Best actors from ECHL North Division cities

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of a series in which a Pucks and Rec writer will select the top contemporary entertainment citizen of every city in a select minor-league hockey division. The seven current and future markets comprising the ECHL North Division are this week’s focus. All filmography and award information is courtesy of the Internet Movie Database.

Adirondack (Glens Falls): Lisa Eichhorn
The small Upstate New York town could not retain its future acting talent for long. Eichhorn spent the bulk of her upbringing on Long Island and in another current ECHL city, Reading, Pa. She also peaked a tad early, landing her first (and still only) two Golden Globe nominations in 1979.

Still, Eichhorn has spent nearly four decades tying Glens Falls to a laundry list of household programs. Between 1992 and 2003, she made a combined six appearances on three versions of Law & Order. She is also on the all-time roster for Chicago Hope, Judging Amy and Murder, She Wrote.

On the movie front, Eichhorn most recently appeared in two lower-profile films released last year. But her TV connections are plenty to lend Glens Falls pride as her birthplace.

Brampton: Michael Cera
Cera has yet to recreate his early high point from the Arrested Development/Juno/Superbad era. His precociousness effectively culminated with the title role in 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

But while he is less visible now, Cera is still in demand at the relatively unripe age of 29. He was a regular on Adult Swim’s Children’s Hospital until the show concluded last year, and is back on Arrested Development with its Netflix revival. In between, he has logged nine one-off TV or film credits this year, including a guest spot on Twin Peaks.

Maine* (Portland): Anna Kendrick
*The Mariners are a pending franchise due to launch in 2018-19. But that is good enough to classify Portland as an ECHL city now.

Kendrick’s Oscar-nominated performance in the 2009 dramedy, Up in the Air, set a tone for a versatile film career. She has indeed been a constant in Hollywood since then.

Kendrick’s singing prowess has come through in Into the Woods and two Pitch Perfect films (with a third installment on tap). Last year saw her perform in five films covering a near-full scope of genres. Three of those projects yielded individual or ensemble accolades.

With the animated musical, Trolls, Kendrick added a shared Hollywood Music in Media Award victory and a BTVA nomination to her transcript. With Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, she shared a CinemaCon prize with costars Adam Devine and Zac Efron.

Manchester: Sarah Silverman
While most of Silverman’s latest accolades are for off-screen contributions, her energy is self-evident. Besides masterminding the Emmy-nominated Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles and Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust, she has logged 27 acting credits over the last four calendar years.

As a voice artist, Silverman and her sister, Laura, have turned in underrated performances as Ollie and Andy Pesto on Bob’s Burgers. Next year’s Wreck–It Ralph sequel will be her chance (and that of her castmates) to build on the acclaimed 2012 original.

And Silverman’s likeness is still showing up on screens of all sizes. Of particular note this year, she portrayed Gladys Heldman in Battle of the Sexes.

Reading: Jillian Murray
With the aforementioned Eichhorn covering Glens Falls, it was between Murray and Megan Gallagher to represent Reading.

The 57-year-old Gallagher has a generous smattering of A-list programs on her log. In the last decade, she has appeared on Designated Survivor, Suits, Gray’s Anatomy, Scandal, CSI, The Mentalist, Crossing Jordan and 24.

But those aggregated spots cannot match Murray’s main role on the third-year CBS drama, Code Black. As Heather Pinckey, the 33-year-old effectively launched the busiest stretch of her career to date.

Murray has already seen one film credit roll out this year. Three more are still to come while another is slated for 2018.

Wheeling: John Corbett
The decorated Northern Exposure and Sex and the City alumnus is still garnering guest spots on successful series. Corbett made 10 appearances on NBC’s Parenthood and is reportedly up for a role in the upcoming final season of Portlandia.

The latter gig will put him in the quantitative and qualitative company of Jeff Goldblum, Rashida Jones and Tracee Ellis Ross, just to name three.

Worcester: H. Jon Benjamin
Denis Leary is certainly the proudest Worcesterian in entertainment, and he has done much to instill mutual appreciation. His track record with Rescue Me and Recount are self-explanatory. Other recent roles like Captain Stacy in The Amazing Spiderman reaffirm his trademark persona of a seasoned, acerbic authority figure.

With that said, Leary pushed this competition to overtime, but Benjamin buried the sudden-death strike. Unlike conventionally versatile voice artists, he makes his same trademark tone work on programs as far apart as Bob’s Burgers and Archer.

The latter has landed Benjamin a nomination for both a Primetime Emmy and an Annie. The former has made him an indispensable one-fifth of this decade’s definitive dysfunctional animated TV family. And he too appreciates his working-class Central Massachusetts roots, even hinting to the Boston Globe that they influenced Bob Belcher.