Allison Warnyca

Allison Warnyca
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Portrays:	Jaycie McGavin
Date of Birth:	March 28, 1980
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Age:	45
Nationality:	CAN
Related Media
		@ BW Media
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IMDb profile

Allison Warnyca (born March 28, 1980; a.k.a. Alli Warnyca) is a Canadian actress who portrayed Jaycie McGavin in the Razor Flashbacks.

Moosehead Beer commercial airing in 2003 featuring Warnyca (left) and Leah Cairns (right).

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Warnyca initially started at Theatre School in Quebec before transferring to complete her bachelor's degree in theater at the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria. After graduation, she attended the Atlantic Theatre Company program in New York before returning to Vancouver to work with local theaters including United Players and the Beaumont Studio. She continued her theater work in later years, notably playing the title role of Hedda in Courtenay Little Theatre's 2019 production of Hedda Gabler.

Career

Warnyca began her acting career as a bit player in music videos for bands including Damn the Diva and Cactus Pricks, which she described as "super fun, little shoots" that gave her "a good feel how everything worked" on set. She was later featured in a Moosehead beer commercial alongside future Battlestar Galactica co-star Leah Cairns, which was filmed during Halloween in freezing conditions.

The commercial featured three women discovering a secret lake and preparing to swim, unaware that three men had the same idea from the opposite side. The shoot proved extremely challenging, as it was filmed on Halloween day in temperatures around 1°C (-1°C), requiring the actors to pretend it was a hot summer day. The cast had been sent to tanning salons beforehand to achieve a summer look, but both actresses ended up with sunburn, making the removal of tight clothing over exposed skin particularly painful in the freezing conditions. Warnyca described the commercial experience as "my worst acting experience ever" due to the extremely cold weather conditions. This commercial shoot marked the beginning of her friendship with Cairns, and they later worked together again on I Want to Marry Ryan Banks. Her first film role was in the independent short 2 Minutes Before Midnight, which she described as "one long huge shot" about a couple fighting.

In television, she has appeared in numerous genre series including The 4400 as a cute young clerk, Smallville, where she enjoyed working with Tom Welling, Supernatural as a shopper, Dead Like Me as Missy Balabanian, and Cold Squad. She also had a guest role on Psych as a yoga instructor in 2013.

Warnyca particularly enjoyed roles that involved physical action and stunts. On Supernatural, she choreographed a fight scene that resulted in an accidental injury to her stunt partner when she "smashed her face into the wind shield" during an intense take. She described Dead Like Me as "really fun, because it was super kitschy and the lead actresses were hilarious to work for."

Voice Acting

Warnyca has established a significant presence in voice acting, contributing to multiple video games and animated productions. She provided additional voices for the video game Skate. in 2007, credited as Ali Warnaca. She continued voice work in Skate 3 (2010) and Prototype 2 (2012), providing additional character voices.

Her most prominent voice acting role was as Mona in the animated series GeoFreakZ (2011-2012), voicing the character across 22 episodes. She also voiced Nora in the animated film Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar (2012) and provided zombie voices for the video game Dead Rising 3 (2013), credited as Alli Warnyca.

Additionally, she contributed interview voices for the French-Canadian crime documentary series Eaux troubles du crime from 2008 to 2010. During her time in London, England, she worked for the BBC on a radio drama series called Atomic Tales, where she was often typecast as "the dumb American girl."

Battlestar Galactica

Warnyca in prosthetics worn during her scenes where she is maimed ^{(TRS: "Razor Flashbacks")}.

Warnyca's involvement with Battlestar Galactica came through her connections in Vancouver's close-knit acting community, as she was already friends with series regulars Nicki Clyne and Grace Park. Though not originally a science fiction fan, she developed respect for the series after seeing it through her friends' involvement.

She was cast directly as Jaycie McGavin without reading for other parts, with the production having searched for the character "for a while" before finding her. Warnyca created an extensive backstory for McGavin, envisioning her as "sort of a tough cookie" with "a hard growing up" who "had to have this tough exterior, but she's actually quite vulnerable on the inside." She particularly enjoyed the character's dynamic with young William Adama, noting that McGavin "really enjoyed being in the position that she was in" as the more experienced pilot compared to Adama's rookie status.

Working with Nico Cortez, who portrayed young William Adama, Warnyca found him "lovely" and noted his dedication to studying Edward James Olmos's characteristics to authentically portray the younger version of the character. The death scene required extensive prosthetics that "scared a little kid" when she emerged from her trailer, and she found the experience "really unreal actually to have all of that on my face." Director Wayne Rose deliberately left McGavin's fate ambiguous, telling Warnyca they would "leave it open, so you can come back for the next spin-off."

Personal Life

Warnyca lived in London, England for a period during her career, where she worked extensively in voice acting and theater. She is a dedicated yoga practitioner and instructor, having practiced for over ten years and taught for approximately five years as of 2010. She received her yoga certification in Thailand after completing a months-long training course there.

In addition to yoga, Warnyca is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys snowboarding, paragliding, camping, hiking, and wilderness adventures. She has expressed particular interest in action and adventure roles, describing her ideal role as "superhero, but a little corkier; the ones that don't take themselves that seriously" where she could "do a lot of crazy, outdoor, adventure stuff, like climbing and fighting." She has also worked on hosting projects, including a yoga television show and an adventure travel program.

Her most recent credited acting work was as a reporter in the 2014 production What an Idiot. She returned to theater in 2019, taking on the challenging title role of Hedda in Courtenay Little Theatre's production of Hedda Gabler, adapted by two-time Governor General Award-winning playwright Judith Thompson. The production was set in West Vancouver in 1963, and Warnyca described the experience by saying "The cast! They are pouring their hearts out on stage and it's thrilling to experience."

References