Melanie Leishman (born February 20, 1989) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actress. She is best known for portraying bespectacled Hannah B. Williams, one of the main characters on the cult horror/comedy television series '' Todd and the Book of Pure Evil''. Before that she had a recurring role on '' Darcy's Wild Life'' as Kathi Giraldi and raucous comedy series ''House Party'' (2008) as desperate to be popular Mandy. Other TV credits include '' Being Erica'', '' Republic of Doyle'' and ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

''. She's also voiced several animated roles in series such as ''

Detentionaire ''Detentionaire'' is a Canadian mystery thriller animated series produced by Nelvana and aired on Teletoon from September 12, 2011, to January 29, 2015, for total of 53 episodes, spanning 4 seasons. It was created by Daniel Bryan Franklin and Ch ...

'' and ''

Grojband ''Grojband'' is a Canadian animated television series created by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton for Teletoon in Canada and Cartoon Network in the United States. Produced by Fresh TV and Neptoon Studios, with animation by Elliott Animation, and p ...

''. Film roles include

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

slasher Slasher may refer to: * Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball * Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film * Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement * ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film * ''Slasher'' (2007 film) ...

'' Stage Fright'' (2014) as Liz Silver,

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

'' The Exchange'' (2021) as Diane and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

romantic-comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

'' Single All the Way'' (2021) as Ashleigh.

Early life

Melanie Leishman began acting, singing, and dancing at the age of eight. Leishman was in her first play while attending The North York

Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

, in grade three, starring as Annie in the play ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''. She attended the Earl Haig Secondary School in the Claude Watson Arts Program as a drama major, involved in both drama and dance programs there.

Career

Film

Her first theatrically released film was a supporting role in ''

Victoria Day Victoria Day (french: Fête de la Reine, lit=Celebration of the Queen) is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25. Initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, it has since been celebrated as the offi ...

'' (2009). In the 2010 short film ''The Long Autumn'', about a boy ( Devon Bostick) that grows up alone on a strange island and eventually encounters fellow humans but needs to gain a pair of boots before being accepted, she was the sweetly naive serving girl Ladeeda. Quirky romantic/drama ''Old Stock'' (2012) saw her playing sparky love interest Patti, an

arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

serving community service teaching dance classes at an old peoples' home.

Musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Stage Fright'' (2014) cast her somewhat against type, having mostly been cast as "best friend of the lead" or generally timid characters, in this film she's the "

mean girl Meanness is a personal quality whose classical form, discussed by many from Aristotle to Thomas Aquinas, characterizes it as a vice of "lowness", but whose modern form deals more with cruelty. Classical formulation In his dictionary, Noah Web ...

" Diva like Liz Silver who acts as a rival to the film's central protagonist. In 2016, she appeared in the film '' Below Her Mouth'' as Claire. She reprised her role of Hannah alongside the rest of the original cast in '' Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: The End of the End'', a feature length

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

that concluded the cult TV series, which was released in 2017. 2018 short comedy-drama film ''Softcore'' saw Melanie Leishman co-star with Alyssa Owsiany as a pair of

bridesmaids Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...

that bond over exchanging the bizarre stories of their sexual awakenings. Most recently she appeared in the 80's set

'' The Exchange'' (2021) as Diane, the

teacher's assistant A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stude ...

and long suffering girlfriend to primary antagonist gym teacher Gary Rothbauer (

Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW television series ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), and Adam New ...

) plus

set romantic comedy '' Single All the Way'' (2021) as Ashleigh, young mother of two small children and a supportive sister to the lead Peter ( Michael Urie).

Television

Her first television role was in the children's/family series '' Darcy's Wild Life'' (2004-06) as Kathi Giraldi. 2008 saw the release of two TV movies with her in. As Angie Bremlock in ''

Never Cry Werewolf ''Never Cry Werewolf'' is a Canadian television film directed by Brenton Spencer, and starring Nina Dobrev, Peter Stebbings and Kevin Sorbo. It premiered on the Sci Fi Channel on May 11, 2008.werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

moves in to terrorize a neighborhood, and '' True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet,'' where she was Emily a girl who unwittingly befriends incognito teen celebrity Morgan Carter ( Joanna "JoJo" Levesque). Incidentally ''True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet'' also featured her future ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' co-star

Bill Turnbull William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was an English television and radio presenter and journalist, whose broadcasting career spanned over four decades. He began his career working for radio stations including Rad ...

in a small role. The same year she was part of the main cast of characters in ''House Party'' (2008), the desperate to please Mandy. Each episode focuses on a particular character, revealing the various plot developments to the audience as they are encountered by the episode's focal character. The show was re-released in 2021 by the production company Farpoint Distribution on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. 2009 saw a role in '' Being Erica'', Season 2, Episode 19 "''Shhh... Don't Tell''" playing Fiona Watt, a student that's being mercilessly bullied and humiliated by other classmates. In 2010 she co-starred in the Canadian television horror/comedy series '' Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' as science geek Hannah B. Williams who forms part of the team at ''Crowley High School'' that "fights evil with mixed results". The show was renewed for a second season, that aired in 2011, where she reprised her role as Hannah. Leishman shared a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for "Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series" with her cast mates for their work on the show. In 2011 she voiced bossy popular girl Brandy Silver in the school set

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

animated series ''

'' and also voiced the overly perky and thus aptly named Chipper in ''

''. She has appeared twice in long running detective series ''

'', as two different characters. First as Nancy Booth, a taken advantage of

maid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

, in "''Downstairs, Upstairs''" and later as Sarah Harrison, who gets entwined in espionage between the US and Canada following the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley, in ''"The Spy Who Came Up to the Cold''". In 2018 she starred as two very different

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

sisters and lead characters Kristal and Kyle Hasting in the web series ''Kristal Clear'', for which she won the award for "Best Lead Actress in a Comedy" at the HollyWeb Fest.Amanda Fahey’s web-series, Kristal Clear, wins big at HollyWeb Festival
/ref> In 2019 ''Kristal Clear'' season 2 got approved for funding by the Independent Production Fund (IPF). In 2022 - Leishman played Remi Belcourt in episode "Between" of medical drama ''

Transplant Transplant or Transplantation may refer to: Sciences *Transplanting a plant from one location to another *Organ transplantation, moving an organ from one body to another *Transplant thought experiment, an experiment similar to Trolley problem *Tra ...

'', a patient admitted to the emergency department with burns whose accident ends up revealing some uncomfortable truths about her boyfriend. In episode "One Wild Night" of police procedural drama ''

Hudson & Rex ''Hudson & Rex'' is a Canadian police procedural drama television series, based on the Austrian-Italian drama ''Kommissar Rex''. It premiered on Citytv on March 25, 2019. Filming commenced in October 2018, with ongoing production in St. John's, N ...

'', Leishman plays bridesmaid Quincy Thomas whose straight talking about a murder victim after a bachelorette party leads to her being a suspect. She plays Christina, assistant and confidant of caterer Molly Frost (

Merritt Patterson Merritt Patterson is a Canadian actress. She had her breakout role in 2013 on the ABC Family ''Pretty Little Liars'' spin-off series ''Ravenswood'' then went on to play Ophelia Pryce in the E! television series ''The Royals'' (2014-2015). Mer ...

) in

Great American Family Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and Television film, made-for-TV movies. It was originall ...

's romantic TV movie ''Catering Christmas''.‘Catering Christmas’ on Great American Family, Where Merritt Patterson Caters a Holiday Gala
review By Brett White, at Decider.com

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leishman, Melanie 1989 births Canadian television actresses Living people Canadian child actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian Screen Award winners