Kelsey Egan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kelsey-Colin Kass Egan (born 20 March 1983) is an American-South African filmmaker, actress, and stunt performer. She founded the
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
-based production company Crave Pictures. Her short film ''Gargoyle'' (2009) and science fiction film '' Glasshouse'' (2021) were nominated for SAFTAs.


Early and personal life

Egan is from Wisconsin and attended
Whitefish Bay High School Whitefish Bay High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in the village of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States. Enrollment is 947 students, in grades 9 through 12. The school newspaper, the ''Tower Times'', and the school ...
. She took a course at the
British American Drama Academy The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in London, in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College and Yale University. Background The British American Drama Academy (BADA) was founded in 1983 by Tony Branch and ...
in London. She double majored in Drama and Neuroscience and Behavior at
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
, graduating in 2005. She briefly lived in New York City and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
before moving to
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
in 2008. She holds dual citizenship.


Career


Filmmaking

To gain experience in the industry, Egan decided to begin her career working both in front of the camera and on sets behind the scenes. She was a production assistant for the documentary '' Trumbo'' (2007) and the films '' I Am Legend'' (2007), '' Stop-Loss'' (2008), and ''
Deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
'' (2008), and a production coordinator for the films '' Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past'' (2008) and ''
Gugu and Andile ''UGugu no Andile'' is a 2008 South African drama film directed by Minky Schlesinger, and starring Daphney Hlomuka, Neil McCarthy & Lungelo Dhladhla. The film received 10 nominations and won 3 awards at the 2009 Africa Movie Academy Awards, incl ...
'' (2008) as well as the
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
series '' Strike Back'' (2011). She was a script supervisor for
Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp (; born 17 September 1979) is a South African filmmaker. He employs a documentary-style, Hand-held camera, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery, computer-gene ...
's ''
District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...
'' (2009). Egan's first short film ''Gargoyle'', filmed in 2008, was nominated for Best Short Film at the 2010
South African Film and Television Awards South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
. Her other short films include ''21th Street'' (2010), ''Red Herring'' (2014), ''The Bull'' (2018), and ''The Fighter'' (2019). Egan was a VFX producer for the 2014 adaptation of ''
The Giver ''The Giver'' is a 1993 American young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry, set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has taken away pain ...
'' and cast assistant on the sets of the films '' Eye in the Sky'' (2015) and '' The Dark Tower'' (2017). She wrote on seven episodes of the 2018 children's animated series ''Munki and Trunk'' as well as on the 2019
M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
crime thriller miniseries '' Trackers''. While ''The Fix'' was postponed, Egan began collaborating with screenwriter Emma Lungiswa de Wet on a slate of three "grounded" science fiction films for Local Motion Pictures. The first of the slate '' Glasshouse'' was written over
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
during the
COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
and filmed on location in the Eastern Cape in late 2020. The film premiered at the 2021
Fantasia Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
, officially marking Egan's feature directorial debut, followed by a wide release in 2022. ''Glasshouse'' received six nominations at the
South African Film and Television Awards South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
that year, including Best Feature Film, winning five of them. Egan's upcoming titles include ''The Fix'', ''Outer Edges'', and the latter two films in her slate with Lungiswa de Wet.


Acting and stunt work

Egan first did stunt work for '' Death Race 3: Inferno''. She made her television debut in 2012 as a stunt performer in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
historical miniseries ''
Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...
''. She played Nicole Weiss in the 2013 crime film '' Zulu''. For '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', Egan alongside the other stunt performers won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Stunt Ensemble. She was
Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
's stunt double in the first season of ''
The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'' on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and
Jane de Wet Jane de Wet is a South African actress and dancer. Personal life De Wet is from Somerset West, Western Cape. She first discovered performing arts as a dancer in a recital at De Hoop Primary School. She matriculated at Parel Vallei High School a ...
's in the
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ser ...
adaptation of
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...
's '' The Watch''. She played Honey in the dark comedy film ''
Fried Barry ''Fried Barry'' is a 2020 South African black comedy science fiction Horror film, horror film written and directed by Ryan Kruger. The film has its world premiere at the 2020 Cinequest Film Festival. The film stars Gary Green, Bianka Hartenstei ...
'' and Siri in the Afrikaans romantic comedy ''Kaalgat Karel''.


Filmography


Filmmaking


Acting and stunt work

}) , Cat , , - , 2020 , ''
Fried Barry ''Fried Barry'' is a 2020 South African black comedy science fiction Horror film, horror film written and directed by Ryan Kruger. The film has its world premiere at the 2020 Cinequest Film Festival. The film stars Gary Green, Bianka Hartenstei ...
'' , Honey , , - , 2021 , ''Kaalgat Karel'' , Siri , , -


Other credits


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Kelsey Living people 1983 births American emigrants to South Africa American women film directors American women film producers Naturalised citizens of South Africa People from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin Science fiction film directors South African women film directors South African women film producers Vassar College alumni Women stunt performers