Melanie Leishman (born February 20, 1989) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying bespectacled Hannah B. Williams, one of the main characters on the cult

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 ...

television 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 ...

''. Before that, she had a recurring role on ''

Darcy's Wild Life ''Darcy's Wild Life'' is a teen sitcom starring Sara Paxton, and broadcast on Discovery Family, Discovery Kids in the United States, and the Family Channel (Canadian TV network), Family Channel in Canada, from October 2004 to March 2006. The sho ...

'' as Kathi Giraldi and comedy series ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

'' (2008) as desperate to be popular Mandy. Other TV credits include ''

Being Erica ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC Television, CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later r ...

'', ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' 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 ...

''. She has 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 C ...

'', ''

Grojband ''Grojband'' (Blend word, portmanteau for "garage" and "band") 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 S ...

'' and the ''

Total Drama Island ''Total Drama Island '' (sometimes shortened to ''TDI'') is the first season of the ''Total Drama, Total Drama series'', a Canadian animated television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on T ...

'' reboot where she voices Emma. 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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

slasher ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

'' (2014) as Liz Silver,

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

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

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

romantic-comedy ''

Single All the Way ''Single All the Way'' is a 2021 Canadian Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Michael Mayer and written by Chad Hodge. The plot follows Peter (Michael Urie) who convinces Nick, his best friend (Philemon Chambers), to pretend to be his boy ...

'' (2021) as Ashleigh.

Early life

Leishman was born on February 20, 1989. She began acting, singing, and dancing at the age of eight. Leishman starred in her first play while attending The North York

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

in grade three, playing the title character in the play '' Annie''. She attended the

Earl Haig Secondary School Earl Haig Secondary School, formerly Earl Haig Collegiate Institute, is a public high school with 2,048 students in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition to being a public secondary school, the school is also host to the Claude Watson Arts Progr ...

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 () is a federal Canadian public holiday observed on the last Monday preceding May 25 to honour Queen Victoria, who is known as the "Mother of Confederation". The holiday has existed in Canada since at least 1845, originally on Vic ...

'' (2009). In the 2010 short film ''The Long Autumn'', about a boy (

Devon Bostick Devon Bostick (born November 13, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his main role as Rodrick Heffley in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series (2010–2012). His other lead roles include ''Adoration'' (2008), '' Dead Before Dawn 3D'' ...

) 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

arson Arson is the act 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, watercr ...

ist serving

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

/ slasher ''

'' (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 "Mean Girl" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1973. It was taken from their November 1971 album ''Dog of Two Head''. Pye Records released the song more than a year after the album, following the success of the single " ...

" 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 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

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

s that bond over exchanging the bizarre stories of their sexual awakenings. In 2021 she appeared in the 80's set

'' The Exchange'' as Diane, the

teacher's assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

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

Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor, television producer, and director. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/ CW television series ''Smallvill ...

). The same year, in Christmas set romantic comedy ''

'' as Ashleigh, young mother of two small children and a supportive sister to the lead Peter (

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series ''Ugly Betty'' and Brian on the Apple TV+ series '' Shrinking'', a role for which he won ...

Television

Her first television role was in the children's/family series ''

'' (2004–06) as Kathi Giraldi. 2008 saw the release of two TV movies with her in. As Angie Bremlock in '' Never Cry Werewolf'', wherein a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

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 a British television and radio presenter and journalist whose broadcasting career spanned over 4 decades. He began his career working for some radio stations including Radi ...

in a small role. The same year she was part of the main cast of characters in ''

'' (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 channel. 2009 saw a role in ''

'', 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 ''

'' 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 English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

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'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

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

''. She has appeared three times in long running detective series ''

'', as different characters. First in 2011 as Nancy Booth, a taken advantage of

maid A maid, 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 a ...

, in "Downstairs, Upstairs". In 2014 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". And in the 2024

season 17 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

episode "Spirits in the Night" she portrayed Camilla Grundy, a woman whose

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

leads to her being tried for murder. In 2018 she starred as two very different twin 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 The Independent Production Fund (IPF) is a Canadian private independent foundation that supports the production of Canadian dramatic digital media entertainment content and television series. It also provides professional development services and ...

(IPF). In 2022 – Leishman played Remi Belcourt in episode "Between" of medical drama '' Transplant'', 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''. Played by John Reardon, Detective Charlie Hudson is a policeman in the Major Crimes Division of the St. John's Polic ...

'', Leishman plays bridesmaid Quincy Thomas whose straight talking about a murder victim after a

bachelorette party A bachelorette party (United States and Canada) or hen night (United Kingdom, UK, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Australia) is a party held for a woman (the bride or bride-to-be) who will soon be Marriage, married. While Beth Montemurro conclud ...

leads to her being a suspect. She plays Christina, assistant and confidant of caterer Molly Frost ( Merritt Patterson) in

Great American Family Great American Family is an American cable television network owned by Great American Media. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming such as television series and made-for-TV movies—some of which containing f ...

's romantic TV movie ''Catering Christmas''. In the 2023 spy-thriller TV series ''Gray'', Leishman plays Sophie the estranged daughter of the titular character played by

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades incl ...

. Abandoned for 20 years when her mother had to go into hiding, Sophie is wary of letting her back into her and her young daughter's lives for fear of being hurt once again. In the animated series '' Total Drama Island reboot'' Leishman voices Emma,"Melanie Leishman is the voice of Emma in Total Drama Island (2023)"
at behindthevoiceactors.com one of the main characters who are contestants competing to win a million on a

reality TV show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

. Emma has to contend with both the crazy challenges set as part of the competition and the unexpected presence of her ex-boyfriend, the self-centered Chase, as a fellow competitor.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leishman, Melanie 1989 births Actresses from Ontario Canadian television actresses Living people Canadian child actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian Screen Award winning actors 21st-century Canadian actresses Earl Haig Secondary School alumni