Sonya Walger
Encyclopedia
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC
series Lost
as Penelope "Penny" Widmore
, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.
and at Christ Church, Oxford
, where she read English Literature
, receiving a first class degree. Walger is conversational in French and fluent in Spanish, as her father is Argentinean.
. She portrayed Flic in Goodnight Sweetheart
in 1999, and appeared in two episodes of the crime/drama The Vice
. She played Donna Barnes on the HBO TV series The Mind of the Married Man
in 2001. On the US version of Coupling, which aired in 2003, she played Sally Harper.
Other acting roles have included guest appearances on Lost
as Desmond
's girlfriend, Penelope "Penny" Widmore and recurring roles on Sleeper Cell
and CSI: NY
. In 2004, Walger played Nicole Noone opposite Noah Wyle
in The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
.
In 2007, Walger appeared in the original Broadway production of Frost/Nixon, as Charlotte Cushing, David Frost
's then-girlfriend. Then she starred in the controversial HBO series Tell Me You Love Me
. The series gained notoriety even before the first episode had aired because of the frequency and extremely realistic nature of its sex scenes. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, these scenes were eventually confirmed as simulated by several individuals intimately connected with the show. With reference to the handjob apparently performed by Walger on actor Adam Scott
at the end of the pilot episode, show creator Cynthia Mort stated that "Sonya is not going to put her hands in a place that they shouldn't be." Director Patricia Rozema
and Walger's co-stars Ally Walker
and Jane Alexander
also explicitly denied that any actual sex took place on set.
Walger's recent guest starring roles included a supporting
part as Michelle Dixon, the wife of Sarah Connor's former fiancé on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On the hit ABC TV series Lost
, she portrayed the recurring role of Penelope "Penny" Widmore, the long-lost love of Desmond Hume
(Henry Ian Cusick
) and daughter of industrialist Charles Widmore. Walger was later cast in a starring role as Olivia Benford, a surgeon and wife of FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes
) on FlashForward, which was cancelled on 13 May 2010. In 2010, she appeared as Julia in Season 3 of the HBO drama series In Treatment
. She holds a lead role in the upcoming crime thriller The Factory
.
in July 2009; the couple resides in Los Angeles.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
as Penelope "Penny" Widmore
Penny Widmore
Penelope "Penny" Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Sonya Walger. Penny is introduced in the last episode of the second season of Lost as the long-lost lover of Desmond Hume as well as the daughter of British tycoon and antagonist Charles Widmore...
, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.
Education
Walger was educated at the independent Wycombe Abbey SchoolWycombe Abbey
Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is academically one of the top schools in the United Kingdom, and the top girls' boarding school...
and at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, where she read English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, receiving a first class degree. Walger is conversational in French and fluent in Spanish, as her father is Argentinean.
Career
In 1998, Walger played Becky in one episode of Midsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
. She portrayed Flic in Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart is a sitcom that ran for six series on BBC1 from 1993 to 1999. It stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, an accidental time traveller who leads a double life after discovering a time portal allowing him to travel between the London of the 1990s and the same area during the...
in 1999, and appeared in two episodes of the crime/drama The Vice
The Vice (TV series)
The Vice is an ITV police drama about the Metropolitan Police Vice Squad. It ran for five short series between 1999 and 2003. It tells the story of the London Metropolitan police forces vice squad, where prostitution, underage sex, and other such organized crime are regular occurrences...
. She played Donna Barnes on the HBO TV series The Mind of the Married Man
The Mind of the Married Man
The Mind of the Married Man is a television series that ran on the HBO network for two seasons consisting of twenty episodes between September 2001 and November 2002. The story attempts to focus on the challenges of modern-day married life from a male perspective.The show drew mixed reviews from...
in 2001. On the US version of Coupling, which aired in 2003, she played Sally Harper.
Other acting roles have included guest appearances on Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
as Desmond
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
's girlfriend, Penelope "Penny" Widmore and recurring roles on Sleeper Cell
Sleeper Cell (TV series)
Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...
and CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
. In 2004, Walger played Nicole Noone opposite Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
in The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear is the first in The Librarian franchise of movies which was originally released on American cable channel TNT in December 2004, directed by Peter Winther and starring Noah Wyle in the title role....
.
In 2007, Walger appeared in the original Broadway production of Frost/Nixon, as Charlotte Cushing, David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
's then-girlfriend. Then she starred in the controversial HBO series Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me is an American cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network on September 9, 2007.The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema and shot in Winnipeg,...
. The series gained notoriety even before the first episode had aired because of the frequency and extremely realistic nature of its sex scenes. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, these scenes were eventually confirmed as simulated by several individuals intimately connected with the show. With reference to the handjob apparently performed by Walger on actor Adam Scott
Adam Scott (actor)
Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
at the end of the pilot episode, show creator Cynthia Mort stated that "Sonya is not going to put her hands in a place that they shouldn't be." Director Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema
Patricia Rozema is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Rozema was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Sarnia, Ontario. Her parents, Jacoba Berandina and Jan Rozema, were Dutch Calvinists. Television was severely restricted and she didn’t go to a movie theatre until she...
and Walger's co-stars Ally Walker
Ally Walker
Allene Damian "Ally" Walker is an American actress, producer, director and screenwriter.She is best known for her roles as Doctor Samantha Waters on the NBC crime drama series Profiler , as Agent June Stahl on the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy and as Gloria Shepherd in the Lifetime drama...
and Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
also explicitly denied that any actual sex took place on set.
Walger's recent guest starring roles included a supporting
Supporting actor
A supporting actor is an actor who performs roles in a play or film other than that of the leads.These roles range from bit parts to secondary leads. They are sometimes but not necessarily character roles. A supporting actor must also use restraint not to upstage the main actor/actress in the...
part as Michelle Dixon, the wife of Sarah Connor's former fiancé on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On the hit ABC TV series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, she portrayed the recurring role of Penelope "Penny" Widmore, the long-lost love of Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) and daughter of industrialist Charles Widmore. Walger was later cast in a starring role as Olivia Benford, a surgeon and wife of FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Fiennes is an English film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Sir Robert Dudley in Elizabeth, Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates, Martin Luther in Luther, Merlin in Camelot, and his portrayal of Mark Benford in the...
) on FlashForward, which was cancelled on 13 May 2010. In 2010, she appeared as Julia in Season 3 of the HBO drama series In Treatment
In Treatment
In Treatment is an American HBO drama, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, about a psychologist, 50-something Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients, as well as those with his own therapist at the end of the week. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on...
. She holds a lead role in the upcoming crime thriller The Factory
The Factory (film)
The Factory is an upcoming thriller film directed by Morgan O'Neill and distributed by Warner Bros.-Plot:A cop is with his partner, on the trail of a serial killer prowling the streets of Buffalo, New York but when his teenage daughter disappears, he drops any professional restraint to get the...
.
Personal life
Walger married screenwriter/producer Davey HolmesDavey Holmes
Davey Holmes is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright.-Writing:Holmes has written for television shows including In Treatment for which he won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay - New Series, Damages for which he received a nomination for Writers Guild of America...
in July 2009; the couple resides in Los Angeles.