Fun fact: Though Anna Paquin grew up in New Zealand, she was born in Winnipeg, which means that she barely clears the strict Canadian requirements to star in Netflix and the CBCâs adaptation of Alias Grace. The mini-series is based on the novel by Canadian Margaret Atwood, which follows Grace Marks, the infamous 19th-century Canadian servant who murdered her Canadian employers. Canadian actress Sarah Gadon will play Grace; Paquin will play Nancy Montgomery, who was one of the murdered parties; and the distinctly not-Canadian Zachary Levi is also part of the cast in an unspecified role. Canadian Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Take This Waltz)Â is writing and producing the series, while Canadian Mary Harron (American Psycho) will direct. The mini-series began shooting this week in Ontario, which, to be clear, is in Canada.