Sarah Podemski

Actor · Born October 16, 1983 (43) · Toronto, Canada

Sarah Podemski is an award winning Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. She is passionate about recreating the Indigenous narrative that has been misrepresented since the beginning of cinema. She can be seen pulling double duty on television. She stars in the critically acclaimed award-winning series "Reservation Dogs" on FX. Co-created and executive produced by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, Sarah plays Bear's mother 'Rita,' who is on a journey to discover herself and her role as a mom. In the Syfy comedy "Resident Alien" Sarah portrays 'Kayla,' cousin to 'Asta' (Sara Tomko). Kayla is a Lawyer, and Asta's best friend/support system who is in a period of self-reflection while balancing the responsibilities of motherhood. Sarah began in the performing arts at the tender age of six years old. She booked her first role in the German TV series "Blue Hawk" at 11 and went on to appear in the iconic series "Goosebumps". Sarah's long career also includes roles in CBS' "Bull," Amazon's "Tin Star" and CBC's "The Coroner." Her feature film work includes winning 'Best Supporting Actress' at the American Indian Film Festival for the TIFF Official Selection "Mekko", written and directed by Sterlin Harjo. Throughout her career, Sarah has been passionate about raising awareness and elevating Indigenous and Jewish narratives in the entertainment industry. In addition to her on-camera presence, she writes and produces alongside her husband James Gadon. They are in the works on a 6-episode "road trip" documentary series that took place during the pandemic in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Included in the documentary are local business owners, visual artists and Indigenous activists who provided a sense of community while the region navigated many Covid-19 related challenges. The series also includes an episode highlighting the first Residential School in Canada. Beyond her work in film and television, Sarah runs 'Totem Designs', where she makes handmade dream-catchers with a modern twist. In 2019, she was a featured artist at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and her products have been included in various markets across North America, as well as the 2019 HGTV holiday gift guide.

What are Sarah Podemski's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight

Bonds

36%

Society

20%

Self

17%

Morality

14%

Survival

8%

Power

6%

Community4 Family bonds2 Redemption2 Purpose2 Friendship2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4

Serious

Tone · Weight

lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

Steady

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Slow burn

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Casual

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Affecting

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0

Resolved

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles

Usually the Herald: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.

Herald

2 of 3

Hero

1 of 3

Heroas Maggie in Love Alaska (2019)
Heraldas Jules in Warrior Strong (2023)
Heraldas Mara in The Floaters (2025)

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

3

Hopeful

4

Warm

2

Joyful

2

Melancholic

3

Other

3

How their films linger

Hopeful4 Feel-good3

How their films end

Happy3
Bittersweet2
Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Sarah Podemski's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

UP Faith & Family2 titles, show their 2 titles on UP Faith & Family
FlixLatino1 title, show their title on FlixLatino

Subscription and free streaming for Sarah Podemski's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

25 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.

Cold Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Show 1 episode · Actor
The Floaters(2025)
as Mara
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent(2024)
Show 1 episode · as Roxanne Renslow
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Warrior Strong(2023)
as Jules
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Reservation Dogs(2021)
Show 7 episodes · as Rita Smallhill
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Resident Alien(2021)
Show 20 episodes · as Kayla
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
Love Alaska(2019)
as Maggie Richards
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Hudson & Rex(2019)
Show 1 episode · as Lyn O'Connell
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Coroner(2019)
Show 6 episodes · as Kirima Rite
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows
Tin Star(2017)
Show 19 episodes · as Denise Minahik
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows
Mekko(2015)
as Tafv
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Between(2015)
Show 4 episodes · as Ellen
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows
Total Drama Pahkitew Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Show 13 episodes · as Sky (voice)
Wakening (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Actor
Total Drama All-Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Show 13 episodes · as Sky (voice)
Empire of Dirt(2013)
as Charmaine
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Too Late to Say Goodbye(2009)
as Marion Barnes
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Manson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
as Catherine 'Gypsy' Share
The Family: Inside the Manson Cult (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
as Catherine Share
The Listener(2009)
Show 1 episode · as Agent Ledford
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Cashing In (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Show 1 episode · as Cheyenne Blueweed
The Cry of the Owl(2009)
as Nurse (uncredited)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Moccasin Flats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Show 1 episode · as Tara
Goosebumps: Monster Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
as Andy
Goosebumps(1995)
Show 1 episode · as Andy
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

Career shape

Star power in the 81^st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 25 titles, 24 of them dated from 1995 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Floaters (2025)

$65K worldwide

Highest rated

Reservation Dogs (2021)

Midcredits 95^th

Film career

2009Screen debut· The Cry of the Owl

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting25 of 25 · 55^th

By decade

1990s2 · acting2000s7 · acting2010s10 · acting2020s5 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Sarah Podemski's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 50^th percentile, the median of all 7; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

64^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

58^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

45^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

75^th and up5
50^th to 74^th5
25^th to 49^th5
Below 25^th1

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 16 titles are Mixed.

Universally Loved2
Loved with Detractors1
Crowd Pleaser5
Mixed8

Most divisive · actor

The Floaters (2025)

95^th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Reservation Dogs (2021)

Midcredits 95^th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the acting 78/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 83, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Sarah Podemski work with?

People who share at least 2 of Sarah Podemski's MovieCove titles; Zahn McClarnon shares the most, 2.

Zahn McClarnon2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Zahn McClarnon