Thirty three years after his death, the legacy left by Sam Payne continues to be applauded by the British Columbia acting community. One of Canada’s well loved and respected professional actors, Sam Payne is remembered not only for his contribution to Canadian theatre, film, radio and television, but also for his personal attributes, which included humanity, artistic integrity and encouragement of new talent.
Each year UBCP/ACTRA presents two Sam Payne Awards to BC based performers. The Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a person with an outstanding body of work in the performing arts industry. The Sam Payne Award recognizes a performer whose personal characteristics mirror those of Sam Payne.
Stephen E. Miller
Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015
Stephen E. Miller is a Vancouver actor who has appeared in a long list of iconic BC films and television series including The X-Files, Endgame, Da Vinci’s City Hall, Cold Squad, and So Weird.
Born in Durham, N.C. he attended Virginia Military Institute graduating with a BA in History in 1968. He attended University of British Columbia in the graduate Creative Writing program and was awarded a MA in 1970. It was at UBC where he became interested in theatre, first as a stage carpenter and technician and then as an occasional actor. Following graduation Stephen joined with other UBC alumni in the founding of Tamahnous Theatre, an experimental group. On stage he has acted in more than 40 plays and his screen credits are in the hundreds.
The Sam Payne Committee is thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of this three-time Gemini nominee and winner of a Leo Award for his portrayal of Vancouver Police traffic investigator, Zack McNab, on the critically acclaimed DaVinci’s Inquest and DaVinci’s City Hall television series.
Garwin Sanford
Sam Payne Award for 2015
Garwin Sanford is a Gemini nominated Vancouver based actor known for roles in The Tall Man, Get Carter, The Barber, Smallville, Airwolf , MacGyver, Sliders, The Odyssey, The Outer Limits, Earth: Final Conflict, Dark Angel, The 4400, Eureka, So Weird and Supernatural.
He is a graduate from Langara College’s Studio 58 and he now teaches acting and filmmaking in Langara’s Film Arts program. Many of his students have gone on to have success in their fields and Garwin has been credited with promoting and nurturing former students throughout their careers. The Sam Payne Committee recognizes his commitment to mentoring others and passion for his profession.
The Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP/ACTRA) is an autonomous branch of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), the national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 22,000 members across Canada – the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community.
