Devon Edward Sawa born September 7, 1978 is a Canadian actor. He began acting when he was a teen, appearing in the films Little Giants (1994), Casper (1995), Now and Then (1995), Night of the Twisters (1996), Wild America (1997), Idle Hands (1999), and Final Destination (2000).
From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Owen Elliot in the action spy drama series Nikita.
Early life
Sawa was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Joyce and Edward Sawa, a mechanic. He has two older siblings. His father is Polish, and his mother is “a little bit of everything”.
Career
Sawa began his career in 1992 as a children’s action toy spokesman. He appeared in the film Little Giants, and then got his big break in Casper, playing the role of Casper as a human boy. In Now and Then, Sawa played Scott Wormer, the town bully, and shared a second on-screen kiss with his co-star Christina Ricci (the first was in Casper). Sawa also starred in Wild America, Idle Hands, SLC Punk!, and Final Destination. In 2000, Sawa played the title character of the Eminem music video “Stan”. Sawa later became a voice actor by voicing Flash Thompson in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Sawa continued steadily by appearing in several independent films including Extreme Dating, Shooting Gallery, Devil’s Den, Creature Of Darkness, Endure, 388 Arletta Avenue, The Philly Kid, and A Resurrection.
Beginning in 2010, Sawa portrayed the role of Owen Elliott on The CW action drama series Nikita. In July 2012, he was promoted to series regular in season 3 of Nikita, and the show ended after four seasons in 2013.
In 2017, Sawa portrayed the role of Nico Jackson in Somewhere Between; the show ended after one season. Sawa appeared as Lester Clark Jr. in Escape Plan: The Extractors.
On July 25, 2019, the trailer was released for The Fanatic, a thriller starring Sawa as Hunter Dunbar, an actor who is stalked by a character named Moose, played by John Travolta. The movie was directed by Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst.
Personal life
Sawa is married to Canadian producer Dawni Sahanovitch. They wed in 2013. They have two children together, a son born in 2014 and a daughter born in 2016.
Sawa has described himself as being irreligious and an atheist, but supportive of freedom of religion.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Little Giants | Junior Floyd | |
| 1995 | Casper | Casper McFadden (human form) | |
| 1995 | Now and Then | Scott Wormer | |
| 1996 | Night of the Twisters | Danny Hatch | |
| 1997 | The Boys Club | Eric | |
| 1997 | Wild America | Mark Stouffer | |
| 1998 | A Cool, Dry Place | Noah Ward | |
| 1998 | SLC Punk! | Sean | |
| 1998 | Around the Fire | Simon Harris | |
| 1999 | Idle Hands | Anton Tobias | |
| 2000 | Final Destination | Alex Browning | |
| 2000 | The Guilty | Nathan Corrigan | |
| 2000 | Eminem: E | Stan | Segment: “Stan” |
| 2002 | Slackers | Dave Goodman | |
| 2002 | Extreme Ops | Will | |
| 2005 | Extreme Dating | Daniel Roenick | |
| 2005 | Shooting Gallery | Paul the Pawn | Direct to video |
| 2006 | Devil’s Den | Quinn | |
| 2009 | Creature of Darkness | Andrew | |
| 2010 | Random Walk | Short film | |
| 2010 | Endure | Zeth Arnold | |
| 2011 | 388 Arletta Avenue | Bill Burrows | |
| 2012 | The Philly Kid | Jake | |
| 2013 | A Resurrection | Travis | |
| 2014 | A Warden’s Ransom | Miller | |
| 2015 | The Exorcism of Molly Hartley | Father John Barrow | Direct-to-video |
| 2015 | Life on the Line | Duncan | |
| 2016 | Punk’s Dead | Sean | |
| 2019 | Escape Plan: The Extractors | Lester Clark Jr. | |
| 2019 | The Fanatic | Hunter Dunbar | |
| 2019 | Jarhead: Law of Return | Major Ronan Jackson | |
| 2020 | Disturbing the Peace | Diablo | |
| 2020 | Hunter Hunter | Joseph Mersault | |
| 2020 | Death Rider in the House of Vampires | Death Rider |