Hustle Hard | Leanne Johnson
Written by Brendan Douglas
Born a Canuck, Leanne Johnson was raised in the Chinooks of Alberta and tree-laden British Columbia before relocating to the United States. Now living in Lafayette, Indiana, Leanne spends the majority of her days honing her skills as an actor and musician.
Leanne’s passion for acting began as a child performing on stage and theatre camps. One of her first performances was in an elementary school play version of Cinderella. She played the evil stepsister Drizella and remembers the elation of making people laugh. Karen Towsley has a considerable impact on her life during high school. As Leanne’s drama teacher, Karen became a tremendous influence on her early stages of acting and in her life overall.
When not on stage, Leanne enjoys gathering with friends and an old-school video camera to make home movies. Although Leanne did not become a screen actor until after graduating from university, getting married, and having her first child, it was those budding years of performing on stage and making movies that would lead her to her true calling in life and passion of the art of visual storytelling through film. Acting in film pushed her deep into the realm of human emotion, brokenness, strength, and beauty. Stepping into the shoes of another as an actress means learning their personal stories and life experiences which can uncover pain and joy. It is an inward and outward journey for Leanne that requires constant evolution of the empathetic understanding of the world around her.
Today Leanne’s life is consumed by her faith in Jesus, her family, and her ambitions in acting and film. Whether it is training, film study, rehearsing, auditioning, table reads, marketing, preparing wardrobe, or filming, her days are filled by working on her art and creating. Even during those times of retreat and relaxation, Leanne continues to create. A self-taught guitarist, Leanne unwinds by playing or writing music a couple of times a week.
With her creative appetite and the ups and downs of a life in the film industry she has chosen to follow, Leanne feels blessed with having a strong support system consisting of her husband, family, and close friends who help with her children when she travels, keeps her spirits lifted through encouragement when times are dry and motivate her to be the best she can be. Leanne feels particularly thankful to her best friend, Jessica Kololan, whom she would not have met if it was not for their involvement in acting, and knows she is and always will be in her corner fighting for and with her in any of life’s battles.
Leanne recently completed the filming for her roles in unDEFILED with Light of Life Films and The Dream Motel by Rossetti Productions. She is currently working on numerous Midwest projects including Barbara a Batgirl Fan Film with BeSquared Productions, I Found You with Crimson Night Productions, The Shadows by Sean Michael Mallory, and Tin Roof by Rebecca Rhinehart and Rob Mello. She makes special mention of her role in the upcoming film Idle Girl from Rad Entertainment written and directed by Rebekah Erb. She would like everyone to be sure to watch it when it is released to support the people of Indie Film and the ton of amazing talent in the Midwest.
