They Deserve Their Own Show (Part 2)
June 17, 2009 by Rueben
Filed under Lead Story, News
As I mentioned last week, I’ve collected a long list of actors and actresses who seem to go unnoticed by the general public and I want to give them just a bit more attention. Here is the next group:
Samaire Armstrong – She made a name for herself as Anna on The O.C. and had quite an adventure during her time on Dirty Sexy Money (both on screen and off). She starred in a Lifetime movie with Treat Williams and starred alongside Lindsey Lohan in Just My Luck. She has some movies coming up, including The Hatteras and How to Make It in America.
Morena Baccarin – Most viewers will know Morena from her roles in Firefly and Serenity as well as in Stargate: SG-1. She appeared in the short-lived series Heartland with Treat Williams and had guest appearances on The O.C., Justice, Las Vegas and Numb3rs. She also recently appeared in an episode of Medium along with James Van Der Beek. She had the lead role in the movie Sands of Oblivion (alongside Adam Baldwin). She will be seen in the ABC mid-season series V, the remake of the 1980’s cult favorite.

Arija Bareikis – Probably best known for her role in the short-lived FOX series The American Embassy, Arija was also seen in several episodes of Oz and Crossing Jordan. She has been in the movies Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo and its sequel and the movie No Reservations. Currently she can be seen in the John Wells drama Southland alongside Benjamin McKenzie, which will return next fall for its second season.

Eric Balfour - Eric appeared in the pilot episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and made guest appearances in Nash Bridges, Dawson’s Creek, Chicago Hope and The West Wing before getting a role in the short-lived series Veritas: The Quest and a lead role in another short-lived series, Hawaii. He then moved on to recurring roles in The O.C., Six Feet Under and 24. Most recent he’s been seen in Life of Mars, The Ex-List, the box office flop The Spirit and has three projects in the works, including Rise of the Gargoyle, Cell 213 and Dark as Day.
Benjamin Benitez – Ben appeared in episodes of Roswell, Angel, Without A Trace and CSI before landing a role in Tru Calling. He then had one of the lead roles in the short-lived series Wanted with Gary Cole. He has also been seen in Life, Knight Rider and the online series Gemini Division. His latest project was the box office movie Madea Goes to Jail.

Yannick Bisson – Yannick played the brother of Rick Springfield in the syndicated series High Tide, made numerous appearances in Soul Food, had one of the lead roles in Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye, starred in four Roxy Hunter movies and is currently the lead in Murdoch Mysteries.

Do you agree? Disagree? Do you recognize any or are they all unknowns to you? NGTV would love to hear your thoughts. Watch for the next installment of They Deserve Their Own Show next Wednesday!




I agree with you wholeheartedly on Morena, Arija, and Eric. Unfortunately Morena lost a lot of weight and cut her hair off so she doesn’t have that Inara-esque ehtereal beauty so much anymore. I’m thinking she could do really well with V, though, and I hope it turns out for her.
I’m not as familiar with Samaire; I think I know her from Entourage more than anything. Same with Benjamin. I miss Wanted, though, that show had potential. Yannick I don’t know at all, so that’s a new one for me!
Valerie: I’m glad you liked the list. It’s been a lot of fun putting this all together. It’s nice to know that because of this series of articles folks will learn about the talented actresses and actors out there who go under-appreciated. Please visit again, as there will be many more sections to this article to come in the months ahead.