Leah Cairns: Biography
Canadian actress Leah Cairns is perhaps best known to U.S. audiences for her role as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson on the Sci Fi Channel original series Battlestar Galactica.
Leah grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia. She trained to be a dancer but she was forced to change her plans when she broke her back in a car accident at the age of 16. Her car was demolished by a drunk driver.
In her final year at school, as the dance team traveled to an international competition, she went to Costa Rica. This was the first stop on a backpacking voyage through 36 countries over eight years.
She began her acting career in an acting class at an ashram in India. Her first television appearance was in a March 2002 episode of The Chris Isaak Show. Her first credited film role was "Sharon" in the short film, The Mall Man (2003). She appeared in a direct-to-video movie titled Thralls, which was released in March 2005. She also obtained roles in the TV movies I Want to Marry Ryan Banks, Deep Evil, and Saving Milly.
She played the role of "Jenna" on the television series Godiva's, which airs on Bravo! Canada. The first season aired in the spring of 2005. She had a guest appearance in the comedy series Robson Arms, which airs on CTV.
She married Kevin Hawryluk in 2004. Paul Campbell ("Billy Keikeya" on Battlestar Galactica) and Colby Johannson ("Lt. Dwight 'Flat-Top' Saunders") were among the friends and guests in attendance.
- Leah's best friend among the cast of Battlestar Galactica is Nicki Clyne (Cally).(edit)
- In a March 2007 interview with The SciFi World, Leah said that she has never appeared on the stage as a professional actor. Her last stage performance was in 7th grade.(edit)
- Leah received a 2006 Leo Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Performance By A Female in a Dramatic Series for the episode "Fancy Footwork" of the TV series Godiva's. The Leo Awards honor excellence in film and television work produced in British Columbia. (edit)
- Leah starred in the low-budget horror movie Thralls, also known as Blood Angels (2004). Her character, Leslie, is part of a group of young, female vampires trying to escape their master. (edit)
- Leah appeared in the 2004 TV movie I Want to Marry Ryan Banks, starring Jason Priestley and Emma Caulfield. (edit)
- Leah played a Senator's aide in the 2005 TV movie Saving Milly, based on the best-selling book by Mort Kondracke about his wife's struggle with Parkinson's disease.(edit)
- Leah has been cast in the role of Sara Pollard in the 2006 Al Pacino movie 88 Minutes.(edit)
- Leah's first exposure to acting was through an improv class at an ashram in India. She arrived at the ashram by herself and saw a schedule of events on a large bulletin board. She wasn't familiar with the spiritual events. Since the improv night was the only one she understood, she chose to attend. She appeared on stage that evening and discovered her love of acting. She was convinced to stay and take an acting class by an acting teacher there.(edit)
- Leah has visited Costa Rica.(edit)
- Her character, Jenna, on the Canadian television show Godiva's is an aspiring dancer. Leah also aspired to be a dancer when she was in school, until her car accident.(edit)
- Leah backpacked her way through 36 countries over an eight-year period.(edit)
- Her character on Battlestar Galactica, "Racetrack," flies a Raptor, a combination surveillance, communications and rescue space vehicle.(edit)
- Her character, "Racetrack," appears in the key scene of the Season One finale of Battlestar Galactica. She is standing next to Sharon "Boomer" Valerii.(edit)
- In 2005, Leah appeared on three different television series that are filmed in Canada: Godiva's, Robson Arms, and Battlestar Galactica.(edit)
- Leah is perhaps best known in the U.S. for her role as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson on the Sci Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica.(edit)
- She appeared in two episodes of the Canadian television series Robson Arms in the summer of 2005.(edit)
- Leah's first film appearance was in the 2003 Canadian short film, The Mall Man. She played the role of "Sharon."(edit)
- She made her first television appearance on the March 31, 2002, episode, "Mysterious Hearts," of The Chris Isaak Show. (edit)
- Leah has a starring role, "Jenna," on the Canadian television series Godiva's.(edit)
- Leah grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.(edit)
- Leah originally auditioned for the role of Number Six on Battlestar Galactica.(edit)
- Leah: (discussing her character Racetrack) I definitely think the first thing I would do is make her a viper pilot. Definitely! I really want to fly vipers! Then I would love to see... I'd love to find out why Racetrack is so hard and bitter. My gut feeling is that she is hiding a huge amount of pain and that the crusty exterior is just her way of protecting herself.(edit)
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