By Mike McCarthy
If you are a fan of zombies and Lord of the Rings then you absolutely need to check out Leanne Lapp. Leanne has a recurring role on the hit show on CW, iZombie as Gilda. You have seen her on other smaller projects, but this red-haired vixen is about to take the world by storm. She bases her character Gilda’s demeanor after Robin Wright’s character Clair Underwood of House of Cards, which is also one of her favorite shows along with Downton Abbey. We were going to try and get her to rap for us, but she didn’t have any cocktails to get that liquid courage. Read on to find out we are talking about…
Wingman Magazine: Okay I am putting you on the spot right off the bat. I hear you can rap…
Leanne Lapp: When I was in the 11th grade, we were assigned to write a song about an event in history class from a certain perspective. I was assigned to make a song about Pearl Harbor, from the perspective of the Japanese, and I hope I am not offending anyone. I ended up doing the song to Straight Outta Compton and called it Straight Outta Tokyo. It went down in history as my favorite school project, I am super proud of it and I still know all of the words. Depending on when you catch me (how many cocktails I have had) you may get a few verses.
Wingman Magazine: How has the experience on iZombie been for you? Were you a fan of zombie shows before you were on one?
Leanne Lapp: It has been a dream come true. To go from only supposed to be on one episode to being so involved in the second season playing such a cool female character has been so fantastic. Every week when I get a new script, I read it like a gitty fan girl would.
I totally was, I am a huge Walking Dead fan. I love comic books and any zombie related medium whether it’s comic, TV shows or movies. Zombie makeup is super fascinating as well. I was really happy to be involved in not only a zombie show, but a zombie show that was a take on a really cool set of comic books.
Wingman Magazine: Were you given any of the graphic novels to read before you shot? or did you know that it was a graphic novel before it was a show?
Leanne Lapp: I was not given any because my character wasn’t in the comics. The show is actually takes slightly different turns than the comics do. In the comics there are all sorts of other monsters, as opposed to the show where we just deal with zombies. There’s really a different spin, but since I was so excited about the show I picked up the comics and gave them a read. It just gives being on the show, that much better.
Wingman Magazine: I have heard you have quite the love for the Lord of the Rings. Favorite character?
Leanne Lapp: I remember when those movies came out, my dad read all of the books out loud to me. We finished reading The Return of the King just days before the first movie came out in the theater. I have such fond memories of reading them with my father and having something that we were both super into. When the DVDs came out and I was able to watch the behind the scenes and how the films were made, and how they were filmed it really made me want to make movies and TV. I would definitely want to be an elf. When I first saw the movies I loved Legolas, like all the other girls.
Wingman Magazine: You are a triple threat, you can act, you can sing and you are absolutely gorgeous. What other hidden skills do you have that we don’t know about?
Leanne Lapp: I am pretty avid baker and love to bake food with too much butter and sugar in it. I am a pretty good swimmer and can hold my breath for a really long time. And I can do a pretty great Shakira impression. If you ever hear of any movie breakdowns that need someone that can hold their breath for a long time and sing a great rendition of She Wolf then hit me up.
Wingman Magazine: There is one hidden skill that you can’t do…and that is spell, from what I hear. Can you spell photosynthesis without looking it up?
Leanne Lapp: I can’t spell at all. It is so embarrassing. When I was a little girl, I really loved writing short stories. In school I had a teacher who I think was sort of a hippy and told my parents to not correct my spelling because it will discourage her writing and it’s more important to be creative. So my parents were okay with it and fifteen years later I still can’t spell. I am an actor so it’s not a really a skill that is called upon very often, thank god. I am sitting in my car and as soon as you mentioned spelling I started looking around for a pen. But yeah, no I will not and can not spell photosynthesis.
Wingman Magazine: What is the next project you are working on that you can tell us about?
Leanne Lapp: We are shooting the show still right now, and I don’t know how long I will be on the show. I am really excited to see what the writers have in store for Gilda. But I am even more excited for the viewers to see what we have already shot and have in store for them, because she really does some shocking things. Episode three will be a big episode for Gilda.