Amy Acker

Amy Acker is one of the episodic actors of Once Upon a Time, portraying the role of Sister Astrid/Nova in "Dreamy".

Life and Career
Acker was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, to a lawyer father and homemaker mother. She went on to graduate Lake Highlands High School and subsequently earned a bachelor's degree in theater at the Southern Methodist University. Whilst in college, Acker modeled for J. Crew's catalog and went on to be nominated for a Leon Rabin award for "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role" for her performance in the play Thérèse Raquin. She earned her bachelor's degree in that same year, 1999, and went on to work as a stage actress for several seasons.

Acker's first appearance on the small screen was in Wishbone, in which she guest starred in one episode as Catherine Morland, going on to guest star in further seasons as different characters. She had several other episodic roles in shows such as To Serve and Protect and Special Unit 2 before landing her major television debut in Angel, where she portrayed the character of Winfred "Fred" Burkle. Acker starred in the series for 4 years, her time on the show spanning from the second season to the fifth, and during her run, she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her portrayal.

She has been in several films such as Groom Lake (2002), Mr. Dramatic (2005) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012), and in 2005, she joined the cast of Alias'' for its final season, in which she portrayed Kelly Peyton, a villainous character. As the series entered its final episodes, Acker was promoted from the guest cast to the starring one, and was a main character as the show finished its run in May 2006. In the same month, she guest starred in the first season finale of How I Met Your Mother, where she was reunited with fellow Buffyverse actress Alyson Hannigan for a single episode.

Acker portrayed Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey, a recurring character on Joss Whedon's Dollhouse; she guest starred in 10 of the first season's 13 episodes and three of the show's second. In 2010, Acker was a series regular in the ABC drama Happy Town, portraying the character of Rachel Conroy. That same year, she appeared in the first season finale of Fox's Human Target and has had several guest roles since in proceeding years. These roles include shows such as Person of Interest, Warehouse 13, Grimm and Once Upon a Time, where she portrayed the role of Sister Astrid/Nova, the true love of Grumpy the dwarf.