" temporary assistant who finally gets her first permanent job at the age of 31. While she works for the curator of an art gallery, Polly narrates her own story, sharing the comical and bittersweet pretensions of the art world. At the same time, she reveals a special part of her own private world, taking the viewer to enchanted places in this quiet assault on the notion of authority everywhere.
Really Weird Tales
Ellie Hutchins
The movie consists of three odd and strange tales that each teach a different lesson.
The Marriage Bed
Lynn Reailly
Linda Griffiths stars as very pregnant Annie Graham, who's about to give birth to her third child in seven years. Annie looks back via flashbacks at how her own plans for a career got sidetracked and how her marriage suddenly went off the rails on a crazy train. At the same time she's trying to cope with a Christmas season full of inlaws, family and neighbours.. and a husband who's gone awol in order to 'find himself'.
9B
Heather
The story of a young idealistic teacher and his struggle with a class of difficult students in a northern British Columbia school.
Russet Season
Director
An offbeat apple could change the life of a young editor stuck in a relationship with the wrong guy.
The Biggest Little Ticket
The Troll
This one-hour children's television special is the story of a young girl who slips into an enchanted world of trolls and dragons and finds herself on stage in a magic theatre during a performance by some of the biggest names in children's entertainment: Robert Munsch, Fred Penner and Rockapella.