Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Patrick Leonard.
Sean Patrick, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born and raised in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, I have been an actor, writer, and producer for over 20 years now. Growing up as an only child, I had a lot of time to let imagination run wild. I always had a passion for telling stories, usually through the many adventures with my hundreds of action figures. When I was 5 years old, my mother took me to see Clise Encounters of the Third Kind and I was instantly hooked. I spent most of my childhood either at the movies or playing sports. When I finally got to high school, I spent most of my time searching for myself and it wasn’t until senior year when I developed a crush on the President of the Drama Club. I thought the best way to get to know her was to join the club. I learned quickly that I was really enjoying my time in the club and my crush slowly turned to acting and not the girl.
After graduation, I decided that I wanted to be a sports anchor and decided to attend Columbia College in downtown Chicago and enroll in their radio program. In my very first semester, I couldn’t find the schedule that was right for me, so I decided to take an Acting One Basic Skills class as an elective. By the end of that class, my teacher-Suzanne Thompson sat down with me and convinced me to lean into the wonderful world of theatre. I changed majors and soon met my mentors Sheldon Patinkin-one of the founding members of The Compass Players, later renamed The Second City and Martin deMatt-the head instructor of Second City’s Training Center. Those tow along with Brian Shaw, Jeff Ginsberg and David Woolley really shaped me as an actor and more so, as the man that I am today. I am eternally grateful to all of the wonderful instructors at Columbia. After I left, I went to study with Del Close and Charna Halpern at the famed ImprovOlympic-now known as iO. I started to really learn about the business and politics of the acting world specifically the world of improvisation. I had always had a dream of being on Saturday Night Live from when I was a child watching Radner, Belushi and Murray create magic.
I finally came to the realization that that dream was not meant to be, so I left the improv world and hooked up with a small budding theatre company called Speaking Ring Theatre. This is when my life really changed because it is where I met my amazing wife of 14 years, Mercedes. Our run as a theatre company lasted for 7 years with myself at the helm as Artistic Director for 4 of those years. By year 6, I knew that my interests were changing and it was time for me to enter the film world. I decided at this time that I needed to really kick my career in overdrive because we were expecting our first child, Jack. So, I enrolled at The Green Room Studio in Chicago. For the next year, I went through an intensive rebuild of how to act for film and how to focus on the business of acting. Under the guidance of Sean Bradley, David Murphy and Brad Burton, I learned the ins and outs of working in front of the camera, got an agent and booked my first commercial. For the past 10 years, adding our second child, Ruby Lee, I have focused primarily on film. Not only acting in front of the camera but I started to write screenplays, direct and in 2016 I formed my own production company Crash of Rhinos, which I act, write, direct and produce my own content.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, when it comes to this business, there are always struggles, primarily financial. It is a business that is constantly filled with ebbs and flows and a ton of rejection. The odds are always against you but if you continue to get up and dust yourself off and get back in the game you never know what can happen. You may end up as one of the lucky ones that make enough money to survive but that’s not why you keep getting up. You know deep inside that this is the only thing that you can do and you will never quit.
Crash of Rhinos – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Crash of Rhinos is a small production company that specializes in creating original stories. Since we are very young, we have not produced a lot yet but we are well on our way. Our first film Rockabye-a 12 minute short film about losing a mother and a spouse in a terrible car accident and the repercussions of the father raising his 2 young children have been accepted to 20 film festivals around the country and receiving over 15 nominations and 3 awards. Our second film Step One-another short film about one man’s journey to sobriety has just started its film festival run but has been selected to 5 film festivals and winning 2 awards including a Best of the Fest award. We go into production in July on our next film-Sunrise about the choices one makes to break enabling cycles in their lives. I think what may set us apart as of now in our infancy is that in a business full of ego, we like to think of ourselves as one of the good guys that just want to work hard and make quality films.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
In regards to my life, it’s my rock-solid relationship with my wife Mercedes and our two amazing children. Professionally, I am most proud of my resilience and the fact that I am still myself and haven’t buckled under the pressures of using others to get to a higher plane. I like to think of myself as a humble and loyal person.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 773-575-9087
- Email: lenrod17@yahoo.com
- Facebook: Crash of Rhinos
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