Morgan Frances Saylor (born October 26, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as

Dana Brody This is a list of characters appearing in the Showtime drama television series ''Homeland''. Appearances : = Main cast (credited) : = Recurring cast (3+) : = Guest cast (1-2) Main cast Recurring cast ;Notes Main characters The fo ...

in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

'', 2019's ''

Blow the Man Down "Blow the Man Down" is an English sea shanty, listed as 2624 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The lyric "Blow the man down" can be interpreted in a number of ways. Some see it as a reference to a sailor being struck with a fist. Given the shanty's ...

'' and for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Leah in the 2016 Sundance film '' White Girl''. Along with the rest of the cast of ''Homeland'', Saylor was nominated for the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Drama Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in drama series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...

in 2013 and 2014.

Early life

Saylor was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Her mother is an employee at

REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

and her father does renovations for

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

; they are divorced. Saylor moved to

Villa Rica, Georgia Villa Rica (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese translation: Rich Village) is a city in Carroll and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located roughly 30 miles west of Atlanta, a decision to develop housing on a large tract of land led t ...

at age two, and

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

at age ten. Saylor graduated from Decatur High School in May 2013 and subsequently moved to New York to continue acting. She attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

for a few years between roles, and since 2021 has been attending the

Columbia University School of General Studies The School of General Studies, Columbia University (GS) is a liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such c ...

Career

Saylor began acting through summer camps and community theater as a child. In fourth grade, she visited

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for the summer where she booked her first professional job: a voice-over as young Meadow in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's hit television series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''. Saylor played Annie in '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'' in 2009 and young Claire in ''

Father of Invention ''Father of Invention'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Trent Cooper, and stars Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle and Johnny Knoxville. Synopsis Robert Axle, a New Orleans-based infomercial guru, loses it all when one of his invent ...

'' in 2010. From 2011 to 2013, Saylor played

in ''

''. The

political thriller television series garnered nearly universal praise, especially for its first two seasons. In June 2014, Saylor made her stage debut at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has gr ...

as Penny opposite

Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, thr ...

and

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), ''Revol ...

in ''When We Were Young and Unafraid'', written by

Sarah Treem Sarah Treem is an American TV writer-producer and playwright. She is the co-creator and showrunner of the Showtime drama ''The Affair'', which won the Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and was a writer and co-executive producer o ...

and directed by

Pam MacKinnon Pam MacKinnon (born January 9, 1968) is an American theatre director. She has directed for the stage Off-Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre. She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for ...

. Also in 2014, she played Gracie Highsmith in ''

Jamie Marks Is Dead ''Jamie Marks Is Dead'' is a 2014 American supernatural horror drama film directed by Carter Smith, and starring Cameron Monaghan, Liv Tyler, Judy Greer, Morgan Saylor, Noah Silver and Madisen Beaty. Its plot follows a high school athlete who is ...

'', an adaptation of

Christopher Barzak Christopher Barzak (born July 21, 1975) is an American author. He has published many short stories, beginning with "A Mad Tea Party" in ''Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet'' in 1999. In 2007 he published his debut novel, '' One for Sorrow'', whi ...

's 2007 novel '' One for Sorrow'', directed by

Carter Smith Carter Smith (born September 6, 1971) is an American filmmaker and fashion photographer. He is best known for directing the films '' The Ruins'' (2008) and ''Jamie Marks Is Dead'' (2014). Life and career A native of Bowdoinham, Maine, Smith moved ...

. Saylor played

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

's character's daughter Julie in the sports drama ''

McFarland, USA ''McFarland, USA'' (also known as ''McFarland'') is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Ant� ...

'', which was released on February 20, 2015. She played the role of Leah in '' White Girl'', for which she received great critical praise. The film was written and directed by Elizabeth Wood and premiered at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi Ew ...

. Saylor acted alongside

Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to: * Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist * Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist * Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...

and

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

in director

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performanc ...

's film ''

Being Charlie ''Being Charlie'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Matt Elisofon and Nick Reiner. The film stars Nick Robinson, Common, Cary Elwes, Devon Bostick, Morgan Saylor, Susan Misner and Ricardo Chavira. It was screened ...

''. The film premiered at the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...

in September of that year. In 2017, Morgan was back at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

to premiere the film ''

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

'' in which she plays a young nun opposite

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice A ...

Margaret Qualley Sarah Margaret Qualley (born October 23, 1994) is an American actress and model. A daughter of actress Andie MacDowell, she trained as a ballerina in her youth. She made her acting debut with a minor role in the 2013 drama film ''Palo Alto'', a ...

and Diana Agron. Later that year she starred in "Anywhere With You," formerly titled "We The Coyotes", directed by Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via. The film premiered the following year in the ACID section of

2018 Cannes Film Festival The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett acted as President of the Jury. The Japanese film ''Shoplifters'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, won the Palme d'Or. Asghar Farhadi's psycho ...

. Saylor's next starring role came in ''

'', which premiered in 2019 at

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

and was released by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

on March 20th, 2020. This film was shot on location in

Harpswell, Maine Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell ...

. The following year, Morgan starred in the independent film ''You Mean Everything to Me''.

Personal life

Saylor has a small anchor tattooed behind her left ear; her older brother has a similar, larger anchor tattooed on his forearm. As a teenager, Saylor was part of a competitive

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

team and was nationally ranked. Saylor lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant with her partner

Ben Rosenfield Ben Rosenfield is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Willie Thompson on the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's period crime drama series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2013–2014). His first role was in the Off-Broadway stage adapta ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saylor, Morgan 1994 births 21st-century American actresses Living people Actresses from Chicago Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) Actresses from New York City American child actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses University of Chicago alumni Columbia University School of General Studies alumni