Sullivan Movies Anne of Green Gables AnneToon Road To Avonlea Wind At My Back Out Of The Shadows Navillus Still The Lovely Shop At Sullivan

The Cast: Then and Now

Have you ever wondered what happened to your favourite actors and actresses from Anne of Green Gables? Here’s a look at what they have all achieved since their days in Prince Edward Island.

Megan Follows (Anne Shirley)


Megan Follows was just 16 years old when she was chosen to play Anne, a role that earned her a 1986 and a 1988 Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress.

Just after Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Megan provided the voice of Clara in the animated film The Nutcracker Prince, with Kiefer Sutherland, and played Juliet in the Stratford Festival production that starred Canadian actor Colm Feore as Mercutio. She also went on to star in Sullivan Entertainment’s Under the Piano, in which she played an autistic woman who is very musically talented but relies heavily upon the protection of her sister, played by Amanda Plummer.

Since then, Megan’s credits are a list of some of the most popular television shows in the last couple of decades, including The Outer Limits, Murder She Wrote, Law & Order, ER, The X-Files, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami. Megan reprised her role as Anne in Kevin Sullivan’s 2000 production of Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, for which she received a Gemini Award nomination. She later went on to play Shania Twain’s mother, Sharon, in the CBC production Shania: A Life in Eight Albums. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for this performance.

Megan’s most recent credits include the popular television show Brothers & Sisters, starring Sally Field, Raising the Bar and Heartland. The 42-year-old actress, who was been nominated five times for Gemini Awards and won twice for her role in the Anne films, has two children – Lyla Ann and Russell. She currently balances her time between caring for her children and performing on both stage and screen.

Colleen Dewhurst (Marilla Cuthbert)

Colleen Dewhurst scored one success after another in a career which ranged from Broadway to motion pictures and television. Dewhurst starred on Broadway in All the Way Home where she won her first Tony, The Queen and The Rebels, An Almost Perfect Person, and A Moon for the Misbegotten, for which she won her second Tony Award. Dewhurst’s films include Dead Zone, Tribute with Jack Lemmon, Annie Hall and McQ with John Wayne.

Dewhurst won three Emmy Awards and received two Emmy nominations for her reprisal of the role of Marilla Cuthbert on Road to Avonlea. Colleen Dewhurst passed away on August 22, 1991. She was 67 years old.

Richard Farnsworth (Matthew Cuthbert)

Richard Farnsworth worked for more than thirty years as a stuntman before he moved into acting. He was a stuntman in such films as Gone with the Wind, The Ten Commandments, and Spartacus. Farnsworth was over fifty when he decided to move into acting. At the age of 58, he received his first Academy Award nomination for Comes a Horseman. His other film credits include The Grey Fox, The Natural, Misery, and The Straight Story, for which he garnered his second Academy Award nomination. Richard Farnsworth passed away on October 6, 2000. He was 80 years old.

Jonathan Crombie (Gilbert Blythe)

Jonathan Crombie reprised the role of Gilbert Blythe as a guest star in the series Road to Avonlea. His additional television credits include the television movies The Waiting Game and The Killing Fields, and the series Slings and Arrows and Earth: Final Conflict, among others. His big screen credits include Café Romeo and The Jeweler’s Shop, with Burt Lancaster. On stage, Crombie’s numerous performances at the prestigious Stratford Festival Theatre include the roles of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew, Orlando in As You Like It, Bud in Sweet Bird of Youth and Guildenstern in Hamlet. Jonathan was the voice for Benjamin Bear in The Secret World of Benjamin Bear (2004-2010).

You can follow Jonathan on Twitter @JDCrombie.

Schuyler Grant (Diana Barry Wright)

Schuyler Grant comes from an acting family. She is the great niece of legendary Katharine Hepburn. Grant appeared in the television movie Laura Lansing Slept Here with her famous great aunt. After Anne of Green Gables, Grant made a guest appearance on Law & Order and was a regular on All My Children.

Currently, she currently resides in Tribeca, New York and is the director of the Kula Yoga Project.

Marilyn Lightstone (Miss Muriel Stacey)


Marilyn Lightstone is a celebrated Canadian actress, known for her appearances on a wide variety of television programs, including Dennis the Menace, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures and The Super Mario Bros, Super Show. However, Lightstone is best known for her heartwarming portrayal of Miss Muriel Stacey in Anne of Green Gables and Road To Avonlea. Lightstone also starred in Kevin Sullivan’s first feature-length film The Wild Pony. Among her accolades in film are a Genie Award for Best Actress for Lies My Father Told Me; a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for In Praise of Older Women; and a Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for The Tin Flute. Lightstone now currently hosts an evening show on Toronto’s Classical 96 – Znaimer’s classical music radio station. She is also a successful photographer, painter, mixed media artist and author.

You can visit Marilyn’s official site at marilynlightstone.com.

Frank Converse (Morgan Harris)


After playing the wealthy bachelor who tried – unsuccessfully – to woo Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Frank Converse went on to perform in a number of television’s most popular dramas, including Murder She Wrote, All My Children, The Practice, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Lipstick Jungle and most recently, Law & Order. However, the American actor, born in St. Louis, Missouri – now in his fourth decade of acting – had many credits under his belt well before The Sequel aired in 1987. Frank is perhaps best known for his work in the 60s and 70s on such series as Coronet Blue, N.Y.P.D. and Movin’ On. He starred alongside Blythe Danner and Bing Crosby in the miniseries Dr. Cook’s Garden and could be seen in some of the 70’s biggest hit shows, such as The Mod Squad, The Love Boat, Rhoda and Bionic Woman. In addition to film and television, Frank often returned to his roots on the stage and starred on Broadway in The Philadelphia Story and A Streetcar Named Desire, to name just a few. He is currently married with four children.

Dame Wendy Hiller (Mrs. Harris)


Dame Wendy Hiller became an instant star with her London debut in Love on the Dole in 1935 and repeated her success on Broadway the following year. She remained primarily a stage actress, appearing only sporadically in films. Her stage credits include Twelfth Night, Cradle Song, The First Gentleman, The Heiress and Flowering Cherry. Her film credits begin with playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion and go on to include Major Barbara, The Elephant Man, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne and The Countess Alice. She won an Academy Award for her role in Separate Tables and gave stirring performances as Alice Moore opposite Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons. She was appointed Dame in 1975. Dame Wendy Hiller passed away on May 14, 2003. She was 90 years old.

Patricia Hamilton (Rachel Lynde)


Patricia Hamilton reprised the role of Rachel Lynde in the television series Road to Avonlea. Her role in A Bird in the House garnered her a 1975 Canadian Film Award. Hamilton’s stage credits include Keely & Du, If We Are Women, Dreamland, King Lear, Miracle Mother, The Arab’s Mouth and Bob’s Kingdom. She was the recipient of a Dora Mavor Moore Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in I Am Yours. Hamilton was honored with a Brenda Donahue Award for Distinguished Contribution to Theatre in Toronto in 1987.

Rosemary Dunsmore (Katherine Brooke)


Fans of Sullivan Entertainment will remember Rosemary Dunsmore as both the uptight headmistress of Kingsport Ladies College in whom Anne finds a kindred spirit, as well as Janet King’s sister Abigail in Road to Avonlea. Since Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, the Canadian actress has appeared in over 80 diverse programs, including feature films, television shows and miniseries. Her more recent credits include Degrassi: The Next Generation, ReGenesis, Orphan, Nureyev and Murdoch Mysteries, to name just a few. In 2008 she won the ACTRA Toronto Award for Best Female Performance in The Baby Formula and is a two-time Gemini Award nominee for the television programs Blades of Courage and Blue Murder.

In addition to all this, Rosemary, who was named by Maclean’s Magazine as a “Canadian who makes a difference” in 1990, is a director on the stage. She has both appeared in and directed productions such as Wuthering Heights, The Glass Menagerie and Wit – for which she won a Masque Award. Rosemary has also taught acting at several schools and centres across Canada, including the University of Toronto, the Canadian Film Centre and the National Theatre School.

Cameron Daddo (Jack Garrison Jr.)


At the age of 19, Cameron Daddo began his career in the Australian children’s television program Off the Dish, followed by The Cameron Daddo Cartoon Show. His television credits include the series Models Inc., FX: The Series, Young Indiana Jones, The Mentalist, 24, Without A Trace, Boston Legal and Nikita; television movies The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie, Confession and Category 7: The End of the World. His film credits include Big Momma’s House 2 and Inland Empire. Daddo’s stage credits include I Hate Hamlet, Love Letters, The Wizard of Oz and The Haunting of the Snake. Cameron Daddo is also a talented musician. His debut album A Long Goodbye reached #2 on the Australian charts. Daddo is featured in the TV series Packed to the Rafters.

You can visit Cameron’s official site at camerondaddo.com.

Barbara Hershey (Anne Shirley)


A native of Hollywood, California, Barbara Lynn Herzstein was born February 5, 1948 and made her acting debut in 1965 on the television series, Gidget (1965-1966). Her motion picture career however, began in 1968 when she starred in With Six You Get An Eggroll (1968). The 1980’s catapulted Hershey’s film career to star status. She starred in The Stunt Man (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Hoosiers (1986), Tin Men (1987), Beaches (1988) and A World Apart (1988). Hershey is a winner of an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for A Killing In A Small Town (1990) also back-to back Best Actress Awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her performances in Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988). In addition to her role as Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, Hershey can be seen in The Birds Can’t Fly (2007), Love Comes Lately (2007) and Black Swan (2010).

Shirley MacLaine (Amelia Thomas)


Born April 24th, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia, Shirley MacLean Beaty, was born into an acting family. She made her acting debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry (1955), which won her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. In 1983, she won her first Oscar for Terms Of Endearment after being nominated five times previously for her respective roles in Some Came Running (1959), The Apartment (1961), Irma La Douce (1964), The Other Half of the Sky (1976) The Turning Point (1978) and Steel Magnolias (1989). Her long list of achievements throughout her years in the industry includes one Emmy Award and four nominations and seven Golden Globe Awards and thirteen nominations (including the Cecil B. Demille award for outstanding contribution to the entertainment field in 1998). She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With a commanding onscreen presence, the acclaimed actress lends her talents to Anne Of Green Gables: A New Beginning, portraying strong-minded businesswoman, Amelia Thomas, MacLaine’s legendary acting skills are once again on display.

You can follow Shirley on Twitter @maclaineshirley and on her official site at shirleymaclaine.com.

Rachel Blanchard (Louisa Thomas)


Born March 19, 1976 in Toronto, Rachel Blanchard’s career began when she appeared on the popular Canadian children’s series, The Kids Of Degrassi Street (1982), where she played Melanie Schlegel. She also had a reoccurring role on the Nickelodeon show, Are You Afraid Of The Dark? (1991-1993). Her breakthrough role though wouldn’t come until 1996 when she was picked out of hundreds of hopefuls to have the starring role in the television series, Clueless based on the 1995 hit movie. Since then she has made a name for herself in the acting community with appearances in several popular movies including Road Trip (2000), Snakes On A Plane (2006), Atom Egoyan’s Where The Truth Lies (2005), Careless (2007) Adoration (2008), and Growing Op (2008). She received critical acclaim for her performance in the award-winning second series of sitcom Peep Show. She played Jemaine’s (and Bret’s) girlfriend Sally on the HBO show Flight of the Conchords.

Hannah Endicott-Douglas (Young Anne Shirley)


After an exhaustive search spanning all across Canada, the hunt for a new Anne Shirley finally came to an end when 13 year-old, Hannah was selected to reprise the role made famous by Megan Follows. Hannah landed her first role at the age of nine in a film for Warner Bros. Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004). She then played the part of Lori in the Hallmark movie of the week The Good Witch (2008). In addition, Hannah has lent her voice for many characters for popular animated shows including Will And Dewitt. In addition to her role as Young Anne Shirley in Anne Of Green Gables: A New Beginning, Hannah can be seen guest starring in the episode entitled “Planets Aligned” in CTV’s Flashpoint (2008) and lending her voice to the cartoon series My Friend Rabbit (2007-2008). Hannah was last seen acting in the TV movie The Good Witch’s Family (2011).

Ron Lea (Gene Armstrong)


A native of Montreal, Canada, Ron Lea’s impressive list of film and television credits includes roles in such productions as Criminal Law and This Is Wonderland. A student at Concordia University, he later went on to pursue further acting training at Canada’s acclaimed National Theatre School. His career took off when he appeared in such theatrical productions as the One Eyed Kings at the Tarragon Theatre as well as Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Centaur Theatre. His work on the television series Street Legal garnered him much attention and he received a Gemini nomination for his portrayal of Brian Malony in 1995. More recently, he appeared in the horror thriller, Saw IV. Sullivan fans will remember him fondly as Grace Bailey’s love interest, Del in the television series Wind At My Back. Ron will be featured in 2012′s new movie, The Resurrection of Tony Gitone.

Be Sociable, Share!