TV directing has been good to Helen Shaver, especially in recent years.

The Canadian-born actress and filmmaker has indeed been a fixture around the NBC lot, helming quite a few episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." But she was doing them between episodes of "Private Practice," "The Bridge" and "The Unit," along with many others. In fact, she's directed episodes of 17 different series in the past five years alone.

She didn't start out dreaming of camera angles and jump cuts, though. She's been working as an actress since 1972, and it was in this capacity that she got her first taste of life behind the lens.

She was starring in the Showtime series "Poltergeist: The Legacy" and was given the opportunity to direct an episode in the first season -- something lead actors often get to do. She liked it, though, and soon began seeking out directing work before acting.

It seems she didn't have to seek too hard, though, and she was soon getting regular directing work.

Other notable credits include episodes of the cult fave "Dead Like Me," the acclaimed family drama "Judging Amy," quite a few episodes of the spooky anthology series "The Outer Limits" and more.

Keeping with the sci-fi theme, she's already got work in the bag for next year. She's directed an episode of the Syfy spinoff series "Stargate Universe" which is slated to air sometime in the winter.

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