Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series
AngelAngel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
. She starred in two
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
series,
Tru CallingTru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
and
DollhouseDollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
. She is also known for her role in films including
True LiesTrue Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
,
The New GuyThe New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year...
,
Bring It OnBring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
,
Wrong TurnWrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...
and
Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackJay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, as well as her
voiceVoice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
work on video games.
Early life
Dushku was born in
WatertownThe Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, Massachusetts, the daughter of Philip R. Dushku, an administrator and teacher in the
Boston Public SchoolsBoston Public Schools is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.-Leadership:The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the Mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified...
, and Judith "Judy" (née Rasmussen), a political science professor. Dushku's father is
AlbanianAlbanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
and her mother is of
DanishDanish Americans are Americans of Danish descent. There are approximately 1,500,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. Most Danish-Americans live in the Western United States or the Midwestern United States.-Population:...
and
EnglishEnglish Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
descent. Dushku attended
Beaver Country Day SchoolBeaver Country Day School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12 founded in 1920. The school is located on a campus in the village of Chestnut Hill, in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Beaver is a member of the Cum Laude Society, the...
in
Chestnut HillChestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
, and graduated from
Watertown High SchoolWatertown High School is the local high school for Watertown, Massachusetts. It is modest in size and boasts a diverse student population. The school is home to the Watertown Red Raiders, who are best known for their varsity field hockey and boys' basketball programs...
. She was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the faith of her mother, though she is not practicing. She has three older brothers: Aaron, Benjamin (Ben), and Nathaniel (Nate). Her parents divorced when she was an infant.
Early career
Dushku came to the attention of casting agents when she was 10. She was chosen in a five month search for the lead role of Alice in the film
That NightThat Night is a 1992 romantic drama film written and directed by Craig Bolotin, and starring C. Thomas Howell and Juliette Lewis. It is based on the novel of the same name by Alice McDermott....
. In 1993, Dushku landed a role as Pearl alongside
Robert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
and
Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
in
This Boy's LifeThis Boy's Life is a 1993 film adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Tobias Wolff. It is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias Wolff, Robert De Niro as stepfather Dwight Hansen, and Ellen Barkin as Toby's mother, Caroline...
, a role that she said opened a lot of doors. The following year, she played the teenage daughter of
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and
Jamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
in
True LiesTrue Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
. She had parts as
Paul ReiserPaul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, television personality, author, screenwriter and musician. He is most widely known for his role on the long-running television sitcom Mad About You.-Early life:...
's daughter in
Bye Bye LoveBye Bye Love is a 1995 American comedy-drama film that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall...
, as Cindy Johnson in
Race the SunRace the Sun is a 1996 comedy-drama movie starring Halle Berry and James Belushi. The plot is loosely based on the true story of the Konawaena High School Solar Car Team, which finished 18th in the 1990 World Solar Challenge and first place among high school entries.-Plot:A new science teacher at...
, and roles in a television movie and a short film.
Dushku took time off from acting to finish her junior and senior years of high school. She was accepted to the
George Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, D.C. and
Suffolk UniversitySuffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
in Boston, where her mother serves as professor of government and previously served as dean of the campus in
DakarDakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal.
Later roles
After completing high school, Dushku returned to acting with the role of
FaithFaith is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku in the TV series and by Whitney Thompson in the motion comic series, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's...
on
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a
SlayerA Slayer, in the fictional Buffyverse established by Buffy and Angel, is a young female bestowed with mystical powers that originate from the essence of a pure-demon, which gives her superhuman senses, strength, agility, resilience and speed in the fight against forces of darkness...
much more troubled than the main character
Buffy SummersBuffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
. Though initially planned as a five episode role, the character became so popular that she stayed on for the whole third season and returned for a two-part appearance in season four, after which the remainder of her original
story arcA story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
was played out as part of the first season of the
Buffy spin-off series
Angel. Repentant and rededicated, Faith returned as a heroine in other episodes of
Angel and in the last five episodes of
Buffy. Dushku was inundated with piles of fan mail from legions of prisoners. She said:
I've been getting fan mail from maximum security penitentiaries and death rowDeath row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
. What are the authorities thinking of in playing a show with young teenage girls to Death Row inmates? They write everything – disgusting things that you don't even want to know about. And they send me pictures – 'Oh, here's a picture of me before I was incarcerated!' – and there's some guy sat on the sofa with a bottle of beer and a moustache, and a big gut. It's so creepy. Way more creepy than Buffy.
In 2000, Dushku starred in the hit cheerleader comedy
Bring It OnBring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
. She followed that up with
Soul SurvivorsSoul Survivors is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Melissa Sagemiller as a college student named Cassie, whose boyfriend Sean died in a car accident that resulted from her driving after a night of partying...
, reuniting her with
Race The Sun co-star
Casey AffleckCaleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt , better known as Casey Affleck, is an American actor and film director. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he played supporting roles in mainstream hits like Good Will Hunting and Ocean's Eleven as well as in critically acclaimed independent films such as...
. One reviewer described the film as "84 minutes of everyone's wasted time". In 2001, she appeared in
The New GuyThe New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year...
with DJ Qualls and
City by the SeaCity by the Sea is a 2002 film starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand and William Forsythe. It deals with a family problems of wayward youth and set against a man trying to break free of his past. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones...
with
Robert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
and
James FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
. The latter film garnered attention from a wider adult audience and several good reviews. The same year,
Kevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
invited Dushku to be a part of
Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackJay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
.
In 2003, Dushku starred the horror film
Wrong TurnWrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...
, and
The Kiss, an independent comedy-drama. Starting that same year, she starred in a new
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
TV series,
Tru CallingTru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
, where she played the main character, medical student Tru Davies. After having a grant pulled out from under her, Tru is forced to take a job at a local morgue where she discovers her power to "re-live" the previous day over again if one of the deceased asks for her help to change what has happened. Dushku turned down a role in a spin-off of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer which would have been about Faith. She has had many roles as a "bad girl" in movies and relishes the opportunities. In an interview with
MaximMaxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
in May 2001, Dushku says of her roles, "It's easy to play a bad girl: You just do everything you've been told not to do, and you don't have to deal with the consequences, because it's only acting."
Dushku starred in an
Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production entitled
Dog Sees God from December 2005, playing "Van's sister", a character paralleled with
Lucy Van PeltLucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,...
from the
PeanutsPeanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
comic strip on which the play production is based. She quit in February 2006 along with other members of the cast amidst rumors of abuse from the producer (which were later dismissed).
She played the lead character on
Nurses, a hospital comedy/drama for Fox. This was the second Fox pilot in which she was cast, but not broadcast. She appeared in the
Simple PlanSimple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
music video, "
I'm Just a Kid"I'm Just a Kid" is the debut single by Simple Plan, written by Pierre Bouvier. It appeared on their debut album No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls...
", as the band's love interest, as well as
NickelbackNickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
's video for "
Rockstar"Rockstar" is the fifth U.S. single by the Canadian rock band Nickelback from their 2005 fifth studio album All the Right Reasons. It was only released in the U.S. and Canada, and has since been re-released worldwide...
".
Dushku has roles in two video games. She voiced the role of Yumi Sawamura in the English language version of
YakuzaYakuza, originally released in Japan as is an action-adventure fighter video game developed and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2...
for the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, which was published and developed by
SEGA, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, and released in September 2006. Dushku also stars as Shaundi, one of the lead characters in
Saints Row 2Saints Row 2 is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the second title in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row in 2006. It is succeeded by Saints Row: The...
, which was developed by Volition and published by
THQTHQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
. It was released in North America on October 14, 2008, for the
PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. She was the voice talent for the role of Rubi Malone, the main character in the game
WETWet is a 2009 third-person shooter action video game, developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The game puts heavy emphasis on killing a large number of opponents while engaging in stylish acrobatic moves...
. She appeared at Spike TV's 2008 Video Game Awards in December 2008.
Recent work
On October 1, 2005, she announced at Wizard World Boston that shooting had begun for
Nobel SonNobel Son is a 2007 American black comedy about a dysfunctional family dealing with the kidnapping of their son for ransom following the father's winning of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry...
in which she would star with
Alan RickmanAlan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
,
Danny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
,
Bill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
, and
Peter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
. The movie was released at the 2007
Tribeca Film FestivalThe Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
. Another project is
On BroadwayOn Broadway is an independent film, shot in Boston in May 2006, starring Joey McIntyre, Jill Flint, Eliza Dushku, Mike O'Malley, Robert Wahlberg, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett.-Plot:...
, an independent movie filmed in her native Boston. The movie is receiving great reviews and a few of them highlight Dushku's performance. It is shown in independent film festivals and has won six awards.
VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
announced on August 2, 2006 that Dushku would co-star with
Macaulay CulkinMacaulay Carson Culkin is an American actor. He became widely known for his portrayal of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He is also known for his roles in Richie Rich, Uncle Buck, My Girl, The Pagemaster, and Party Monster...
in
Sex and BreakfastSex and Breakfast is a 2007 dark comedy independent film starring Macaulay Culkin, Eliza Dushku, Alexis Dziena and Kuno Becker. Shooting took place in September 2006. The film opened in Los Angeles November 30, 2007, and was released on DVD on January 22, 2008 by First Look Pictures. The film was...
, a dark comedy written and directed by Miles Brandman. A reviewer described Dushku as "charming" and giving the character "an edge." The movie was released in Los Angeles on November 30, 2007 and on DVD on January 22, 2008. She starred in
Open GravesOpen Graves is a 2009 horror film, directed by Álvaro de Armiñán and written by Bruce A. Taylor and Roderick Taylor, the film stars Eliza Dushku, Mike Vogel, Naike Rivelli and Lindsay Robba.-Plot:...
, a 2008 horror-thriller about a
satanicSatanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
game co-starring
Mike VogelMichael James "Mike" Vogel is an American actor and former fashion model. Vogel began acting in 2001, and has since appeared in several films and series, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Grind, Poseidon, and Cloverfield.-Early life:Vogel was born in...
. She played the main character in
The Thacker CaseThe Coverup is a crime/thriller film directed by Brian Jun and starring Gabriel Mann and Eliza Dushku.-Plot:...
and
The Alphabet KillerThe Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars as the main character, alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton...
, both thrillers based on real-life events, one of them directed by
Rob SchmidtRob Schmidt is an American film director and writer. His film credits include Wrong Turn and Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox...
with whom she had worked on
Wrong Turn. Both movies were released in 2008.
The Alphabet Killer contains Dushku's first topless scene. The film earned mixed reviews, but reviewers praised Dushku's performance, commenting "Eliza Dushku commands the screen but cannot reconcile the script's conflicted and increasingly idiotic agendas." She appeared in
Bottle ShockBottle Shock is a 2008 American comedy-drama film based on the 1976 wine competition termed the "Judgment of Paris", when California wine defeated French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman and is directed by Randall Miller, who wrote the screenplay along...
, a drama about Napa valley wine. The film was directed by Randall Miller, who helmed
Nobel Son.
On August 26, 2007, Dushku signed a development deal with Fox Broadcasting and
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Under the pact, the network and the studio would develop projects tailor-made for the actress. They approached her with existing pitches and scripts.
Consequently, it was announced on October 31 that Dushku had lured
Joss WhedonJoseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, back to TV, as they agreed to create a show called
Dollhouse. Dushku produced the show and played the main character, '
EchoEcho is a fictional character portrayed by Eliza Dushku in the Fox science fiction series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. Within the series' narrative, Echo is an "Active" or a "doll", one of a group of men and women who can be programmed with memories and skills to engage in particular...
', which aired on Fox during the 2008–09 TV Season. One TV reviewer said Dushku "does wonderful things to a tank top, but her grasp of this vague, personality-changing character is a bit of a muddle." In an interview, Dushku talked about how
Dollhouse, and how her reconnection with Whedon came about:
I invited Joss Whedon to lunch after I did the business deal with Fox. We'd had a cool relationship in the past and I so wanted to do something else, and I wanted to get back into a television show. I had him on the brain for sure but I hadn't called him yet, but I sort of took a leap of faith and set things up with Fox and then called Joss. We went to a four-hour lunch where I just sort of used my womanly wiles. No, we've become such good friends, kind of like brother and sister and kind of like he was my watcher, my handler from when I first moved out to L.A. when I was 17 and I was a little bit of a wild child. He's watched me and helped me and taught me over the years. I told him how bad I wanted and needed him back and he accepted and here we are.
Dushku described Whedon as "my favorite genius ... favorite friend ... big brother ... and the only person out here I've ever wholeheartedly trusted, because he's never let me down."
Dollhouse was renewed for a second season. The producers cited their confidence in the strength of Joss Whedon's fan base and high DVR numbers as their reasons for keeping the show. FOX cancelled
Dollhouse on November 11, 2009. The show officially wrapped filming on the second and final season on December 16, 2009.
Dushku was the voice actor for contract killer "Rubi Malone" in the action video game
WetWet is a 2009 third-person shooter action video game, developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The game puts heavy emphasis on killing a large number of opponents while engaging in stylish acrobatic moves...
. Dushku secured exclusive rights to make "The Perfect Moment", a film based on the life of photographer
Robert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
and enlisted the help of
Ondi TimonerOndi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor.-History:Ondi Timoner is the only director to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Born in Miami, Florida, Timoner graduated cum laude from Yale University, with a double major in American Studies and Theater...
.
Dushku provides her voice for
Noah's Ark: The New BeginningNoah's Ark: The New Beginning is an upcoming animated film featuring an ensemble voice cast. It is a retelling of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, told from the point of view of the animals on the ark, and is the second in the Promenade Pictures Epic Stories of the Bible film series, following on...
and will appear in the film
Locked InLocked In is a 2010 independent thriller drama film directed by Suri Krishnamma and written by Ronnie Christensen, starring Ben Barnes, Sarah Roemer and Eliza Dushku. It was shot in the United States under the working title of Valediction...
set for release in 2010.
Dushku guest-starred in CBS' comedy
The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
in the fall of 2010
which aired on November 4, 2010.
In 2011, Dushku featured alongside Jayson Floyd in "One Shot", a short action clip on YouTube directed by and starring
Freddie WongFreddie Wong is an American filmmaker, musician, VFX expert and e-Sports player. He maintains two popular YouTube channels, freddiew and freddiew2. He is the older brother of fellow YouTuber Jimmy Wong.- Biography :...
, which was released on May 13, 2011. Dushku will have a lead role in an online animated "motion comic" series, titled
Torchwood: Web of Lies, based on Starz' upcoming
Torchwood: Miracle Day.
In August 2011, Dushku visited
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
to film a documentary on her father's country of origin with a crew from the
Travel ChannelThe Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
and
Lonely PlanetLonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
.
Personal life
Dushku resides in
Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLaurel Canyon is a canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was first developed in the 1910s, and became a part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923 ....
.
Dushku is the CEO of her production company, Boston Diva Productions.
In 2006, she visited her father's family in
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
after an invitation from the Prime Minister of Albania,
Sali BerishaSali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
. She visited
KosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and got an
Albanian EagleThe double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry and vexillology. It is most commonly associated with the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the Emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine Emperors over both East and...
tattoo on the back of her neck.
Dushku began dating former
Los Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball player
Rick FoxUlrich Alexander "Rick" Fox is a Canadian television actor and retired professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.-Early life:...
in October 2009, and in August 2010 the couple confirmed that they are living together.
While on her second visit to Albania in 2011, she applied for Albanian citizenship and obtained the
Albanian passportThe Albanian passport is a travel and identity document that is issued to citizens who are nationals of Albania, and allows them to travel abroad...
and
ID CardThe Albanian Identity Card is a national identity card that is issued by the Albanian authorities to their citizens. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence of the Albanian citizens. The current version is in ID1 format and biometric.-History:Albania issued identity cards to its...
. She became an honorary citizen of
TiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
, and was given the honorary title of
TiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
Ambassador of Culture and Tourism in the World by Tirana mayor
Lulzim BashaLulzim Xhelal Basha is an Albanian politician.In 2005, Basha was appointed Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications in the government of Sali Berisha where he served for two years...
. Additionally, she was given honorary citizen status in her father's home town of
KorceKorçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
.
Awards and nominations
She was twice nominated in 2004: for a Teen Choice Award at the
Teen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
for Choice Breakout Star – Female for
Tru CallingTru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
and for a
Saturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films at the
30th Saturn AwardsThe 30th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2003, were held on May 5, 2004 at the Universal Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
for Best Actress in a Television Series for
Tru Calling.
MaximMaxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
magazine ranked Dushku 6th on the "Hot 100 Women of 2009" list.
Dushku was nominated in 2009 for a
Scream AwardThe Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. Originally only having Scream Queen and Heroic Performance awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition,...
for
Best Science Fiction Actress for her role of Echo.
The municipality of Tirana honored Eliza Dushku as an Honorary Citizen of
TiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
, capital of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
.
In October 2011, Dushku was named Ambassador for the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show Entertainment Matters program.
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1992 |
That Night That Night is a 1992 romantic drama film written and directed by Craig Bolotin, and starring C. Thomas Howell and Juliette Lewis. It is based on the novel of the same name by Alice McDermott....
|
Alice Bloom |
|
| 1993 |
This Boy's Life This Boy's Life is a 1993 film adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Tobias Wolff. It is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias Wolff, Robert De Niro as stepfather Dwight Hansen, and Ellen Barkin as Toby's mother, Caroline...
|
Pearl |
|
| 1994 |
Fishing with George |
Piper Reeves |
Short film |
| 1994 |
True Lies True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
|
Dana Tasker |
|
| 1995 |
Bye Bye Love Bye Bye Love is a 1995 American comedy-drama film that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall...
|
Emma |
|
| 1995 |
Journey |
Cat |
TV movie |
| 1996 |
Race the Sun Race the Sun is a 1996 comedy-drama movie starring Halle Berry and James Belushi. The plot is loosely based on the true story of the Konawaena High School Solar Car Team, which finished 18th in the 1990 World Solar Challenge and first place among high school entries.-Plot:A new science teacher at...
|
Cindy Johnson |
|
| 1998–2003 |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
Faith |
20 episodes |
| 2000 |
Bring It On Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
|
Missy Pantone |
|
| 2000–2003 |
AngelAngel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
|
Faith |
6 episodes |
| 2001 |
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
|
Sissy |
|
| 2001 |
Soul Survivors Soul Survivors is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Melissa Sagemiller as a college student named Cassie, whose boyfriend Sean died in a car accident that resulted from her driving after a night of partying...
|
Annabel |
|
| 2002 |
|
Danielle |
|
| 2002 |
City by the Sea City by the Sea is a 2002 film starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand and William Forsythe. It deals with a family problems of wayward youth and set against a man trying to break free of his past. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones...
|
Gina |
|
| 2002 |
King of the HillKing of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
|
Jordan Hilgren-Bronson (voice) |
Episode: "Get Your Freak Off Get Your Freak Off is the first episode of Season 7 of the TV Series King Of The Hill.It premered November 3, 2002. Its rating is TV PG.-Plot:...
" |
| 2003 |
Wrong Turn Wrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...
|
Jessie Burlingame |
|
| 2003 |
|
Megan |
Video |
| 2003–2005 |
Tru Calling Tru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
|
Tru Davies |
27 episodes |
| 2005 |
That '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
|
Sarah |
Episode: "It's All Over Now" |
| 2006 |
|
Waitress |
Short film |
| 2007 |
Nurses |
Eve Morrow |
TV movie |
| 2007 |
On BroadwayOn Broadway is an independent film, shot in Boston in May 2006, starring Joey McIntyre, Jill Flint, Eliza Dushku, Mike O'Malley, Robert Wahlberg, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett.-Plot:...
|
Lena Wilson |
|
| 2007 |
Nobel Son Nobel Son is a 2007 American black comedy about a dysfunctional family dealing with the kidnapping of their son for ransom following the father's winning of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry...
|
City Hall |
|
| 2007 |
Ugly BettyUgly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
|
Cameron Ashlock |
Episode: "Giving Up the Ghost "Giving Up the Ghost" is the ninth episode in the second season, and the 32nd episode overall, of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on November 22, 2007. The episode was written by Charles Pratt, Jr. and directed by Gary Winick.-Plot:...
" |
| 2007 |
Sex and BreakfastSex and Breakfast is a 2007 dark comedy independent film starring Macaulay Culkin, Eliza Dushku, Alexis Dziena and Kuno Becker. Shooting took place in September 2006. The film opened in Los Angeles November 30, 2007, and was released on DVD on January 22, 2008 by First Look Pictures. The film was...
|
Renee |
|
| 2008 |
Bottle Shock Bottle Shock is a 2008 American comedy-drama film based on the 1976 wine competition termed the "Judgment of Paris", when California wine defeated French wine in a blind taste test. It stars Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman and is directed by Randall Miller, who wrote the screenplay along...
|
Joe |
|
| 2008 |
|
Megan Paige |
|
| 2008 |
|
Monica Wright |
|
| 2009 |
Open Graves Open Graves is a 2009 horror film, directed by Álvaro de Armiñán and written by Bruce A. Taylor and Roderick Taylor, the film stars Eliza Dushku, Mike Vogel, Naike Rivelli and Lindsay Robba.-Plot:...
|
Erica |
|
| 2009–2010 |
DollhouseDollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
|
EchoEcho is a fictional character portrayed by Eliza Dushku in the Fox science fiction series Dollhouse, created by Joss Whedon. Within the series' narrative, Echo is an "Active" or a "doll", one of a group of men and women who can be programmed with memories and skills to engage in particular...
|
27 episodes |
| 2010 |
Locked In Locked In is a 2010 independent thriller drama film directed by Suri Krishnamma and written by Ronnie Christensen, starring Ben Barnes, Sarah Roemer and Eliza Dushku. It was shot in the United States under the working title of Valediction...
|
Renee |
|
| 2010 |
|
FBI Special Agent Angela Page |
Episode: "The Apology Insufficiency" |
| 2011 |
Robotomy Robotomy is a Cartoon Network American animated television series created by Michael Buckley and Joe Deasy, directed by Christy Karacas , voice directed by Michael Sinterniklaas, and produced by World Leaders Entertainment. The series was developed after a long series of unaccepted ideas, and...
|
Shockzana (voice) |
Episode: "From Wretchnya with Love" |
| 2011 |
Noah's Ark: The New Beginning Noah's Ark: The New Beginning is an upcoming animated film featuring an ensemble voice cast. It is a retelling of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, told from the point of view of the animals on the ark, and is the second in the Promenade Pictures Epic Stories of the Bible film series, following on...
|
Zalbeth (voice) |
Post-production |
| 2011 |
Batman: Year One Batman: Year One is a 2011 animated superhero film based on the four-issue story arc Batman: Year One printed in 1987. It premiered at Comic-Con on July 22 and was officially released October 18, 2011. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu...
|
Selina Kyle/Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
(voice) |
| 2011 |
DC Showcase: Catwoman |
Selina Kyle/Catwoman (voice) |
short film |
| 2011 |
White Collar White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
|
Raquel Laroque |
Season 3 Episode 9: On The Fence |
| 2011 |
The Guild The Guild is an American comedy web series created and written by Felicia Day, who also stars as Cyd Sherman . It premiered on YouTube on July 27, 2007. Subsequent webisodes premiered on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and MSN Video. The webisodes were later made available on...
|
Herself |
Episode: "Social Traumas" |
Video games
| Year |
Title |
Role |
| 2003 |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos BleedsBuffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds is a video game and the fourth video game based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. It is the first multiplatform game in the franchise as well as the first game in the franchise to allow players to control characters other than Buffy Summers and also...
|
Faith |
| 2005 |
YakuzaYakuza, originally released in Japan as is an action-adventure fighter video game developed and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2...
|
Yumi |
| 2008 |
Saints Row 2Saints Row 2 is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 systems. It is the second title in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row in 2006. It is succeeded by Saints Row: The...
|
Shaundi |
| 2009 |
Wet Wet is a 2009 third-person shooter action video game, developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The game puts heavy emphasis on killing a large number of opponents while engaging in stylish acrobatic moves...
|
Rubi Malone |
| 2011 |
Fight Night Champion Fight Night Champion is a boxing video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It is the fifth entry in the Fight Night series and was released on March 1, 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
|
Megan McQueen |
External links