Leonie Whyman
Leonie Whyman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other name | LEO |
| Occupations | Actress, musician |
| Years active | 2011–present |
Leonie Whyman is an Australian actress and musician. She has appeared in the television series New Gold Mountain and Deadloch. She also performs music under the stage name LEO as a solo artist, and is part of the Australian band Blackfire.
Early life and education
[edit]Leonie Whyman is from Newcastle, New South Wales.[1] She is part of the Paakantji nation from her grandfather's side of the family, and the Wiradjuri nation from her grandmother's side.[2] She is an only child.[2]
Whyman attended a performing arts high school, where she originally majored in trumpet before switching to guitar and vocals, due to being inspired by her father's musical background.[2] She began acting on television during high school, and had to drop out of school during her last year for one of her acting jobs.[2]
Acting career
[edit]Whyman's first major role was in two 2011 episodes of the ABC3 series My Place, portraying Waruwi, a young Indigenous girl living in 1788.[3] In 2012 and 2013, she appeared in two episodes of Redfern Now.[4][5]
In 2015, Whyman acted in a main role on the teen drama series Ready For This.[6][7] She played Lily, a high school student with a talent for school debating, dealing with grief after her mother's death.[8]
In 2017, she appeared in Dance Academy: The Movie, a film based on the TV show Dance Academy.[9][10] She also appeared in a short film titled Brown Lips in the same year.[11] In 2018 starred in a short film, FOE, as part of the Dark Place horror anthology film.[12][13]
Whyman had another major role in New Gold Mountain (2021), a historical drama series set during the gold rush in Victoria during the 19th century.[1][14] In the miniseries, she played Hattie, a young Indigenous tracker.[15] In 2022, Whyman had roles in the Australian-New Zealand film We Are Still Here,[16] and the Australian TV series Mystery Road: Origin.[17]
Whyman acted in the first season of the Australian black comedy crime series Deadloch in 2023.[18] She and Kartanya Maynard played a pair of teenagers from a small Tasmanian town who become embroiled in a murder mystery. The two First Nations characters have their own subplot in the show.[19]
She starred in the short film It Will Find You in 2024[20] and appeared in the Lords of the Soil in 2025.[21]
In 2026, Whyman acted in the miniseries Goolagong, about the famous Australian tennis player Evonne Goolagong Cawley. She portrayed Goolagong's older sister, Barbara.[22] She also starred in the short film G.O.A.T. as Lilah, a young queer woman living in Broome, Western Australia. The short premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2026.[23]
Whyman has also appeared in guest roles in Black Comedy.[24]
Music career
[edit]Whyman writes and sings music in several genres, often performing under the stage name "LEO".[2][25] She performed in Melbourne for NAIDOC week in 2026.[25]
In addition to her solo career, Whyman is a member of the Australian band Blackfire.[26] In the early 2020s, following the band's return from a long hiatus and the release of their third album, Regeneration, Whyman and another musician, Monica McDonald, were inducted into the band to provide backing vocals and play percussion.[27] They released a new album titled Solar Eclipse in 2025. The band is based in Naarm (Melbourne) and is affiliated with Golden Robot Records.[28][29]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Brown Lips | Keira | Short film |
| 2017 | Dance Academy: The Movie | Student Tilly | Credited as "Leonie Joy Whyman" |
| 2018 | Dark Place | Elena | Anthology film; segment: "Foe" |
| 2022 | We Are Still Here | Janet | Anthology film |
| 2024 | It Will Find You | Jackie | |
| 2025 | Lords of the Soil | Gira | |
| 2026 | G.O.A.T | Lilah | Short film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | My Place | Waruwi | 2 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Redfern Now | Selene | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Ready For This | Lily Carney | Main cast; 13 episodes |
| 2016 | Black Comedy | Guest roles | |
| 2021 | New Gold Mountain | Hattie | Miniseries; (all) 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Mystery Road: Origin | Cissy | |
| 2023 | Deadloch | Tammy Hampson | Season 1; 8 episodes |
| 2026 | Goolagong | Barbara | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Symington, Elizabeth (4 October 2021). "Leonie Whyman strikes gold with new series". Newcastle Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Clark, Rebekah. "How Indigenous Artists Are Changing The Face Of The Creative Sector". ICON. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "My Place – 1788 Waruwi". ABC Television. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Redfern Now: S1 Episode 5 Sweet Spot". ABC iview. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Redfern Now: S2 Episode 2 Starting Over". ABC iview. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Ready for This". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ Thomas, Sarah (30 September 2015). "Indigenous teens discover home is where the heart is in ABC drama Ready For This". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Ready For This". Blackfella Films. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ Dance Academy: The Movie (2017), directed by Jefferey Walker, produced by Joanna Werner.
- ↑ Windsor, Harry (24 March 2017). "Joanna Werner preps ABC TV-movie to shoot in July, 'Dance Academy' release". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017.
- ↑ "Brown Lips". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "FOE". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Dark Place". The Screen Guide. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ "'It's time for our stories': Leonie Whyman on retelling the gold rush". NITV. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ Buckmaster, Luke (12 October 2021). "New Gold Mountain review – lush neo-western takes a new route through gold rush Australia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Watch We Are Still Here". SBS. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Mystery Road: Origin series 1". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Deadloch series 1". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ Northover, Kylie (18 May 2023). "The Kates' mystery opens with a dead body - but not what you expect". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "it will find you - short". Deadhouse. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Monthly Workshops". Aboriginal Regional Arts Alliance. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Goolagong". NFSA Pro. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "G.O.A.T". MIFF 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "Brothers Wreck". Australian Arts Review. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- 1 2 "NAIDOC Week". melbourne.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ "Band of the day: Blackfire". Maximum Volume Music. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ "Blackfire". Golden Robot Records Webstore. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ "Blackfire well and truly back in action and highlighting the power of Blak rock". Victorian Aboriginal News. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ "Segments: The Mission: Blackfire are Back With 'Solar Eclipse'". Triple R 102.7FM, Melbourne Independent Radio. Retrieved 28 August 2026.