Devon Edward Sawa (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, Sawa began his career promoting children's action toys. He made his film debut with a supporting role in Little Giants (1994) and received wide recognition for playing the title role as a human boy in Casper (1995). Sawa also had starring roles in the films Wild America (1997), SLC Punk! (1998), Idle Hands (1999), and Final Destination (2000).
Following his lead roles in the poorly received films Slackers and Extreme Ops (both 2002), Sawa acted in various direct-to-video independent film productions. He also played the title character in the Eminem music video "Stan" and was cast as Owen Elliot / Sam Matthews on the CW action drama series Nikita (2010–2013). Sawa experienced a career resurgence in the 2020s. He played multiple roles on the Syfy and USA Network horror series Chucky (2021–2024) and had a starring role in the horror film Heart Eyes (2025).
Early life
Devon Sawa was born on September 7, 1978,[1] in Vancouver, the son of Joyce and Edward Sawa, a mechanic. He has two older siblings. His father was of Polish descent, and his mother is "a little bit of everything".[2]
In 2010, Sawa portrayed Owen Elliott on The CW action drama series Nikita.[6][7] In July 2012, he was promoted to series regular in the third season of Nikita; the show ended after four seasons in 2013.[8] In 2016, Sawa played the lead role in Punk's Dead, a sequel to SLC Punk! by the same director, James Merendino. In 2017, he portrayed the role of Nico Jackson in Somewhere Between; the show ended after one season. In 2019, Sawa appeared as Lester Clark Jr. in Escape Plan: The Extractors.[9] He also starred in the thriller The Fanatic, where he played Hunter Dunbar, an actor who is stalked by a character named Moose. The movie was directed by Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst. Sawa later starred in the films Hunter Hunter (2020) and Black Friday (2021), which received favorable reviews.[10][11]
Personal life
Sawa married Canadian producer Dawni Sahanovitch in 2013.[12] They have two children together, a son born in 2014 and a daughter born in 2016.[13][14][15]
In June 2022, Sawa gave a lengthy interview to The Independent, where he said that he sought out roles in which the character smoked marijuana to help get away from his teen heartthrob status which began with Casper. Sawa also said that between 2004 and 2009, he "drank a lot" until becoming sober after meeting his wife in Vancouver.[18]
^Nowicki, Albert (January 11, 2021). "Druga edycja nagród HNiD". His Name is Death (in Polish). Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Devon Sawa.
