Leeanna Walsman is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Zam Wesell in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and for her roles in the 2000 film Looking for Alibrandi and the television series Wentworth. She was nominated for both AACTA and Logie awards for her role in Emmy Award-winning series Safe Harbour.

Early life

Walsman was born in Sydney, Australia.

Career

Walsman commenced her acting career 1996, when she made a guest appearance in drama series Police Rescue, followed by further guest roles on shows, such as, Big Sky and Murder Call. During which time, Walsman made her feature film debut in Steven Vidler's 1997 drama Blackrock. She continued to appear in guest spots on several drama series, including Wildside, Home and Away, Heartbreak High, as well as fantasy shows, Farscape and Beastmaster. Walsman was cast in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), as Zam Wesell. In the 2000s, her television roles consisted of appearances in Young Lions, White Collar Blue, and All Saints, and the miniseries Jessica, which is based on the novel by Bryce Courtenay, Hercules, The Starter Wife and the war drama The Pacific. In 2012, Walsman was cast in the Foxtel prison drama series Wentworth, as governor Erica Davidson. The series, which first went to air in 2013, is a reimagining of the Network Ten soap opera/drama Prisoner, in which the character of Erica was portrayed by Patsy King in the original series. Walsman only appeared in the show's first season. In 2015, she had a supporting role in Home and Away: An Eye for an Eye, a special episode of the soap opera which streamed on the now-defunct service Presto, and subsequently appearances in drama series, Janet King, Cleverman, Seven Types of Ambiguity and miniseries Safe Harbour. In 2023 it was announced that channel 9 drama Human Error would go into production with Walsman in the lead role. In 2024, it was announced that drama series Human Error would air on the Nine Network.

Awards

In 2005, she was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her work on Jessica, losing to Miranda Otto. She has also been nominated for two AFI Awards and an IF Award. She had three FCCA award nominations for Bitter & Twister, Manny Lewis, and Bosch & Rockit. In 2018, she was nominated for an AACTA award for best lead actress, and Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress, for her role in Safe Harbour.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage