Joshua Leonard Biography

Fast Facts

• His short film "The Youth in Us" won the Palm Springs International ShortFest Jury Award for Best Live Action Under 15 Minutes in 2005
• Shared the prize for Best Actor with Mark Duplass at the 2009 Gijón International Film Festival for "Humpday․"
• Completed his studies at the New York Film Academy School of Film and Acting after spending a year at Penn State
• While living in New York trying to make it as a filmmaker and photographer, he took portraits of musicians, worked as a band promoter, acted in student films and worked behind the scenes on shorts and documentaries
• Earned his GED at 16, then went to Mexico for a year and a half where he taught poor children in Puebla, worked as a gardener and explored Central and South American jungles
• Primarily appears in and directs independent films
• To begin with, he only earned $500 for acting in "The Blair Witch Project," the low budget horror film that catapulted him into stardom