October
5, 2006
Leigh Hennessy Plays
Prominent Role in New Kevin Costner Movie
Former Lafayette resident and UL-Lafayette
graduate Leigh Hennessy
plays a prominent role in the new Kevin Costner
action/adventure movie "The
Guardian", which opened nationwide in September.
Leigh, an accomplished Hollywood actress
and stuntwoman, appears as the
drowning woman in the movies dramatic opening scenes.
"The Guardian" was shot in Shreveport
in February and March 2006.
"It was
very exciting to work on a major movie in Louisiana",
says
Leigh, whose parents still live in the Lafayette
area. "Fortunately I was
able to return to Lafayette on my breaks- including
a trip over Mardi
Gras."
The movie stars Kevin Costner as legendary rescue
swimmer Ben Randall.
Costner is best known for his movies "Bull
Durham", "Field of Dreams",
and "Dances With Wolves." The opening
scene of the movie features
Costner saving Leigh's character after her boat
capsizes in a howling storm
in the Bering Sea.
The production company built a massive wave pool
in Shreveport to
simulate the stormy seas for Leigh's scenes. It
produced nine-foot waves and
wind and rain machines created storm effects.
"I have worked on a lot of movies and
done a lot of dangerous film
work," Leigh says, "but this was actually
one of the most challenging
things I've ever done. In most of my work, such
as falling off buildings and
bridges, my action is over in seconds. This one,
however, demanded
hours of physical beatings each day. It was a real
test of my endurance!"
Although Leigh has been featured in dozens of movies
in a career dating
back to 1995, "The Guardian" is her biggest
and most important acting
role.
Leigh has also appeared in such movies as "G.I.
Jane" as Demi Moore's
stunt double, "Charlies Angels" as Lucy
Liu's high-fall stunt double, as
well as "Planet of the Apes", "Teaching
Mrs. Tingle" and "Mighty Joe
Young".
She was a world champion trampolinist while at UL-Lafayette
and is
listed in "Guinness World Records for winning
the most U.S. women's
national championships. |
