Joshua Leonard is a Los Angeles-based actor and filmmaker, who first garnered attention for his memorable role in 1999's lo-fi thriller, The Blair Witch Project (1999). Leonard has continued to work in projects that push the envelope, including 2009's Independent Spirit Award-winning Humpday (2009), HBO's acclaimed series, Hung (2009) and ...
(2009) I dropped out of high school when I was 15, moved down to Mexico when I was 16, by myself, and I hitchhiked through Central America. I did the whole gig, and I would never trade that for anything in the world. But when I look at my friends who are still doing that in their 30s, it starts looking a little desperate. It's not so cute anymore. I think internally you have to be careful that you don't cross over from exploration into fleeing. I think especially in your late teens and 20s, there is a lot to be said about going out into the world and experiencing a lot of stuff. But I think the older you get, the motivations really change, even if it looks the same on the outside. Which is, you're running away from figuring out who you are. And you've done all the exploration, and now you're just too chickenshit to do anything with it.
2
(2009) The interesting thing about Blair Witch-and to some extent with Humpday, but maybe a little less, because Humpday is character-driven-the film was really the star. None of us autonomously blew up into huge celebrities. But I got to experience a massive level of fame for about 10 minutes. And I wasn't prepared for it. It made me realize that I'm not someone who does terribly well with strangers while having a fight with my girlfriend at a restaurant. The multitasking aspect wasn't something I approached with a tremendous amount of grace. But that said, it kind of came and went, because it wasn't a situation where I had this huge breakout performance and it was all about me. I was just the guy from that movie that got the crazy amount of success and has a tremendous cult following. So once the hoopla died down, I was able to make a living working inside the film industry, and that really was the conduit that opened the door. But I had a journeyman career, minus a couple highlights, until I figured out who I was creatively and what I had to offer. So I do think this time around, there is so much more comfort, because I no longer do things with career motivation. I want to have a career, I want to keep making a living doing what I do. I love what I do. But this film that we made, I would have been equally as proud of if nobody ever saw it. The outside validation doesn't change my perception of the movie. If that makes any sense.
3
[2009 - On The Blair Witch Project (1999)] "Blair Witch" was such an anomaly, but it was also the first anomaly. I was 23. I was literally just kicking a heroin habit, and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. So I think being thrust into the spotlight at that point was kind of psychically traumatic. Although I was really grateful for it, and I'm still kind of proud of the punk-rock ethos with which that film was made.
$11 Million
