# Athena Karkanis
**Athena Karkanis** (born 1981) is a Canadian television, film, and voice actress, best known for her lead role as Grace Stone in the NBC/Netflix supernatural drama series *[Manifest](https://www.edgepedia.org/manifest-tv-series)* and for voicing Aviva in the PBS children's series *Wild Kratts*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) • [2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) Her screen work includes a recurring role as Agent Lindsey Perez in the *Saw* horror franchise, and her voice credits span animation and major video game series such as *Star Wars: The Old Republic* and *Diablo*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) • [3](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; raised in Toronto[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/athena_karkanis) • [5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) |
| Signature live-action role | Grace Stone in *Manifest* (NBC/Netflix, 2018– )[2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) |
| Horror franchise role | Agent Lindsey Perez in *Saw IV* (2007) and *Saw VI* (2009)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) |
| Signature voice role | Aviva in *Wild Kratts*, a role she has performed for the past 12 years[2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) |
| Video game work | Female Jedi Consular in *Star Wars: The Old Republic* (2011) and its expansions; credited on 30 games[3](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [6](https://www.mobygames.com/person/304735/athena-karkanis/) |
| Education | Degree in political science from McGill University; speaks seven languages[2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) |
## Early life and training
Karkanis was born in [Lethbridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/lethbridge), Alberta, and raised in Toronto.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/athena_karkanis) • [5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) She is of Greek and Egyptian descent and attended [McGill University](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcgill-university) in Montreal, Quebec, where she earned a degree in political science.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) She was planning to attend law school but abandoned that path to pursue acting.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
A Karkanis trained in classical theater, she has performed onstage in New York, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as in regional productions throughout the United States and Canada.[2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) Her own account of her early career describes her first years as a stage performer.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
## Screen career
**Television.** IMDb dates the start of her professional acting career to 1996, with several episodes of the animated series *Stickin' Around*; her screen debut in live action came in 2005 with an episode of *1-800-Missing*, followed by guest, recurring, and regular roles on Canadian television.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) • [5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) She was a regular cast member in the first season of the Canadian teen drama *The Best Years* in 2007, in the CBC drama *The Border* from 2008 to 2010, and in the short-lived comedy series *Almost Heroes* in 2011, with a recurring role in the supernatural series *Lost Girl* from 2011 to 2012.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) • [5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
Her American series work includes starring in the AMC drama *Low Winter Sun* in 2013 as Dani Khalil, a role as a series regular in the Lifetime post-apocalyptic drama *The Lottery* in 2014, CBS's *Zoo*, and recurring roles on the final season of *House of Cards* and Syfy's *[The Expanse](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-expanse-tv-series)*, where she played Octavia Muss beginning in 2015.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/) Since 2018 she has played Grace Stone in *Manifest*, the role her Hulu press biography describes as her best known.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [2](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/)
**Film.** Karkanis co-starred in several horror films: *Saw IV* (2007) and *Saw VI* (2009) as Agent Lindsey Perez, *[Repo! The Genetic Opera](https://www.edgepedia.org/repo-the-genetic-opera)* (2008), [George A. Romero](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-a-romero)'s *[Survival of the Dead](https://www.edgepedia.org/survival-of-the-dead)* (2009), and *The Barrens* (2012).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) • [5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) She also appeared in the direct-to-video action films *The Art of War II: Betrayal* (2008) and *Sacrifice* (2011), and in television movies including *Sundays at Tiffany's* (2010) and *John Sandford's Certain Prey* (2011).[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/athena_karkanis) On Rotten Tomatoes, her highest-rated film is *Saw VI* at 39 percent and her lowest is *Spark: A Space Tail* (2016), in which she voiced Koko, at 13 percent.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/athena_karkanis)
## Voice acting
Although she had voice-acted before, Karkanis became much more prolific in the field after being cast as Aviva in *Wild Kratts*, working mainly on Canadian-based programs.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) Her regular animation roles include Skyland, *Growing Up Creepie* (as Creepie), *[Total Drama: Revenge of the Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/total-drama-revenge-of-the-island)* (as Anne Maria), *Wild Kratts*, and *Julius Jr.*.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [7](https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Athena-Karkanis//) More recently she has voiced Jane in *Dino Ranch*, listed by TVmaze over 144 episodes, Claire in *[Looped](https://www.edgepedia.org/looped-tv-series)*, Kat and Felicia Fishman in *Work It Out Wombats!*, and characters for the fifth generation of *My Little Pony*, most prominently the villain Opaline Arcana, a starring role across 23 episodes of *My Little Pony: Make Your Mark*.[5](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) • [8](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/2377/athena-karkanis)
## Video games
Karkanis voiced the female Jedi Consular player character in the 2011 BioWare game *Star Wars: The Old Republic* and continued in that role through its expansions up to *Legacy of the Sith* (2022); in 2024 she performed the Twi'lek contract broker Eleera Soi, including motion capture, in *Star Wars Outlaws*.[3](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis) She also voiced the female [Barbarian](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbarian) in *Diablo III* (2012).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701) MobyGames credits her on 30 games in total, including *Assassin's Creed: Odyssey* (2018), *Far Cry 5* (2018), *Far Cry 6* (2021), *Diablo IV* (2023), and *[Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred](https://www.edgepedia.org/diablo-iv-vessel-of-hatred)* (2024).[6](https://www.mobygames.com/person/304735/athena-karkanis/)
## References
1. [Athena Karkanis, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1920701)
2. [Athena Karkanis bio, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/bios/athena-karkanis/)
3. [Athena Karkanis, Wookieepedia](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
4. [Athena Karkanis Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/athena_karkanis)
5. [Athena Karkanis, Wild Kratts Wiki](https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Athena_Karkanis)
6. [Athena Karkanis, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/person/304735/athena-karkanis/)
7. [Athena Karkanis (visual voices guide), Behind The Voice Actors](https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Athena-Karkanis//)
8. [Athena Karkanis, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/2377/athena-karkanis)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames J to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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