Paula Brancati
Paula Brancati is an actor, born 1989.
Paula Brancati has worked in Canadian television since she was a child and never left it, which turns out to have been a good decision. She was on screen as a child in Cold Creek Manor in 2003, then moved through the country's entire youth-television apparatus: Life with Derek, Veritas: The Quest, Angela's Eyes, the Disney Channel films Cow Belles and Jump In!, and the Degrassi franchise, where she played Jane Vaughn.
The adult career has been more interesting than the teenage one, which is not the usual outcome. Being Erica gave her Jenny Zalen, Call Me Fitz put her inside one of the meanest comedies Canada has produced, Workin' Moms gave her Dana Brown, and Slasher, the horror anthology, let her play Violet Lickers in a format that demands total commitment to a heightened tone. In the Dark took her to American television.
She has also moved to the other side of the camera, co-founding BrancSeater Productions to develop Canadian independent film and television, and she directs as well as produces. The most notable thing about the record is its consistency: a national industry that loses most of its talent southward managed to keep one of its most dependable performers.
Movies (4)
TV (9)
Where to start with Paula Brancati
Slasher is the one to start with. Anthology horror depends entirely on whether the cast plays it straight, and her season is a good demonstration of an actor treating a genre piece with more respect than it strictly requires.
Being Erica is the better show, though, and the one to watch if you want to understand why Canadian television kept casting her: a warm, melancholy comedy-drama with a strong ensemble, and Jenny Zalen is a proper supporting arc rather than a function.
Call Me Fitz is the wild card, a genuinely nasty comedy that has aged into something like a cult item, and Workin' Moms is the mainstream option, easy to watch and sharper than it looks. In the Dark is the American credit. Come to Degrassi: Minis only if you are already inside the Degrassi universe, where she plays Jane Vaughn.