Meet Simone Leon | Actress & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Simone Leon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Simone, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life, making an abrupt career change in order to pursue a life as an artist. To a lot of people it seemed crazy, unwise, and out of nowhere. I have had people tell me they never imagined that I would become an actor. I think it’s because I was in such denial for so long that this was something I wanted to do since I was 5. Taking risks sometimes just boils down to being brave enough to try many different things, allow for trial and error, pursue further education, and let go of old narratives/identities. Right now I work as an actor, a freelance writer, and I also recently started a podcast/Substack where I talk about the intersections of art, religion, and technology. As much as it would make things easier to be a single brand and fit myself neatly into a box, we all contain multitudes, and it makes me happy to accept that rather than fight it. I grew from being a person who was withholding, scared, and following all the “right” steps to success, to someone who gets to do what I love.

I will be honest – there was a lot of fear and resistance in the beginning. However, I do believe that all of us come here with certain gifts, strengths, dispositions, and life paths that are all meant to be in their own way. Also, your purpose can change, and phases in life that you thought were a mistake can actually turn out to be a valuable step in your personal growth. Yes, at times I have regrets. I wish I had been bolder and less afraid at 18, and had started pursuing acting earlier. However, there is a reason for everything. My life would not be what it is now, I wouldn’t have met my husband, and I would have gone into this industry with much less experience and much more naivety. My earlier career choices (working in the film industry but not as an artist) provided me with a great education about the industry, allowed me to meet so many people, and made me realize what I didn’t want, which can sometimes be just as valuable as knowing what you do want. I spent a lot of time working in production studios watching countless films and reading countless scripts. This helped me develop a critical mind and understand what makes a story great.

Also, I am very lucky that I have a supportive family and husband who encouraged me along the way. I don’t take that for granted. Taking risks requires courage at any level, but having love and support has made it easier to work through the hard parts. Fear can be debilitating and isolating, but connecting with other people who love you, or making friends who have similar dreams and goals as you can make it seem less daunting. On a more spiritual level, as far as we know this is your one life as you. What do you do to your soul when you deny your calling? When you ignore the voice of God, your conscience, and what you know is right? Can you name one single person you admire who didn’t take huge risks to get to where they are?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an actress, screenwriter, and part-time photographer and podcaster. I used to worry that my many creative pursuits would muddy the waters when I try to explain what I do – but then I realized that most creative people I admire are creative in many ways even though professionally they tend to focus on one craft. For me, all of these pursuits feed into one another. For example, when I began studying acting, my writing took on new depths because I grew my ability to really put myself in a character’s emotional state of mind. Writing and acting are the most intimate forms of embodiment within a story and getting to do both really stretches your mind’s empathic capabilities.

My interest in photography began in earnest when my husband surprised me with a vintage Minolta 35 mm camera early on in our relationship. I’m not sure what prompted him to get me such a generous gift, but he has always supported me creatively (he also edits and produces my podcast). But from the beginning, I fell in love with the process even though I didn’t fully know what I was doing. At the time we were living in rural Maine during the early days of the pandemic. I remember going out into the snow, beaches, the woods, and rediscovering the world with my camera. The best part about shooting on film is the mystery. You never truly know how something’s going to turn out until you develop it… but this limitation focuses your attention. When you’re taking photos, that’s all you can do since you can’t immediately see what it looks like. Later on I progressed to taking portraits for people, some animals, and even architecture and lifestyle photography. Since most of my work (acting and writing) is more mental and emotional, photography takes me in the other direction, which balances out my creative muscles. It can be very physical, and is of course a wordless form of expression. The process of working with film not only slows me down (in a good way) but connects me to the beauty and tradition of the art of photography. I prefer the look of film, the focus and intensity that its limitation enables, and the Christmas-morning-like feeling I have when I get my prints back.

The idea for my podcast, Meaning Making Machines, began in a moment of frustration. I was filled with all these ideas, thoughts, and philosophical questions – and was exhausting my friends and family with too much mental chatter! I thought, surely there are other people like me who want to talk endlessly about the deepest things in life, in how we find and define meaning, and so the show began as a side project to fulfill this desire. I also release the show alongside essay writing I do on my Substack of the same name. On the show I discuss the intersection between art, religion, and technology – and what all those things mean for us in this strange time we find ourselves in. This project has been another form of expression for me to engage with my more intellectual side, but it also allows me to reexamine my own beliefs, question how much I believe is influenced by societal trends and pressures, and how much comes from my own education and conviction. I’ve grown a lot since starting the show. Right now I’m most interested in talking about the ethics of AI, God and religion and how certain technologies impose pseudo-religious belief systems, womanhood, the meaning of art and beauty, and how we address the unique privilege of being alive during this strange time.

My acting journey is the one that has been the most important and meaningful to me. I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was 5, but it took me another 20-odd years to be able to admit it to myself. Once I went through adolescence and during my early adulthood I was very shy and introverted. I played it safe and I held everything in. I couldn’t even admit to myself that this was something I secretly wanted because I was so scared to even be seen in a public way! Ironic, I know. I began to open up when on a whim I signed up for a weeklong workshop with the incredible acting coach Catlin Adams. I knew her a little bit since she had taught the previous summer at a film school I was working at at the time. I sat in on her class the previous year and was just drawn in by her vibrant and fearless energy. The class wasn’t even really an acting class, but was a class for directors to better understand how to work with actors. However, she took us through some pretty basic acting and opening up exercises. We got to work with other actors, and I was so inspired by not only seeing them work, but by allowing myself to open up. After that, I couldn’t stop. I moved back to California and continued my training. I went from being afraid to even introduce myself on stage in front of the class to screaming, crying, dancing, and everything in between on stage and on camera without fear. I studied the Meisner technique, which I love, and one of the first things they teach you is that you can only be self-conscious if you’re focusing on yourself. So focus on your partner instead! It takes time and tons of practice, but it really works. I got over my fears because I realized it’s not really about me. It’s about my partner, it’s about the work, it’s about being as truthful as possible. The part of me that had been withholding for so long melted away and I realized that I felt the most myself when I am losing myself in the emotions of the story. I feel like I have unlocked a huge part of myself and that I have found my purpose. Last year, I moved back to LA to pursue acting more fully. Since then I have acted in a Super Bowl commercial, a play, countless short films, and completed my first major role in a feature film a few months ago. I still feel like I am only just getting started in many ways, but I also can appreciate how much I have grown as an actor and as a person in just a few short years. Each role I complete only makes me hungrier for what I haven’t done yet – I want to explore every type of character possible. Recently I played my strangest role yet – an unhinged neighborhood cannibal who channels the spirit of a grizzly bear when she kills. Roaring and growling like a wild animal in front of the camera, with dozens of people on set, was the ultimate full circle moment for me.… from being such a shy and fearful girl to THAT. Makes me believe that anything is possible, and any change we wish within ourselves is possible!

Screenwriting has taken the back burner the past year while I’ve focused mostly on getting my acting career up and running – but I have written and performed in one short, and am gearing up to make another. I also have a feature and two pilots in the works. All of them explore the ideas of art, religion, technology, and the relationship between the sexes – similar to things I talk about in my podcast. But I can’t wait to share my writing more fully in the years to come, and like in all of my other creative pursuits, my goal as always is to express the truth of the human experience in all its gory glory.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It would be hard to do everything in one weekend, since everybody knows the state of the driving around these parts… But! Here are some of the places I love to show people around in LA.

The Getty Villa – I am so grateful that this place survived the fires due to a lot of diligent work on the staff’s end. I have gone here countless times, and it is a wonderful escape from the city. Entry is free, but you do have to pay for parking. So might as well stuff your car with all of your friends and spend all day there. I don’t think I’ve even explored all the wings. So instead of getting museum fatigue, I recommend splitting up and exploring at your own pace, bring some sketchpads or watercolors and sit outside by the fountains. Also if you like weird and gory things, you can visit a 2000-year-old still-intact mummy who is on display at the museum. In addition to a lot of incredible ancient artifacts.

Greystone Mansion – Another free one! Parking is free too. I love walking around the grounds, maybe bringing a book with me if I’m by myself and just spending a slow afternoon there. The architecture is absolutely incredible. I took my father-in-law there recently, who is an architect, and even he remarked that a lot of the craftsmanship you see there isn’t even possible to replicate nowadays because the skills and techniques have been lost.

Book Soup – Whenever I go to a new city, one of my favorite things to do is to find the best bookstores. Book Soup is a classic and has been around for decades. They have a great fiction selection and I love the staff there. I always find something I didn’t know I wanted to read whenever I go.

Dialog Cafe – This may be too popular… but if you’re at Book Soup might as well pop by Dialog next door and get a Matcha Lemonade! They are delicious and have a great brunch menu as well.

Frida’s Mexican Cuisine – Beverly Hills – When I find a good place to eat I tend to stick to it! They have the best enchiladas and an all around cozy vibe.

In terms of hiking, I love Topanga State Park and Red Rock Canyon Park in Topanga. It feels like you are a million miles away from the city. Watch out for mountain lions and rattlesnakes though!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s hard to choose just one! I think I’ll just have to name a few. In terms of people, I owe all that I have to my parents. They left everything they knew to come to America before I was born. They worked tirelessly to provide my sister and me a better life full of opportunity, rich experiences, and gave us everything in childhood that they wish they had – a great education, ballet and horseback riding lessons, travel, and a loving home. My parents also of course contribute to who I am as a person, and I owe all of my good qualities to them. My mom, Vera Leon, is an incredible painter… and I don’t say this lightly, but I think she’s a genius. I grew up in a beautiful home (thanks to her laudable aesthetic sensibilities) and one filled with her art. From her, I got my emotional sensitivity, intuition, love of the strange and taboo, and my passion for creative expression. From my father, I got my love of knowledge, psychology, writing, movies, and a powerful work ethic. He always talks me through the difficult moments in life, and gives me the love and stability I need to keep going. Both of them have always supported me following my passions, and give me the strength to believe in myself.

An organization I am immensely grateful to is the actor’s studio Playhouse West. When I moved back to LA to pursue acting, they gave me an invaluable education, and also fostered a community of support no matter where you are in your career. Their classes are affordable, and they don’t teach the soft stuff. The teachers are hard on you because they care. I came in not believing I would be able to do what I do now, but my teachers there pushed me to be fearless. Kathleen Randazzo and Christopher Liebe are the best and truly love what they do.

In terms of books I’m going to be cliche and mention the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I was also enriched by reading Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland, as well as The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.

Instagram: http://instagram.com/simone.leon/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@simone123621

Other: substack: https://simoneleon.substack.com
podcast: https://tr.ee/Oh17hH8Iia

I’m currently working on a website and will send it to you if it’s up before the article releases!

Image Credits
For the featured image I attached please give credit to Eric Bjerke, Sr.