Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a four-part series in which a Pucks and Rec writer will select the top contemporary entertainment citizen of every city in a select NHL division. The eight markets comprising the NHL Pacific Division are this week’s focus. All filmography and award information is courtesy of the Internet Movie Database.
Anaheim: Milo Ventimiglia
The pure-bred Orange County product (albeit one who roots for the Kings) had a range of interests in high school. But acting emerged as his clear-cut forte when he earned his first TV role the year he graduated. He continued to cut his teeth for a half-decade, then hit mainstream status at the turn of the century.
Building on his breakout on Gilmore Girls and continuing rise through Heroes and Chosen, Ventimiglia is now a first-time Emmy nominee. His role as Jack Pearson on This Is Us has already yielded an MTV prize for 2017’s best tearjerker.
Previously, as protagonist Ian Mitchell on Chosen, Ventimiglia garnered an International Academy of Web Television trophy in 2014. For Heroes, he appeared on two ballots and came out on top once at the Teen Choice Awards, which has since given him comparable recognition for This Is Us.
Arizona (Glendale): Jennie Garth
Few A-listers hail specifically from the Coyotes’ current hometown. But Garth, along with singer Jordin Sparks, is one outstanding example.
Though originally from Illinois, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star spent her teenhood in Glendale. According to AZ Central, she split her high school years between one institution in her adopted hometown and another in Phoenix, the Coyotes’ previous dateline.
Accordingly, the suburb and the city alike can pride themselves on influencing Garth’s rise to a steady career that has come with four awards out of nine total nominations.
Calgary: Elisha Cuthbert
Cuthbert got together with her eventual husband, Dion Phaneuf, when the latter represented her native city as a member of the Flames. She followed him to Toronto, then Ottawa, and has also lived in Montreal and Los Angeles. But her cumulative time and significant life developments in the Stampede City suffice for her eligibility here.
On that note, Cuthbert beats out her fellow Calgary products through her time as a 24 mainstay and a versatility that has landed her many comedic roles.
Granted, many of her recent TV projects (Happy Endings, One Big Happy) have been limited or cancelled. But she continues to rebound and answer a high demand, as evidenced by The Ranch.
Edmonton: Michael J. Fox
Fox’s five Emmys match the Stanley Cup count of his hometown Oilers, except his success has been more consistent and long-lasting.
Dating back to 1985, he has secured 17 total nominations in four calendar decades for six different programs. His first five, three of which culminated in a victory, punctuated his breakthrough in the latter half of the ’80s on Family Ties. Another starring part on Spin City amounted to four more nominations and one more win.
In this century, while combatting the effects of Parkinson’s, Fox has won another Emmy for his guest spot on Rescue Me. He was also up for one apiece via Boston Legal and Curb Your Enthusiasm, then five for a recurring role on The Good Wife in the current decade.
Like an NHL coach, former 24 cast member and current sitcom staple Elisha Cuthbert keeps landing on her feet after a previous meets a contested premature ending. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Los Angeles: Leonardo DiCaprio
Like Fox, DiCaprio has been a steady presence at the showbiz forefront for more than a quarter-century. And after falling short on four prior nominations, he finally won an Oscar last year for his leading performance in The Revenant.
That Academy accolade was one of DiCaprio’s 31 victories at various guilds, plus 21 additional nominations, for playing Hugh Glass. His other 95 triumphs to date have come from, among other projects, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Aviator, both of which fetched him a Golden Globe.
Smaller organizations have been bestowing laurels on him as far back as 1991, when he was a teen TV star capitalizing on local Hollywood connections.
San Jose: Kate Walsh
For eight years, six of which overlapped, Walsh embodied Addison Montgomery on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Late in that overlap, she landed her first solo award nomination as one of the 2011 People’s Choice contenders for favorite TV drama actress.
A year later, Walsh translated her knack for joining acclaimed ensembles to the big screen as Charlie’s mother in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. She has since taken her genre versatility back to TV, where she has seen regular action on Fargo, Bad Judge and 13 Reasons Why.
Vancouver: Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds’ accolades from this past year for Deadpool, not the least of which is his first Golden Globe nomination, amplify the notion that he climbing toward his peak.
Previous projects in this decade, particularly Buried and The Captive, got him on the ballot among more specialized guilds and categories. In one testament to his progress, Buried earned him his first Saturn Award nomination in 2011. Six years later, Deadpool earned him his second appearance and first victory at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
That Saturn was one of six total wins directly derived from Deadpool, and it joins a 2017 People’s Choice Award for favorite movie actor and a Walk of Fame star among Reynolds’ recent honors.
Vegas: Matthew Gray Gubler
Though he owns a Daytime Emmy plus two prizes for voice acting, Gubler has made a lasting impression as a mainstay on Criminal Minds. His character, who shares his Las Vegas roots, has been a staple through the show’s run of 12 seasons going on 13.
Beyond CBS primetime and the voice booth, Gubler has garnered at least two other acting credits in each of the last four years. One more, the USA Network’s Zoe, is already slated to premiere in 2018.
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