Amanda Tapping (born August 28, 1965) is an English-born Canadian actress and producer. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. She also starred as Dr. Helen Magnus in the Syfy Channel series Sanctuary. Amanda's favorite villain as said in a interview and others, is Apophis because he's her first. She was a director in The Flash and Batwoman.
Background
Born in Rochford, Essex, England, she moved with her family to Ontario, Canada when she was three years old. She attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute where she excelled in environmental science and drama. However, when she finished in 1984, she decided to focus her attention on drama, attending the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Windsor, Ontario.
Acting career
After graduation Tapping continued to study theatrical arts while performing in several stage productions. She appeared in several television commercials and played a variety of roles in television and film productions, such as The Outer Limits and The X-Files. She also formed a comedy troupe, the "Random Acts", with collaborators Katherine Jackson and Anne Marie Kerr, in Toronto in the early 90's.
Tapping is best known for her portrayal of Samantha Carter in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, which debuted in 1997. After SG1 aired its final episode, Tapping reprised the role of Samantha Carter on Stargate Atlantis as the new commander of the Atlantis expedition. In season five however, Tapping's role on the show was reduced to that of "special guest-star" with only occasional appearances due to her choosing to focus attention on the development of a new series for the SCI FI Channel (now SyFy Channel) called Sanctuary. The show consisted of 13 episodes which expanded on an original show released on the internet in 2007 as a series of eight "webisodes", where the bulk of the scenery and characters are entirely green screen and CGI creations. Tapping serves as both star and executive producer of the show.
In 2007, Tapping won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress for her role in the short film Breakdown.
Tapping is also working with William Shatner on a 2011 animated webisode series "The Zenoids", written by Alan Dean Foster. Tapping and Shatner voice characters and Tapping is executive producer.
On September 18, 2012, she was cast as an angel named Naomi on the TV series Supernatural. She was a recurring character who appeared in seven episodes.
On December 31, 2015 she was cast as Colonel Carter on the TV series Star Trek: Intrepid, she was a recurring character who appeared in several episodes and Amanda has appeared on other Star Trek TV shows.
In 2018, she was cast as General Carter in her own spin-off series Star Trek: George Hammond. On June 3rd, 2018 Amanda portrayed Sam Carter in the first episode called Shakedown Cruise.
Directing experience
Tapping's first directing experience was during the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 on an episode titled "Resurrection", written by co-star Michael Shanks. She directed the seventh episode of Sanctuary season two titled "Veritas". She has directed three episodes (6, 8 and 10) of Primeval: New World, three episodes (2.12; 3.06; 3.07) of Continuum, and four episodes (5, 6, 9 and 10) of Olympus and more recently directed episodes of Dark Matter, Van Helsing, The Magicians, and Supernatural, as well as the historical drama X Company She also directed 5 episodes (1.12; 2.4; 2.7; 2.8 and 2.9) of Netflix Original Show Travelers ; Tapping directed the season finale of the 2017 series Anne with an "E".
Personal life
In 1994 Amanda Tapping married Alan Kovacs. As of 2004, Tapping lives with her husband, Alan Kovacs, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has one daughter, Olivia B., born on 22 March, 2005. Tapping has two living brothers, Richard and Christopher. Chris is her fraternal twin, who works in Toronto as a database administrator. A third brother, Steven, died in December 2006.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Donor | Cassie | |
| 1996 | What Kind of Mother Are You? | Ingrid Elstad | |
| 1997 | Booty Call | Dr. Moore | |
| 2001 | The Void | Prof. Eva Soderstrom | Video |
| 2002 | Stuck | Liz | |
| 2002 | Life or Something Like It | Carrie Maddox | |
| 2008 | Stargate: The Ark of Truth | Samantha Carter | Video |
| 2008 | Stargate: Continuum | Samantha Carter | Video |
| 2009 | Dancing Trees | Josephina Rooney | |
| 2012 | Space Milkshake | Valentina | |
| 2012 | Random Acts of Romance | Dianne | |
| 2013 | Hell in a Handbag | Mother Superior | |
| 2014 | Kid Cannabis | Teressia Lee Franks |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Forever Knight | Dr. Naomi Ross | "Near Death" |
| 1995 | Degree of Guilt | Marcy | TV film |
| 1995 | Net Worth | Colleen Howe | TV film |
| 1996 | Side Effects | Dr. Barbara Bertrand | "Easy Breathing" |
| 1996 | Goosebumps | Mrs. Merton | "It Came from Beneath the Sink" |
| 1996 | Due South | Audrey McKenna | "Starman" |
| 1996 | Haunting of Lisa | Gina / Angel | TV film |
| 1996 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Annie | "Shaolin Shot" |
| 1996 | The X-Files | Carina Sayles | "Avatar" |
| 1996 | Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story | Kathryn Laumann | TV film |
| 1996 | Remembrance | Linda | TV film |
| 1996 | The Newsroom | Lindsay Ward | "Dinner at Eight" |
| 1996–1997 | Flash Forward | Miss Yansouni | Recurring role |
| 1997–2007 | Stargate SG-1 | Samantha Carter Replicator Carter |
Main role Recurring role (Season 8) |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Cmdr. Kate Girard | "The Joining" |
| 1999 | Millennium | Dr. Cantor | "Borrowed Time" |
| 2004 | Traffic | Home Owners Wife | TV miniseries |
| 2005 | Earthsea | Lady Elfarren | TV miniseries |
| 2005–2009 | Stargate Atlantis | Samantha Carter | Guest role (Season 1–3, 5) Main role (Season 4) |
| 2006 | Engaged to Kill | Det. Burns | TV film |
| 2007–2011 | Sanctuary | Dr. Helen Magnus | Main role |
| 2009–2010 | Riese: Kingdom Falling | Narrator | Main role |
| 2009–2010 | Stargate Universe | Col. Samantha Carter | "Air: Part 1", "Incursion: Part 1" |
| 2010 | Canadian Comedy Shorts | Mary Johnson | "Breakdown" |
| 2012 | Taken Back: Finding Haley | Susan | TV film |
| 2012–2013, 2018 | Supernatural | Naomi | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Motive | Dr. Kate Robbins | "The One That Got Away" |
| 2014 | Package Deal | Jillian | "Danny's New Job", "Everybody Loves Beth" |
| 2015 | Killjoys | Dr. Jaeger | "Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye" |
| 2016–2017 | Travelers | Dr. Perrow | Recurring role (season 2) |
Director
| Year | Series | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Stargate SG-1 | "Resurrection" |
| 2009–2011 | Sanctuary | 3 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Primeval: New World | |
| 2013–2014 | Arctic Air | |
| Continuum | ||
| 2014 | Strange Empire | Episode: "Other Powers" |
| 2015 | Family for Christmas | TV film |
| Olympus | 4 episodes | |
| 2015–2016 | Dark Matter | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | X Company | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | The Magicians | Episode: "Remedial Battle Magic" |
| The Romeo Section | Episode: "Seeds of War" | |
| Van Helsing | 4 episodes | |
| 2016–2018 | Travelers | 9 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | Anne | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Reel Women Seen | Short |
| 2017–2019 | Supernatural | 4 episodes |
| 2018-2019 | Siren | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Blindspot | Episode: "Masters of War 1:5 – 8" |
| The 100 | Episode: "Matryoshka" | |
| 2020 | Motherland: Fort Salem | Episode: "A Biddy's Life" |
| The Flash | Episode: "Pay the Piper" | |
| Batwoman | Episode: "O, Mouse!" |
Theatre
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Lion in Winter as "Alais Capet"
- Steel Magnolias – West End Theater
- Look Back in Anger as "Alison" (1986)
- Children of a Lesser God as "Sarah" (1987)
- The Taming of the Shrew as "Bianca" (1988)
- Noises Off
- The Shadow Walkers
Credits
The Flash
Director
Season 6
- "Pay the Piper"
Batwoman
Director
Season 1
- "O, Mouse!"
Trivia
- Tapping is best known for her role as Samantha Carter in the Stargate franchise.