Melissa Leo
Birthday: 14 September 1960, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name: Melissa Chessington Leo
Height: 163 cm
Melissa Leo was born on September 14, 1960 in New York City, New York, USA as Melissa Chessington Leo. She is an actress and producer, known for The Fighter (2010), Prisoners (2013) and Oblivion (2013 ...Show More
My mom was a '70s mom. She paved a road that no one had yet walked.
My mom was a '70s mom. She paved a road that no one had yet walked.
I mean, the unfair treatment of women and black people and Indians and other groups, that's real. Mi Show more
I mean, the unfair treatment of women and black people and Indians and other groups, that's real. Mistreatment of other people because 'I'm better than you are' is such a sad part of the world. Hide
I'm not particularly fond of the hybrid writer-director or actor-director.
I'm not particularly fond of the hybrid writer-director or actor-director.
Well, I don't think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ou Show more
Well, I don't think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that's going to shut down the world. Hide
There were not enough women like Kay on TV and now there are none.
There were not enough women like Kay on TV and now there are none.
I am a smoker, I'm ashamed to say. I had given it up for many years, then picked it up again. It's a Show more
I am a smoker, I'm ashamed to say. I had given it up for many years, then picked it up again. It's a horrible habit. I struggle with myself all the time. And I love to smoke. Hide
To get the hippie out of certain characters is probably the most difficult thing for me. I was not a Show more
To get the hippie out of certain characters is probably the most difficult thing for me. I was not a hippie by choice but by birth. Hide
I think this notion of acting and glamor is getting in everybody's way.
I think this notion of acting and glamor is getting in everybody's way.
People often expect me to be something other than what I am.
People often expect me to be something other than what I am.
I haven't had a lot of experience with glamor. I've never had to mask myself, as many now not-so-you Show more
I haven't had a lot of experience with glamor. I've never had to mask myself, as many now not-so-young actresses have had to do. Female actors in that regard have a different lot in life than male actors. Hide
I have some close friends I keep in touch with. I knit. I watch a little too much TV. I ski, if the Show more
I have some close friends I keep in touch with. I knit. I watch a little too much TV. I ski, if the weather's right for that. If I can find a group of buddies, I go rock climbing. Hide
An actor has to be very, very careful, as one of the most wonderful props - and actors love props - Show more
An actor has to be very, very careful, as one of the most wonderful props - and actors love props - is a cigarette. There's so much to do with it: you can bring it up to your face, play with the smoke. It's just the greatest - ever since I was 16 and in acting school in England, I've been playing around with cigarettes. Hide
I'm a very lucky girl who gets to act for a living! So why sit around griping and grousing about wha Show more
I'm a very lucky girl who gets to act for a living! So why sit around griping and grousing about what's not there. Hide
Supporting actors are the support. You can't make a building without support. You can't buy dinner w Show more
Supporting actors are the support. You can't make a building without support. You can't buy dinner without support. Hide
My body has done for me all these years things I couldn't ever even dreamt to do for characters. It' Show more
My body has done for me all these years things I couldn't ever even dreamt to do for characters. It's a tool, molecularly speaking, and I need to take care of it. Hide
[on interpreting the title role in Francine (2012)] To play someone when the character masks their o Show more
[on interpreting the title role in Francine (2012)] To play someone when the character masks their own emotions, doesn't understand their own emotions, has no release for their own emotions, and yet is full of emotion - that is a much harder character to play than someone who has somewhere to put it. Hide
I think there has only been one time in my entire career that I've ever gone back to shoot a scene. Show more
I think there has only been one time in my entire career that I've ever gone back to shoot a scene. And it was a scene that, when we were shooting it, we knew that it wasn't working. We knew there was a disagreement between the actor and director. So, we went back. Hide
You know, when I got started on television in the '80s, you would go to the costume department, and Show more
You know, when I got started on television in the '80s, you would go to the costume department, and if you were a female they put you into a skirt. And you had a pocketbook, usually a shoulder bag. Hide
I'm very old-school. I like a director to direct me. I like to be the actor.
I'm very old-school. I like a director to direct me. I like to be the actor.
Ever since Marilyn Monroe was transformed from one of the prettiest girls you could ever hope to see Show more
Ever since Marilyn Monroe was transformed from one of the prettiest girls you could ever hope to see into an icon, everyone has been trying to repeat that icon. And now the entire industry is filled with, and by and large run by, wannabes. Hide
I do get a fair amount of scripts; I got 'Frozen River' kinda just that way. I have a hard time turn Show more
I do get a fair amount of scripts; I got 'Frozen River' kinda just that way. I have a hard time turning my back on anybody who says they have something for me. Hide
The key to acting has much more to do with listening than with talking.
The key to acting has much more to do with listening than with talking.
That's probably the biggest secret of acting: If the actor believes it themselves, they can make you Show more
That's probably the biggest secret of acting: If the actor believes it themselves, they can make you believe it. Hide
The climate informs the character.
The climate informs the character.
Through all of this lovely interviewing, and nice things people say, and the rest of it, I have lear Show more
Through all of this lovely interviewing, and nice things people say, and the rest of it, I have learned that I am an actor. That is my profession. That is my job. That is how I make a living. So I am just out there making a living. Hide
Acting is the business of truth, so that we can see ourselves reflected back and learn.
Acting is the business of truth, so that we can see ourselves reflected back and learn.
Being an actor on a movie set is like going to the playground at recess.
Being an actor on a movie set is like going to the playground at recess.
[Excerpt from her 2011 Academy Award acceptance speech] When I watched Kate Winslet two years ago, i Show more
[Excerpt from her 2011 Academy Award acceptance speech] When I watched Kate Winslet two years ago, it looked so fucking easy - Oops! Hide
I think the funny thing about acting for me - and I hold it in a very holy, spiritual way - not to b Show more
I think the funny thing about acting for me - and I hold it in a very holy, spiritual way - not to be overly fundamentalist about it, but it's that important to me - is that it is an ancient healing art. Hide
An actor's life is fairly lonely.
An actor's life is fairly lonely.
The power of television - it's so present in our lives, we don't even know how powerful it is.
The power of television - it's so present in our lives, we don't even know how powerful it is.
Melissa Leo's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (141)
Melissa Leo'S roles
Mrs. Howard
Alice Ward
Laurie
Kay Howard
Georgia Hale
Reverend Mother
Kathy Walsh
Marianne Jordan
Sally Jansen
Laura
Nurse Pam
Toni Bernette
Susan Plummer
Winnie Mann
Holly Jones
Ellen Block
Sara
Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
Penny Bloom
Lois Riley
Bette Altmann
Show More
