Ella Ballentine

**Ella Ballentine** (born July 18, 2001) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress. Ella is known for her roles in a diverse range of projects from musicals through television and film dramas to thrillers and horror.

Ballentine started her acting carrier in the 2011 Toronto stage production of *The Railway Children*, directed by Damian Cruden. She attended Mirvish Productions' open call at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where hundreds of kids showed up for the opportunity to play one of the children roles. The production was staged at the Roundhouse Park, a Ouzounian, Richard. Ballentine played the role of the youngest daughter, Francis Perks. She continued with her stage career with the leading role of Felicia in *Numbers*, a 2012 Toronto Fringe Festival play for which she received rave reviews. In 2013 she returned to Mirvish Productions to play the role of Little Cosette / Young Eponine in the highly acclaimed 25th Anniversary production of *Les Miserables*.

Ballentine's film acting debut occurred in *Baby's First Christmas' for Hallmark Channel in 2012 where she played Kate, one of the main characters. The TV movie was directed by Jonathan Wright, and featured Casper Van Dien, Rachel Wilson, Natalie Lisinska (who she reunited with in the *Good Stars*), and Noah Cappe. This movie was followed in 2013 by the role of Jennifer in Atom Egoyan's feature,* The Captive*, an official selection for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The same year Ella shared the screen with Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows and Christopher Heyerdahl, in* The Calling*, a feature film directed by Jason Stone. Ballentine played Clara in her next role with costars Emmanuelle Vaugier, Richard Ruccolo, and Eva Link in a 2013 Lifetime movie,* Clara's Deadly Secre*t**, directed by Andrew C. Erin.*

In her first feature lead, Ballentine co-starred with Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane in writer, Adam Alleca's directorial debut, *Standoff*. The movie was shot on a farm in rural Ontario in 2014, and released in 2015. The same year Ballentine played the co-lead in a family feature, *Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti*, directed by Richard Boddington. The movie originally intended as Direct-to-video release but it opened in theatres across the United States.

Ballentine was selected to play the role of Anne Shirley in a 2015 Television film adaptation of the classic Canadian novel *Anne of Green Gables* written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The first instalment named, *L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables* previewed in Canada on YTV, on February 15, 2016. PBS purchased the rights of the movie for the Unites States. The movie also received distribution deals across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.Corus Entertainment that were both shot in 2016 with Ballentine as Anne, Martin Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert, Sara Botsford as Marilla Cuthbert, Julia Lelonde as Diana Barry, and Drew Haytaoglu as Gilbert Blyth. All three episodes were directed by John Kent Harrison.

Back in 2015 Ella also landed the role of Lizzy in writer/director, Bryan Bertino's horror, *The Monster*. In this movie Ella co-starred with Zoe Kazan, and Scott Speedman who she already worked with a couple of years back in the feature film, *The Captive*. *The Monster* became an independent success with many award nominations for the movie and also for Ballentine.

In 2013 Ella was invited to the *Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Gala* as one of the "renowned Canadian performers enlivened the evening with dramatic readings of the five prize-nominated titles."

## Reception

In 2015, Ballentine costarred in *Standoff* with Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane. Although the movie received mixed reviews, Ballentine's performance was praised by several media. Rene S. Garcia, JR. of Workingauthor.com wrote "And let’s not forget Ella Ballentine. I typically have no faith in child actors, but Ella strikes the perfect tone with her burgeoning independence, but emotional and physical dependency." Eoin Friel from ActionElite felt that "Ella Ballentine almost steals the movie as Bird, the girl being pursued by Sade. The poor thing goes through an absolute nightmare and manages to never be the “annoying kid” in the film; she brings genuine heart to proceedings and is essential for Carter’s redemption." According to in an interview on Collider.com, co-Lead, Thomas Jane "[Ella] was pretty wonderful. She was fun, too."

Ballentine received critical acclaim. Bruk, Diana. "Here's How PBS' "Anne Of Green Gables" Compares To The Classic Film”” "Country Living”, November 21, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2017.</ref> for her portrayal of the classic character, Anne Shirley in a new 3 part TV movie adaptation of the classic Canadian novel, Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables was the first instalment, followed by The Good Stars. "Ballentine is charming as Anne” wrote Francesca Rudkin in the New Zealand Herald, while Louise Keller in Urbancinefile states “[Ballentine] is outstanding. Wide-eyed and innocent, she proffers just the right amount of worldliness as the orphan who asks for just two things as she prays for the first time. That is a lovely scene.”< "I was absolutely delighted by actress Ella Ballentine’s portrayal of Anne Shirley. She was a worthy Anne.” wrote Sarah M Miduski. Martin Sheen also has high opinion of Ballentine. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sheen said "I adore [Ella]...She’s an extraordinary talent...She’s remarkable. And she’s very funny as well. We have great fun on the set and she’s got a great sense of humor. She’s a joy to work with.”

According to critics, in the horror movie, *The Monster* "the spooky-good Ella Ballentine” came up as "a minor revelation. She’s terrific as the child forced to grow up much faster than she’d like due to her negligent mother.”, "a young actress chock-full of pure talent, Ella Ballentine gives an ... stunning performance as Lizzy”. According to the Los Angeles Times’ Justin Chang "Ballentine gives a fine, fierce performance as a child wise beyond her years and unafraid of confrontation.” and Matt Donato from We Got This Covered writes "Ballentine rolls with the punches well for an actress her age, and this shouldn’t be understated”.[ and Ballentine gained a few suggestions for award considerations and a couple of award nominations, such us Fangoria Magazine's 2017 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress. "If horror movie performances were given Oscars, [Kazan] would be a shoo-in. Same with Ballentine. These two are so believable” wrote Staci Layne Wilson in Dread Central Bloody Disgusting, an American horror genre website with millions of visitors/month, called Ballentine "The Most Baddas Horror Hero of 2016" in article devoted to her and her character.

## External links

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