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Chelah Horsdal

Chelah Horsdal

Born: 1973-06-19 • Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Chelah Horsdal is a Canadian actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series Hell on Wheels, When Calls the Heart, and The Man in the High Castle, recurring roles on Stargate SG-1, Level Up, Arrow, and Star Trek: Discovery, and for her roles in the films Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Horsdal was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She says she "was born to hippie parents while surrounded by friends and family on the 'farm' Headacres."

She is the daughter of mother Lindsay and folksinger father Valdy. She grew up with her mother in Kitsilano and attended Bayview Elementary followed by Lord Byng Secondary. She began modelling in locally shot TV shows and commercials at 18, and then lived in the Caribbean for a year.

Horsdal began her acting career in 2002. She has since appeared in more than 75 commercials as well as in films and on television. She has played lead and supporting roles on Hell on Wheels, The Man In the High Castle, When Calls the Heart, Candiland, Patterson's Wager, Three Weeks, Three Kids, On Strike For Christmas, Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, and Lifetime's The Client List. She had lead roles in Lying To Be Perfect and Mrs. Miracle.

Additional credits include leads on the feature Burning Mussolini, Nickelodeon's Gym Teacher: The Movie, co-starring Christopher Meloni and Amy Sedaris, Flirting with Forty with Heather Locklear and the FOX TV pilot The Virgin of Akron, Ohio. Supporting leads include Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem for 20th Century Fox and Possession alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as Elegy with Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz and Rise of the Planet of the Apes with John Lithgow and James Franco.

Her performances in the short films Dark Room (2006) and The Hostage (2010) both earned Leo nominations for Best Performance. Recurring roles include Battlestar Galactica, Exes & Ohs, The L Word, Stargate: SG1, Saved, DaVinci's Inquest, Whistler, Blackstone, Clue and Cartoon Network's Level Up.

The Hostage, for which Horsdal was nominated for Best Actress at the 2011 Leos, co-starred and was produced by Tahmoh Penikett and Aleks Paunovic. Horsdal was nominated for four more Leo Awards for her guest starring turn on Arctic Air (2013), for Hell on Wheels and When Calls the Heart, and for Patterson's Wager.

Filmography
Backrooms poster
Backrooms
2026
Prom Pact poster
Prom Pact
2023 • Mrs. Lansing
Spontaneous poster
Spontaneous
2020 • Denise
Noelle poster
Noelle
2019 • Shelley Sussman
Ash poster
Ash
2019 • Gail Hurst
Last Stand to Nowhere poster
Last Stand to Nowhere
2019 • Wylona Earp
Boundaries poster
Boundaries
2018 • Therapist
The Show poster
The Show
2017 • Elliot's Mom
Pretty Little Addict poster
Pretty Little Addict
2016 • Donna Phillips
Candiland poster
Candiland
2016 • Tess/The Queen
Even Lambs Have Teeth poster
Even Lambs Have Teeth
2015 • Abby
No Image
Patterson's Wager
2015 • Audrey
Gord's Brother poster
Gord's Brother
2015 • Amanda
When Calls the Heart: The Dance poster
When Calls the Heart: The Dance
2014 • Cat Montgomery
When Calls the Heart: A Telling Silence poster
When Calls the Heart: A Telling Silence
2014 • Cat Montgomery
If I Stay poster
If I Stay
2014 • Liddy
Clue: A Movie Mystery Adventure poster
Clue: A Movie Mystery Adventure
2014 • Headmistress Kroger
The Grim Sleeper poster
The Grim Sleeper
2014 • Livi Vazquez
Sole Custody poster
Sole Custody
2014 • Ann
Hunting Season poster
Hunting Season
2013 • Nancy
Midnight Stallion poster
Midnight Stallion
2013 • Rita Shephard
Kill for Me poster
Kill for Me
2013 • Maria Klein
It's Christmas, Carol! poster
It's Christmas, Carol!
2012 • Tanya
The Cabin in the Woods poster
The Cabin in the Woods
2012 • Demo Girl
Rise of the Planet of the Apes poster
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011 • Irena - Charles' Nurse
Marley & Me: The Puppy Years poster
Marley & Me: The Puppy Years
2011 • Carol Grogan
Three Weeks, Three Kids poster
Three Weeks, Three Kids
2011 • Mandy Norton
Altitude poster
Altitude
2010 • Mrs. Taylor
The Client List poster
The Client List
2010 • Doreen
The Tortured poster
The Tortured
2010 • Liane Strader
Lying to Be Perfect poster
Lying to Be Perfect
2010 • Nancy
Betwixt poster
Betwixt
2010 • Vanessa
Mrs. Miracle poster
Mrs. Miracle
2009 • Kate Preston
Helen poster
Helen
2009 • Kara
Possession poster
Possession
2009 • Miranda
Come Dance at My Wedding poster
Come Dance at My Wedding
2009 • Nancy Reed
Alien Trespass poster
Alien Trespass
2009 • Betsy's Mother
Burning Mussolini poster
Burning Mussolini
2009 • Cheryll Witherspoon
Flirting with Forty poster
Flirting with Forty
2008 • Anne
Passengers poster
Passengers
2008 • Janice
Gym Teacher: The Movie poster
Gym Teacher: The Movie
2008 • Winnie
Elegy poster
Elegy
2008 • Susan Reese
Vice poster
Vice
2008 • Woman in Elevator
Past Lies poster
Past Lies
2008 • Danielle
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem poster
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
2007 • Darcy
Perfect Child poster
Perfect Child
2007 • Jen
Crossroads - A Story of Forgiveness poster
Crossroads - A Story of Forgiveness
2007 • Cindy
Ashes Fall poster
Ashes Fall
2007 • Joanna
A Decent Proposal poster
A Decent Proposal
2007 • Cynthia Lewis
Fallen poster
Fallen
2006 • Lori Corbett
X-Men: The Last Stand poster
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006 • Minivan Mother
Hollow Man II poster
Hollow Man II
2006 • Blind Secretary
The Pink Panther poster
The Pink Panther
2006 • Security Guard
Dreams in the Witch House poster
Dreams in the Witch House
2005 • Frances Elwood
The Exorcism of Emily Rose poster
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
2005 • Asst. DA #3
Pursued poster
Pursued
2004 • Sharon
Paycheck poster
Paycheck
2003 • Young Mother
The Ambassador poster
The Ambassador
— • Mrs. Spencer