Nelson Leis

Nelson Heino Leis is an actor and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. He was born in Kemptville, Ontario, to a French mother and Estonian father. When he was 3-years-old his family moved to Brownsville, Texas for a brief time, eventually returning to Canada and settling in Vancouver, British Columbia. The acting spark was ignited when Leis became involved in high school and community theater, eventually leading him to move to New York City and study at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After theater school he returned to Vancouver and spent a year as part of an interactive, education-based theatre tour aimed at high school kids, with the focus of creating awareness around sexual exploitation of youth. Nelson helped write this project, which continues to run in British Columbia schools more than 20 years later. Leis co-created the web series The Jim (2010) which won multiple awards at the 2011 L.A. Web Fest. He co-wrote, produced and starred in the comedy A.T.A.C.K. (2021). Nelson has worked with Kiernan Shipka (3 seasons as Beelzebub on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Kevin Bacon (Story of a Girl directed by Kyra Sedgwick), Steve Zahn (Valley of the Boom), Rainn Wilson (Backstrom), Freddy Highmore (Bates Motel) and Joel Kinnamen (The Killing). He has appeared on stage in Lobby Hero, The Toyer, Closer, Lone Star, Take Me Out, The Big Funk, Soldier's Heart and Almost, Maine. Nelson is a founding member of ARTery Collective, a theatre company in Vancouver, BC.