Chris Leavins is a Canadian actor and writer based in Los Angeles. Known for playing Atticus Murphy, Jr. the malevolent school guidance counselor on cult TV series ''
Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' is a Canadian dark comedy Comedy horror, horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space (Canadian TV channel), Space ...
''. He has appeared in a number of successful
Canadian television
Television in Canada officially began with the sign-on of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, ...
shows, been nominated for two
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 English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...
s and shared in a
Gemini Award for Ensemble Performance win. He also created and hosted satirical internet show, ''Cute With Chris''.
Early life
Born in 1968, Leavins resided in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
, Canada as a youngster.
[
After 12 years living and working in ]Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Leavins moved to Los Angeles in 2003.
Career
Leavins has been a cast member or guest star on some of Canada's most popular and critically acclaimed television series including '' Traders'' (Gemini Winner 1997 and 1998, ''Best Dramatic Series''), '' The Eleventh Hour'' (Gemini Winner 2002–03, ''Best Dramatic Series'') and ''Slings and Arrows
''Slings & Arrows'' is a Canadian television series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival. It stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette and Martha Burns. Rachel McAdams appeared ...
'' (Gemini Winner 2006, ''Best Dramatic Series'') which airs in America on the Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to:
* Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States).
* Sundance Channel (Canada)
* Sundance Channel (Netherlands)
* Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to:
* Sundance TV
Sundance TV ...
. Leavins appears in the 1997 film '' The Hanging Garden'' as William.
In 2010 Leavins was cast in the comedy horror
Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...
TV series ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' is a Canadian dark comedy Comedy horror, horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space (Canadian TV channel), Space ...
'' as Atticus Murphy Jr., the seemingly affable school guidance counselor who is secretly in league with the Satanic cult at the heart of Crowley High. He would return to the role the following year when the series was renewed for a second season. After the series ended on a cliffhanger, Leavins along with the rest of the cast returned to voice their characters in an animated feature film '' Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: The End of the End'', which acted as a conclusion.
Leavins writes and performs for the stage as well. His shows ''Posterchild'',["When Cute Isn't Pretty: "Cute With Chris," the Web Show for Misfit Teenage Girls and Women in Their 30s Who Like to Knit"]
by Steven Leigh Morris at www.laweekly.com ''The Captain'', and ''The Best Play in the Fringe Festival Ever'' have been performed across North America.
In 2006 he started the internet show ''Cute with Chris'', a satirical video podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...
which he wrote, anchored, and produced himself from his apartment. The show features photos and letters sent in by viewers, which Leavins comments on, mocks, and subjects to polls on which is cutest. His show also features co-hosts: Colty, the female plastic horse, Pervy, the larger male perverted plastic horse with racist issues, and Peanuts, a bag of polystyrene peanuts that can only be understood by Leavins. The show's popularity increased over time, and the weekly episodes attracted up to 100,000 views each.[ Chris abruptly ceased production of the show in June 2009, ostensibly prompted by one of his viewers, informing him of how the show had aged him. Chris later confirmed on his website that this episode would be the last in the series.
On January 30, 2008, he performed a live version of the show for free at the 99-seat Hudson Theater in Hollywood, California. The show sold out in 85 minutes.] Another two shows, this time charging money for tickets, were put on at the Theatre Centre, Toronto on April 19 and 20, 2008. Both sold out; the first in 20 minutes. Leavins has said that he sees this use of an Internet fan base to attract theatre audiences as a new model for success, and a solution to the difficulties that he experienced attracting audiences as a conventional writer and performer.
Works
Features/TV movies
Television series
Stage
*''Posterchild''
*''The Captain''
*''The Best Play in the Fringe Festival Ever''
Books
*''The Captain and other stories'' (2009)
Awards and nominations
Leavins was nominated for a Gemini Award in the ''Best Supporting Actor'' category for his work as Christopher Todson in the series ''Traders'' in 1997, and for ''Best Actor in a Guest Role'' for his work on ''Slings and Arrows'' in 2007. In 2011, alongside his fellow ''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
''Todd and the Book of Pure Evil'' is a Canadian dark comedy Comedy horror, horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space (Canadian TV channel), Space ...
'' main cast-mates, won the Gemini Award for Best Ensemble Performance for musical episode "The Phantom of Crowley High"."Call Me Fitz comes up big at Geminis"
by Etan Vlessing at playbackonline.ca
References
External links
Official website
''Cute With Chris''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavins, Chris
Living people
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian male voice actors
Male actors from Saskatchewan
1968 births
Canadian Screen Award winning actors
20th-century Canadian male actors
21st-century Canadian male actors