Jess McLeod
Born25 January 1997
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active2005–present
Television One of Us Is Lying

Jess McLeod (born 25 January 1997) is a Canadian actor and writer who played Janae Mathews on both series of Netflix teen television drama One of Us Is Lying and Bernie Simon in the 2023 Christmas slasher film It's a Wonderful Knife.

Early and personal life

From Victoria, British Columbia, the child of Teresa, they attended Claremont Secondary School. At school they were a part of Claremont Musical Theatre and stared as Elle Woods in its production of the musical Legally Blonde.[1] McLeod is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.[2] They are based in Vancouver.[3]

Career

Mcleod started as a child actor, appearing in 2006 comedy Scary Movie 4 as a schoolgirl reading My Pet Duck to Leslie Nielsen as the American president.[1] Their later acting credits include roles in Eve of Destruction, Shall We Play?, and the Van Helsing TV series. They had a role in Canadian comedy drama series You Me Her.[4]

In 2019, McLeod was cast in Peacock teen television drama One of Us Is Lying.[5] McLeod played Janae Mathews on both series of the show.[6][7]

McLeod could be seen alongside Sandra Bullock and Viola Davis in the 2021 film The Unforgivable.[8] They appeared as Bernie Simon in the 2023 film It's a Wonderful Knife.[9][10] In November 2023, they won the ACTRA Award for best performance in a short film for their role in A Little Vacation, the script for which they also co-wrote.[11][12]

Partial filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Scary Movie 4 Little girl As Jessica McLeod
2013 Eve of Destruction Ruby As Jessica McLeod
2018-2019 You Me Her Sasha 12 episodes
2019 Van Helsing Shelley As Jessica McLeod
2020 Shall We Play? Jess As Jessica McLeod
2021-2022 One of Us Is Lying Janae Matthews 16 episodes
2021 The Unforgivable Hannah Whelan Film
2023 A Little Vacation Jess Short film. Also co-wrote. Won ACTRA Award
2023 It's a Wonderful Knife Bernie Simon Film

References

  1. 1 2 Reid, Michael D. (April 18, 2015). "Claremont grad is famous — almost". Times Colonist. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  2. Bloom, Allison (October 31, 2022). ""One of Us Is Lying" Star Jess McLeod on the Queer Parallels Between Themself and Character Janae; Hopes for Another Season". glaad.org. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  3. "One of Us is Lying's Annalisa Cochrane, Chibuikem Uche and Jess McLeod". Brief Take. October 20, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. Patterson, Denny (November 19, 2021). "'One of Us Is Lying' Star Jessica McLeod". Out Front Magazine. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. Petski, Denise (October 30, 2019). "'One Of Us Is Lying': Peacock's YA Mystery Drama Pilot Based On Book Sets Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  6. "One of Us Is Lying Season 2 First Look". eonline.com. September 27, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  7. McDaniel, Caitlynn (October 21, 2022). "Jess McLeod Says Janae is "Falling in Love With Themself" in "One Of Us Is Lying" S2". Gayety. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  8. Abdulbaki, Mae (November 10, 2021). "The Unforgivable: Cast & Character Guide". Screen Rant.
  9. White, James (April 27, 2023). "Freaky Writer's Next Slasher Mash-Up Is It's A Wonderful Knife". Empire. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  10. Karim, Anhar (November 18, 2023). "'It's A Wonderful Knife' Has Some Fun With Holiday Movie Expectations". Forbes. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  11. Gee, Dana (November 25, 2023). "B.C. actors celebrated at 12th annual UBCP/ACTRA Awards". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  12. Alexandra, Kristi (November 28, 2023). "UBCP/ACTRA names 2023 awards recipients". Playbackonline.ca. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
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