Arts & Culture TV & Film

Josh Leonard is ‘creepy’ in Steven Soderbergh’s Thriller UNSANE; opens theatrically March 23

Joshua Leonard stars opposite Claire Foy (The Crown) in Steven Soderbergh’s thriller, UNSANE. 
In UNSANE, a young woman leaves her hometown to escape a troubled past and begin a new job. When she is involuntarily committed to a mental institution she is confronted by her greatest fear – but is it real or just her delusion? With seemingly no-one ready to believe her and the authorities unable or unwilling to help, she must confront her fears head on. With twisting perspectives and a shocking narrative, UNSANE  asks questions about our perception of reality, our survival instinct and the system that is supposed to take care of us.   The film also stars Jay Pharoah (SNL), Juno Temple (WONDER WHEEL), Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things), and Amy Irving (TRAFFIC).    

Filmmaker/writer/actor, Joshua Leonard first came onto the scene in 1999 with the lo-fi sensation THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.  Leonard went on to receive  rave reviews for his performance in Lynn Shelton’s Independent Spirit Award-winning HUMPDAY and co-starred opposite Chloe Grace Moretz in Warner Bros’ IF I STAY. Leonard can also frequently be seen on television in shows like HBO’s “True Detective” and “Togetherness”, A&E’s “Bates Motel” and Crackle’s “Startup”. 

His directorial debut, THE YOUTH IN US premiered at Sundance in ’05.  An award-winning art doc, BEAUTIFUL LOSERS followed in ‘09. He then made his narrative feature debut as director, writer and star with THE LIE (Sundance ’11). Most recently, he wrapped production on his sophomore feature as director and co-writer with BEHOLD MY HEART, which stars Marisa Tomei, Mireille Enos and Timothy Olyphant. 

Leonard has directed music videos for popular acts such as Fitz and the Tantrums, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Harper Simon and Morcheeba.  He began his career working with documentarians and experimental filmmakers at Mystic Fire Video, where he worked on films with subjects ranging from famed beat poet Alan Ginsburg, the Dalai Lama and comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell.

Next year, Leonard will star in Larry Fessenden’s newest horror, DEPRAVED.  In DEPRAVED, a disillusioned field surgeon suffering from PTSD makes a man out of body parts and brings him to life in a Brooklyn loft.
Joshua Leonard
Also starring Claire Foy (The Crown), Jay Pharoah (SNL), Juno Temple (WONDER WHEEL), Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things), and Amy Irving (TRAFFIC)  
 
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“The role of Sawyer’s apparent stalker, David Strine, also gives Joshua Leonard, best known for ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ an opportunity to embody one of the most diabolically mild-mannered psychotics since Norman Bates.”
 – Richard Porton, THE DAILY BEAST
 

“Joshua Leonard is genuinely creepy.”
– Jessica Kiang, THE PLAYLIST

 

About the author

Frank Parlato

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