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 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 comedy series House Party (2008) as desperate to be popular Mandy. Other TV credits include Being Erica, Republic of Doyle and Murdoch Mysteries. She has also voiced several animated roles in series such as Detentionaire, Grojband and the Total Drama Island revival where she voices Emma.
Film roles include musical slasher Stage Fright (2014) as Liz Silver, comedy-drama The Exchange (2021) as Diane and Christmas romantic-comedy Single All the Way (2021) as Ashleigh.
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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 in grade three, playing the title character in the play Annie. 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 (2009).
Leishmann starred as Ladeeda in the Devon Bostick-led short film The Long Autumn in 2010.
Quirky romantic/drama Old Stock (2012) saw her playing sparky love interest Patti, an arsonist serving community service teaching dance classes at a retirement home.
Musical/slasher Stage Fright (2014) saw her take on the role of "mean girl" Liz Silver, going against the type of her recent roles as either the "lead's best friend" or other generally timid characters.
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 Leishman co-star with Alyssa Owsiany as a pair of bridesmaids that bond over exchanging the bizarre stories of their sexual awakenings.
In 2021, she appeared in the 80's set comedy-drama The Exchange as Diane, the teacher's assistant and long suffering girlfriend to primary antagonist gym teacher Gary Rothbauer (Justin Hartley). The same year, in Christmas set romantic comedy Single All the Way 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, wherein a werewolf 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 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 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 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 animated series Detentionaire and also voiced the overly perky and thus aptly named Chipper in Grojband.
She has appeared three times in long running detective series Murdoch Mysteries, as different characters. First in 2011 as Nancy Booth, a taken advantage of maid, 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 episode "Spirits in the Night" she portrayed Camilla Grundy, a woman whose sleepwalking leads to her being tried for murder.