| Birth Date: | 27 November 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma Mater: | Vaughan Road Academy |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Partner: | Jay Baruchel (2011–2013) |
| Children: | 1 |
Alison Pill (born November 27, 1985)[1] is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, Pill began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous projects before transitioning to adult roles with a breakthrough role in the television series The Book of Daniel (2006). That same year, she made her Broadway debut in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2006) earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination. Her other notable stage roles include in Blackbird (2007), Mauritius (2007), The Miracle Worker (2010), The House of Blue Leaves (2011), and Three Tall Women (2018).
Pill had prominent roles in the films Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), Plain Truth (2004), Dan in Real Life (2007), Milk (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011), Hail, Caesar! (2016), and Vice (2018). From 2012 to 2014 she played Maggie Jordan in Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama series The Newsroom and acted in the television series In Treatment (2009), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), (2017), (20202022), Devs (2020), and Them (2021). She is also known for her role as Kim Pine in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).
Pill was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her father, a professional engineer, is Estonian.[2] [3] Pill attended Vaughan Road Academy,[4] in its Interact program, designed for studying dance, music, athletics, and theatre.[5]
Pill decided to become an actor when she was 10 years old. As a member of the Toronto Children's Chorus, she was chosen to narrate one of their performances. Her mother tried to discourage Pill by getting her a job as a background performer on the series . By the time she was 11, she had played a guest role on an episode of the children's series The New Ghostwriter Mysteries. At 12, she landed roles in two TV movies and a mini-series, a guest appearance on the TV series Psi Factor and voiced the character "Cornflower" on the animated series "Redwall" (1999–2001). After roles in two more television movies, she landed her first feature film role, a small-budget Canadian movie called The Life Before This in 1999, followed by the role of Jacob's older sister Marfa in Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang. Pill played roles in four more TV movies before the age of fourteen. The next year, she landed a small role in Skipped Parts in 2000 starring Drew Barrymore and Mischa Barton, then appeared in four more TV movies and features that year, including playing Farrah Fawcett's daughter in the TNT network movie Baby and a lead role in the Canadian film The Dinosaur Hunter, which was originally intended to be shown at a dinosaur museum and on a provincial education channel, but which made its way to the Burbank International Film Festival, winning Pill an award for Best Child Actress.
She landed the role of young Lorna in the ABC-TV biopic in 2001, based on the memoir by Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft. That year, Pill also played Sissy Spacek's daughter in the TV flick Midwives.[6] In 2003, she played Katie Holmes's sister in the indie feature Pieces of April. Pill won the lead in the CTV-TV movie Fast Food High, about a teenager who gets a job at a fast food restaurant and tries to set up a union. She also landed a supporting role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen in 2003, starring Lindsay Lohan. Pill ventured off into stage acting, with the New York City staging of None of the Above as the first item in her theatre credentials. In 2006, she starred as Grace Webster in the short-lived NBC drama The Book of Daniel. That same year, she made her Broadway debut playing Mairead in Martin McDonagh's black comedy play The Lieutenant of Inishmore for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[7]
Because of her busy work schedule, Pill's schooling was done through a program for children in the entertainment industry. Since graduating from high school, Pill moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre, but continued to work in movies such as Dan in Real Life in 2007. She returned to Broadway in the Theresa Rebeck play Mauritius (2007) acting alongside F. Murray Abraham, Bobby Cannavale, and Dylan Baker.[8] John Lahr of The New Yorker praised Pill describing her as "excellent" adding, "It says something about the appeal of Alison Pill—an actress with a big future—that her compelling combination of ferocity and fragility carries the audience beyond the inconsistencies of the story."[9] That same year she acted in the Manhattan Theatre Club production of the David Harrower play Blackbird starring alongside Jeff Daniels. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and was helmed at New York City Center's Stage I.[10] For her performance she received the Drama League Award, Lucille Lortel Award, and Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations. This was followed by The Distance From Here, On the Mountain,.[11]
Pill had a major supporting role as campaign manager Anne Kronenberg in the 2008 film Milk. In 2009, she performed with Erin Hill & her Psychedelic Harp playing the Twilight Zone-inspired "Meredith Moon" and "The Real North Pole" sci-fi Christmas Harp.[12] Pill was cast as April on In Treatment. In 2009 she replaced Elliot Page in a role in Jack & Diane[13] but due to postponement of the project neither ended up in it by the time it ran in 2012. She later played Kim Pine in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as in Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation. She portrayed Empress Maud in the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth. In theatre, Pill starred with Abigail Breslin in the Broadway revival of the William Gibson play The Miracle Worker (2010),[14] David Rooney of Variety wrote, "Pill has demonstrated her skill at animating prickly contemporary women who can go from sullen vulnerability into bellicose attack mode in a flash. She's no less convincing as 20-year-old Boston-Irish Sullivan, hired in 1887 by the Keller family in Alabama to serve as governess to Helen, left deaf and blind by an illness in her infancy".[15]
The following year she acted in another Broadway revival, the John Guare play The House of Blue Leaves with Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Thomas Sadoski.[16] In the play she portrayed a kindly, partially deaf actress. She received positive reviews with Entertainment Weekly describing her as "delightfully daffy", and The Hollywood Reporter declaring, "Pill's funny-sad ethereal performance exposes the cultivated poise and glamour of Hollywood as another empty fantasy".[17] [18] She appeared in Woody Allen's acclaimed romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011) portraying Zelda Fitzgerald alongside Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald. The following year she reunited with Allen playing Hayley in To Rome with Love (2012).[19] She has starred in short films including Denise in 2012 with Chris Messina and Santa Baby; she sang and danced in Santa Baby. In 2016, she appeared in Cover Up by Satya Bhabha with Jason Ritter, to be released at the LA Shorts Fest, and Woman in Deep, where she played a woman who calls a suicide prevention hot line and is put on hold, directed by Janicza Bravo.[20]
From 2012 until its ending in 2014, she was in the HBO political drama series The Newsroom portraying journalist Maggie Jordan at a fictional cable news show.[21] [22] In a Geffen Playhouse production of Wait Until Dark (2013), Pill starred as a blind woman who must fend for her life. Myron Meisel of The Hollywood Reporter compared Pill's performance favorably to previous actors who played the role such as Lee Remick and Audrey Hepburn, writing "the reliably talented Pill instills [the role] with a distinctive individuality."[23]
She starred in Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic film Snowpiercer, alongside Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, which was released in 2013.[24] Pill appeared in Cooties (2014) starring Elijah Wood.[25] In Zoom, Pill played Emma, an aspiring comic book artist.
She acted in the Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar! (2015) playing Eddie Mannix's wife.[26] Pill starred in as Eva Glatt, Glatt's love interest in first movie Goon, now married to Glatt. Pill was part of the cast of The Family as Willa Warren. In 2016, Pill co-starred with Jessica Chastain in the EuropaCorp thriller Miss Sloane.[27] In 2017, she joined , starring as Ivy Mayfair-Richards, one of the main characters of the storyline.[28] In 2018 she played former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary in the Oscar-nominated film Vice.[29] That same year she acted in the Broadway revival of the Edward Albee memory play Three Tall Women acting alongside Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf.[30]
In 2020, she was part of the TV series Devs directed by Alex Garland on FX on Hulu, playing Katie, the chief designer of the Devs system. In 2021, she starred in the film All My Puny Sorrows with Sarah Gadon, as two Mennonite sisters who leave their religious lives behind. Alison won Best Actress in a Canadian Film by Vancouver Film Critics Circle for her role in the movie.[31] Pill was also part of the TV series Them, playing Betty Wendell. For the first two seasons of , she played scientist Dr. Agnes Jurati.[32] Pill returned to Broadway playing Sonya in the 2024 revival of the Anton Chekov play Uncle Vanya starring opposite Steve Carell, William Jackson Harper, Jayne Houdyshell, and Alfred Molina at Lincoln Center.[33] David Cote of The Observer hailed her performance writing, "Pill proves to be the evening's MVP" adding, "[She] embodies that brokenness with a palpable heat I wish could have ignited everything around her".[34]
Pill was engaged to actor Jay Baruchel from 2011 to 2013. Baruchel made their engagement public when he thanked Pill as his fiancée during an acceptance speech at the Genie Awards in Ottawa, Ontario.[35] Baruchel alluded to their break-up in a Twitter posting on February 16, 2013.[36]
Pill married actor Joshua Leonard May 24, 2015,[37] having become engaged that January.[38] They have a daughter, Wilder, born November 19, 2016.[39]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | data-sort-value="Life Before This, The" | The Life Before This | Jessica | |
| Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang | Shapiro / Emma | |||
| 2000 | Skipped Parts | Chuckette Morris | ||
| 2002 | A.W.O.L. | Patient | Short film | |
| Perfect Pie | Marie (age 15) | |||
| 2003 | Pieces of April | Beth Burns | ||
| Fast Food High | Emma Redding | |||
| 2004 | Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen | Ella Gerard | ||
| data-sort-value="Crypt Club, The" | The Crypt Club | Liesl | Short film | |
| 2005 | Dear Wendy | Susan | ||
| 2007 | Dan in Real Life | Jane Burns | ||
| Working in the Theatre | Self | Documentary | ||
| 2008 | Milk | Anne Kronenberg | ||
| 2009 | data-sort-value="Awakening of Abigail Harris, The" | The Awakening of Abigail Harris | Abigail Harris | Short film |
| One Way to Valhalla | Dale | |||
| 2010 | Goldstar, Ohio | Kendra Harper | Short film | |
| EMGOD | Alison | Short film | ||
| Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation | Kimberly "Kim" Pine (voice) | Short film | ||
| Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Kimberly "Kim" Pine | |||
| 2011 | Midnight in Paris | Zelda Fitzgerald | ||
| Portraits in Dramatic Time | Self | |||
| Goon | Eva | |||
| 2012 | To Rome with Love | Hayley | ||
| Denise | Denise | Short film | ||
| Santa Baby | Alice | Short film | ||
| 2013 | Snowpiercer | Pregnant Teacher | ||
| 2014 | Cooties | Lucy McCormick | ||
| 2015 | Zoom | Emma Boyles | ||
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | Mrs. Mannix | ||
| Woman in Deep | Birdie | Short film | ||
| Cover Up | Emma | Short film | ||
| Miss Sloane | Jane Molloy | |||
| 2017 | Eva Glatt | |||
| 2018 | Ideal Home | Melissa Enright | ||
| Vice | Mary Cheney | |||
| 2019 | data-sort-value="Most Magnificent Thing, The" | The Most Magnificent Thing | Mom (voice) | Short film |
| 2020 | We Are Animals | Self[40] | Documentary | |
| 2021 | data-sort-value="Same Storm, The" | The Same Storm | Bridget Salt | |
| 2022 | All My Puny Sorrows | Yolandi "Yoli" Von Riesen[41] | ||
| 2023 | Eric Larue | Lisa Graff[42] | ||
| 2024 | Trap | Rachel | ||
| Young Werther | Charlotte[43] | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | data-sort-value="New Ghostwriter Mysteries, The" | The New Ghostwriter Mysteries | Lucy | Episode: "Moving Parts" |
| 1998 | Fast Track | Alexa Stokes | Episode: "Real Time" | |
| Sophie Schulman | Episode: "The Night of the Setting Sun" | |||
| data-sort-value="Last Don II, The" | The Last Don II | Bethany | Episode: "1.1" | |
| Anatole | Paulette (voice) | 5 episodes | ||
| Degas & the Dancer | Marie van Goethem | Television film | ||
| Stranger in Town | Hetty | Television film | ||
| 1999 | Locked in Silence | Lacey | Television film | |
| God's New Plan | Samantha Hutton | Television film | ||
| Different | Sally Reed | Television film | ||
| What Katy Did | Katy Carr | Television film | ||
| Dear America: A Journey to the New World | Remember Patience Whipple | Television film | ||
| data-sort-value="Holiday Romance, A" | A Holiday Romance | Fern | Television film | |
| Redwall | Cornflower (voice) | 13 episodes | ||
| Paige | Episode: "Forget Me Not" | |||
| 2000 | Traders | Andrea Exter | Episode: "Hawks" | |
| Redwall: The Movie | Cornflower (voice) | Television film | ||
| data-sort-value="Dinosaur Hunter, The" | The Dinosaur Hunter | Julia Creath | Television film | |
| data-sort-value="Other Me, The" | The Other Me | Allana Browning | Television film | |
| Baby | Larkin Malone | Television film | ||
| 2001 | Young Lorna Luft | Television film | ||
| Midwives | Constance "Connie" Danforth | Television film | ||
| What Girls Learn | Tilden | Television film | ||
| Victoria (voice) | Episode: "Butterflies!" | |||
| 2002 | data-sort-value="Pilot's Wife, The" | The Pilot's Wife | Mattie Lyons | Television film |
| An Unexpected Love | Samantha Mayer | Television film | ||
| 2004 | data-sort-value="Separate Peace, A" | A Separate Peace | Beth | Television film |
| Plain Truth | Katie Fisher | Television film | ||
| 2006 | data-sort-value="Book of Daniel, The" | The Book of Daniel | Grace Webster | 8 episodes |
| Lisa Ramsey | Episode: "Wrongful Life" | |||
| 2008 | Kelsey Murphy | Episode: "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" | ||
| 2009 | In Treatment | April | Recurring role, 7 episodes | |
| 2010 | data-sort-value="Pillars of the Earth, The" | The Pillars of the Earth | Princess Maude | Miniseries, 8 episodes |
| 2012–14 | data-sort-value="Newsroom, The" | The Newsroom | Margaret "Maggie" Jordan | Main role, 25 episodes |
| 2014 | 7p/10e | Alison | Episode: "Day 16" | |
| Therapy | Lucy | Episode: "1.1" | ||
| Dinner with Friends with Brett Gelman and Friends | Herself | Television short | ||
| 2016 | data-sort-value="Family, The" | The Family | Willa Warren | 12 episodes |
| 2017 | Ivy Mayfair-Richards | Main role, 9 episodes | ||
| 2018 | data-sort-value="Emperor's Newest Clothes, The" | The Emperor's Newest Clothes | Thomasina (voice) | Television short |
| 2020–22 | Dr. Agnes Jurati | Main role, 20 episodes | ||
| 2020 | Devs | Katie | Miniseries, 8 episodes | |
| 2021 | Them | Elizabeth "Betty" Wendell | 8 episodes | |
| 2022 | Archer | Alessia (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 2023 | Hello Tomorrow! | Myrtle Mayburn | 10 episodes | |
| Scott Pilgrim Takes Off | Kimberly "Kim" Pine (voice) | Main role[44] | ||
| 2025 | RoboGobo | Farmer Faye[45] | ||
| JonBenét Ramsey | Linda Arndt[46] |
| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Drama Queen (That Girl)" | Lindsay Lohan |
| 2010 | "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" | Owen Pallett |
| "Medicine" | Nick Casey | |
| 2020 | "Eat It (We're All In This Together)" | David Cross featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic[47] |
| Year | Title | Role | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Honest Phone Sex for Married Couples | Wife | Funny or Die | |
| Angel and Demon | Demon | WeatherFrom | ||
| 2018 | George's Cheese/Pizza Revenge | Mother Porpoise[48] | Story Pirates | |
| 2020 | Fight of the Century | Narrator | Simon & Schuster | |
| Skin Trade | Nick | Geffen Playhouse | ||
| data-sort-value="Homebound Project, The" | The Homebound Project | C.A. Johnson[49] | The Homebound Theater | |
| data-sort-value="Line, The" | The Line | Jennifer[50] | The Public Theater | |
| Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Water Crisis | Kim Pine / Vegan Police | Water For People | ||
| My Mouth Ran Away | Mother Porpoise[51] | Story Pirates | ||
| Raising Arizona | Edwina "Ed"[52] | Pandemic Players | ||
| 2022 | data-sort-value="Doctor Is In, The" | The Doctor Is In | Dr. Kate Spencer (voice)[53] | Echoverse |
| data-sort-value="Rubber Room, The" | The Rubber Room | Lindsey Whittle[54] | SiriusXM |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | None of the Above | Jamie | Ohio Theatre, West Village | [55] |
| 2004 | The Distance from Here | Jenn | MCC Theater, Off-Broadway | [56] |
| 2005 | On the Mountain | Jaime | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway | [57] |
| 2006 | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Mairead | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway | [58] |
| 2007 | Blackbird | Una | Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway | [59] |
| Mauritius | Jackie | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway | [60] | |
| 2008 | Reasons to Be Pretty | Steph | Lucille Lortel Theatre, Off-Broadway | [61] |
| 2010 | The Miracle Worker | Anne Sullivan | Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway | [62] |
| This Wide Night | Marie | Peter Jay Sharp Theatre | [63] | |
| 2011 | The House of Blue Leaves | Corrinna Stroller | Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway | [64] |
| 2013 | Wait Until Dark | Susan | Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles | [65] |
| 2018 | Three Tall Women | C | John Golden Theatre, Broadway | [66] [67] |
| 2024 | Uncle Vanya | Sonya | Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway | [68] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Burbank International Children's Film Festival | Best Child Actress Performance | The Dinosaur Hunter | |
| Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot – Supporting Young Actress | Degas and the Dancer | ||
| 2001 | Best Ensemble in a TV Movie | The Other Me | ||
| 2002 | Best Performance in a TV Movie or Special – Leading Young Actress | What Girls Learn | ||
| 2003 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | The Dinosaur Hunter | |
| 2004 | Outstanding Ensemble Performance | The Distance From Here | ||
| 2005 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress | On the Mountain | |
| 2006 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | |
| 2007 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Blackbird | |
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | |||
| 2008 | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Lead Actress | ||
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Milk | ||
| Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble Cast | |||
| 15th Critics' Choice Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | |||
| Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | In Treatment | ||
| 2010 | Detroit Film Critics Society Awards[69] | Best Ensemble | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | |
| 2011 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | This Wide Night | |
| Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | The Pillars of the Earth | ||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Ensemble Acting | Midnight in Paris | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | |||
| 2012 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble Cast | ||
| 2013 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film | Goon | |
| 2014 | San Diego International Film Festival | Virtuoso Award for Best Breakthrough Performance | The Newsroom | |
| 2018 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Vice | |
| Detroit Film Critics Society[70] | Best Ensemble | |||
| Seattle Film Critics Society[71] | Best Ensemble Cast | |||
| 2022 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award[72] | Best Actress in a Canadian Film | All My Puny Sorrows | |
| Festival du Film Canadien de Dieppe[73] | Best Actress | |||
| Tell-Tale TV Awards[74] | Favorite Performer in a Network Sci-fi / Fantasy / Horror Series | |||
| Favorite Ensemble Cast in a Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror Series |