# Ayisha Issa > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ayisha_Issa > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ayisha_Issa.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayisha_Issa > Source revision: 1289885379 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Canadian actress}} {{Infobox person | name = Ayisha Issa | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1984|3|18}} | birth_place = [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Actress, martial arts practitioner | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Ayisha Issa''' (born 18 March 1984) is a Canadian actress and martial arts practitioner. She has played a number of roles in both English- and French-language television series and films, such as ''[Dark Matter](/source/Dark_Matter_(2015_TV_series))'', ''Unité 9'', and ''[Brick Mansions](/source/Brick_Mansions)''. She is a practitioner of [Brazilian jiu-jitsu](/source/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu) who won at the [International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation](/source/International_Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_Federation) World Championships twice, once in 2010 as a white belt,{{cite web |url=https://ibjjf.com/results/world-jiu-jitsu-championship-2010-results/ |publisher=[International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation](/source/International_Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_Federation) |title=World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2010 – Results |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008020021/https://ibjjf.com/results/world-jiu-jitsu-championship-2010-results/ |url-status=dead }} and again in 2014 as a [blue belt](/source/Blue_belt_(Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu));{{cite web |url=https://ibjjf.com/results/world-jiu-jitsu-championship-2014-results/ |publisher=[International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation](/source/International_Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_Federation) |title=World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2014 – Results |access-date=8 February 2020}} she currently holds the rank of brown belt and previously owned a [dojo](/source/dojo) in Toronto. She also did voice acting for [Ubisoft](/source/Ubisoft)'s ''[Far Cry Primal](/source/Far_Cry_Primal)'' and ''[The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan](/source/The_Dark_Pictures_Anthology%3A_Man_of_Medan)'', which was developed by [Supermassive Games](/source/Supermassive_Games) and published by [Bandai Namco Entertainment](/source/Bandai_Namco_Entertainment), receiving a [BAFTA Award for Performer in a Supporting Role](/source/British_Academy_Games_Award_for_Performer_in_a_Supporting_Role) nomination.{{cite web | url=https://www.bafta.org/games/awards/bafta-games-awards-nominations-and-winners-2020 | title=2020 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners | date=3 March 2020 }} In 2022, she won the [Canadian Screen Award](/source/Canadian_Screen_Award) for [Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series](/source/Canadian_Screen_Award_for_Best_Supporting_Actress_in_a_Drama_Program_or_Series) at the [10th Canadian Screen Awards](/source/10th_Canadian_Screen_Awards), for her regular role as Dr. June Curtis in ''[Transplant](/source/Transplant_(TV_series))''.Greg David, [https://www.tv-eh.com/2022/04/07/tim-rozon-ayisha-issa-kaniehtiio-horn-and-tallboyz-win-during-night-4-of-the-2022-canadian-screen-awards/ "Tim Rozon, Ayisha Issa, Kaniehtiio Horn and Tallboyz win during Night 4 of the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards"]. ''TV, eh?'', April 7, 2022. ==Biography== Issa was born and raised in [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), growing up as an Anglophone on Montreal's [West Island](/source/West_Island). She had a troubled childhood, and at one point lived in a group home. When she was 15, she was a client with the [Batshaw Youth and Family Centres](/source/Batshaw_Youth_and_Family_Centres), a local nonprofit assisting troubled youth. As a teenager, she suffered from depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, but despite this, she began working toward a modeling career, which proved to be unsuccessful, something she attributed to her athletic build.{{cite web |url=https://www.thegamer.com/interview-with-the-dark-pictures-anthology-man-of-medan-actress-ayisha-issa/ |title=Interview With The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan Actress Ayisha Issa |website=TheGamer.com |date=30 November 2019 |access-date=9 February 2020 |first=Jamie |last=Latour}} In her twenties, she worked as the assistant front-desk manager at a Montreal hotel before being fired.{{cite news |url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/ayisha-issa-makes-a-mark-playing-bad-girl-in-unite-9 |title=Ayisha Issa makes a mark playing bad girl in Unité 9 |newspaper=[Montreal Gazette](/source/Montreal_Gazette) |date=30 January 2014 |access-date=9 February 2020 |first=Brendan |last=Kelly}} Looking for a new career, she shifted her focus toward athletics, and after a brief time in kickboxing, began to practice [Brazilian jiu-jitsu](/source/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu). By 2010, she had won the heavyweight adult female white belt (novice) category at the [International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation](/source/International_Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_Federation) World Championships. Around this time, she landed a breakthrough role in a major picture, ''[Immortals](/source/Immortals_(2011_film))'' (2011), through old modeling connections.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.naludamagazine.com/interview-with-talented-canadian-actress-ayisha-issa/ |title=Interview with talented Canadian Actress Ayisha Issa |date=10 December 2019 |access-date=9 February 2020 |magazine=Naluda Magazine}} Her role in ''Immortals'' was followed immediately with a role in ''[The Bait](/source/The_Bait_(2010_film)) (L'Appât)'', a French-language [buddy cop](/source/buddy_cop) [action comedy film](/source/action_comedy_film) where she plays a "kind of Ninja assassin" who pursues the main characters. Her television debut, in 2011, was a small role on the French-language series ''[30 vies](/source/30_vies)''. This was followed by a number of minor roles in English-language films like ''[Warm Bodies](/source/Warm_Bodies_(film))'' and ''[Betty and Coretta](/source/Betty_and_Coretta)'' (both 2013), as well as ''[Brick Mansions](/source/Brick_Mansions)'' (2014), which was [Paul Walker](/source/Paul_Walker)'s penultimate film. In 2014 she landed a major role in the French-language television series ''[Unité 9](/source/Unit%C3%A9_9)'' ([fr](/source/%3Afr%3AUnit%C3%A9_9_(s%C3%A9rie_t%C3%A9l%C3%A9vis%C3%A9e%2C_2012))), broadcast on [Ici Radio-Canada Télé](/source/Ici_Radio-Canada_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9). Sometimes compared to ''[Orange Is the New Black](/source/Orange_Is_the_New_Black)'',{{cite web |url=https://www.afterellen.com/tv/214166-unite-9-is-frances-much-broodier-orange-is-the-new-black |title="Unite 9" is Canada's much broodier "Orange is the New Black" |first=Erika |last=Star |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=10 February 2020 |website=AfterEllen.com}} the series is also set in a women's prison. Issa played Bouba, a "mean piece of work who makes life a living hell for the other female prisoners." This role raised her profile considerably in Montréal and Québec. She won again at the 2014 [International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation](/source/International_Brazilian_Jiu-Jitsu_Federation) World Championships, this time competing as a heavyweight blue belt. She subsequently decided to withdraw from competition to focus on her acting career. In the latter half of the 2010s, she made a number of other appearances on English-language Canadian-produced television series such as ''[12 Monkeys](/source/12_Monkeys_(TV_series))'' on [Syfy](/source/Syfy) in 2016, ''[Dark Matter](/source/Dark_Matter_(2015_TV_series))'' on [Syfy](/source/Syfy) and [Space](/source/CTV_Sci-Fi_Channel) in 2017, and in 2019, ''[Workin' Moms](/source/Workin'_Moms)'' on [CBC](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation), ''[Shadowhunters](/source/Shadowhunters)'' on [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company), and ''[The Expanse](/source/The_Expanse_(TV_series))'' on [Amazon Prime Video](/source/Amazon_Prime_Video). She also played roles in films such as ''[The Hummingbird Project](/source/The_Hummingbird_Project)'' (2018) and ''[Polar](/source/Polar_(film))'' (2019). Issa also began venturing into videogame work, starting with voice acting for [Ubisoft](/source/Ubisoft)'s ''[Far Cry Primal](/source/Far_Cry_Primal)'' (2016), which involved learning to speak lines in the developers' reconstructed version of [Proto-Indo-European](/source/Proto-Indo-European), a hypothesized ancestor of the [Indo-European languages](/source/Indo-European_languages). This was followed by motion-capture work for ''[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey](/source/Assassin's_Creed%3A_Odyssey)'' (2018), where she supplied the movements for many of the female characters. Rounding out the decade, she played the role of Fliss, a boat captain, in the [interactive drama](/source/interactive_drama) [survival horror](/source/survival_horror) videogame ''[The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan](/source/The_Dark_Pictures_Anthology%3A_Man_of_Medan)'' (2019), which was developed by [Supermassive Games](/source/Supermassive_Games) and published by [Bandai Namco Entertainment](/source/Bandai_Namco_Entertainment). Her most recent work is a role in the [CTV](/source/CTV_Television_Network) series ''[Transplant](/source/Transplant_(TV_series))'', which is a medical drama set in [Toronto](/source/Toronto). She was a [Canadian Screen Award](/source/Canadian_Screen_Award) nominee for [Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Program or Series](/source/Canadian_Screen_Award_for_Best_Supporting_Actress_in_a_Drama_Program_or_Series) at the [10th Canadian Screen Awards](/source/10th_Canadian_Screen_Awards) in 2022.Brent Furdyk, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220215130202/https://etcanada.com/news/867531/2022-canadian-screen-awards-nominees-announced/ "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack"]. ''[ET Canada](/source/ET_Canada)'', February 15, 2022. She currently has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and owns a [dojo](/source/dojo) named 4Points in Toronto. ==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2006 |''[Cheech](/source/Cheech_(film))'' |One of Cheech's daughters | |- |2010 |data-sort-value="Bait, The" | ''[The Bait](/source/The_Bait_(2010_film)) (L'Appât)'' |Van Cleef | |- |2011 |''[Who Is Simon Miller?](/source/Who_Is_Simon_Miller%3F)'' |{{N/A}} |TV film; stunt double: Jasmine |- |2011 |''[Immortals](/source/Immortals_(2011_film))'' |High Priestess #4 | |- |2013 |''[Warm Bodies](/source/Warm_Bodies_(film))'' |Athletic Woman | |- |2013 |''[Betty and Coretta](/source/Betty_and_Coretta)'' |Student with Question |TV film |- |2014 |''[Brick Mansions](/source/Brick_Mansions)'' |Rayzah | |- |2017 |''[Eye on Juliet](/source/Eye_on_Juliet)'' |Naomi | |- |2018 |data-sort-value="Hummingbird Project, The" | ''[The Hummingbird Project](/source/The_Hummingbird_Project)'' |Ophelia Troller | |- |2018 |''All the Things'' |{{N/A}} |Short film; special thanks |- |2019 |''[Polar](/source/Polar_(film))'' |Jazmin | |- |2019 |''[Dark Phoenix](/source/Dark_Phoenix_(film))'' |{{N/A}} |Stunts |- |2024 |''[Dark Match](/source/Dark_Match_(film))'' |Miss Behave | |} ===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2011 |''[30 vies](/source/30_vies)'' |Clara |3 episodes |- |2013–17 |''[Unité 9](/source/Unit%C3%A9_9)'' ([fr](/source/%3Afr%3AUnit%C3%A9_9_(s%C3%A9rie_t%C3%A9l%C3%A9vis%C3%A9e%2C_2012))) |Bouba |54 episodes |- |2016 |''[12 Monkeys](/source/12_Monkeys_(TV_series))'' |Emissary |6 episodes |- |2017 |''[Dark Matter](/source/Dark_Matter_(2015_TV_series))'' |Solara Shockley |4 episodes |- |2019 |''[Workin' Moms](/source/Workin'_Moms)'' |Wendy |2 episodes |- |2019 |''[Shadowhunters](/source/Shadowhunters)'' |Annaliese |Episode: "To the Night Children" |- |2019 |data-sort-value="Expanse, The" | ''[The Expanse](/source/The_Expanse_(TV_series))'' |Matar Kubileya Leader |Episode: "Retrograde" |- |2020 |''[Transplant](/source/Transplant_(TV_series))'' |Dr. June Curtis |Series regular |} ===Video games=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2016 |''[Far Cry Primal](/source/Far_Cry_Primal)'' |Jayma |Voice |- |2018 |''[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey](/source/Assassin's_Creed%3A_Odyssey)'' |{{N/A}} |Stunts |- |2019 |data-sort-value="Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, The" | ''[The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan](/source/The_Dark_Pictures%3A_Man_of_Medan)'' |Fliss |Voice |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|2903364}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Issa, Ayisha}} Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Montreal Category:Canadian film actresses Category:Canadian female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Category:Canadian stunt performers Category:Canadian video game actresses Category:Canadian voice actresses Category:Canadian television actresses Category:21st-century Canadian actresses Category:Black Canadian actresses Category:Canadian people of Ghanaian descent Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ayisha Issa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayisha_Issa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayisha_Issa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.