Tamara Podemski

Tamara Podemski is a Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi artist born and raised in Toronto. For almost 30 years her work has spanned across stage and screen with such credits as “Dance Me Outside,” “The Rez,” “Ready or Not,” “The Lesser Blessed,” “Coroner” and numerous theatre productions, most notably as a member of the Original Canadian Cast of “Rent” and as ‘Maureen’ in the Broadway company.

In 2007, Podemski received the Special Jury Prize for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as a Spirit Award nomination for her role in Sterlin Harjo’s “Four Sheets to the Wind.” After returning to the stage, she earned a Jessie nomination for her role in Marie Clements’ play “The Edward Curtis Project” and, under the direction of Jani Lauzon, Podemski starred in Colleen Wagner’s Governor General’s Award-Winning Play “The Monument,” which was hailed as one of the “10 Best Theatre Productions of 2018” by the Globe & Mail. The following year she joined the all-Indigenous cast of Keith Barker’s “This is How We Got Here,” which won a 2020 Dora Award for Outstanding New Play.

After playing Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s romantic interest in the HBO comedy “Run,” Podemski went on to star in the APTN/TVO drama “Unsettled,” which earned her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also received an ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance, two Canadian Screen Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Guest Star for her role as Alison Trent in the CBC/CW dramatic series “Coroner.”

Behind the camera, Podemski is the writer/story producer of the documentary series “Future History,” and was nominated for Best Writing in a Factual Series at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards. As a community worker, she has travelled the globe sharing her cultural and creative experiences through workshops, keynotes and panel discussions. Having grandparents who are both Holocaust survivors and Residential School survivors, she speaks openly about issues of intergenerational trauma, reconciliation, inherited legacies and the importance of creating safe spaces for dialogue, education and collaboration.

Recently, Podemski returned to comedy, guest starring in CBS’s “Ghosts” and the critically-acclaimed FX series “Reservation Dogs.” In 2023, she will reprise her role as Sheriff Joy in Season 2 of the Amazon drama “Outer Range,” alongside Josh Brolin, Tom Pelphrey and Imogen Poots. Her latest film “Fancy Dance” will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in competition.