Oklahoma actress credits Catholic faith for guidance

A few years ago, Leesa Neidel’s life looked completely different. Neidel, an Oklahoma native who grew up in Tuttle, said it was only a few years ago she decided to pursue a career in acting, a profession she admits being initially intimidated by, but ultimately has come to love.
 
“I stepped away from my career as an elementary school teacher to take a little break. I found myself with free time, which I hadn't had in over a decade,” Neidel said.
 
She said it was the time away from teaching that gave her the opportunity to do some soul searching. That searching, she said, led her to the conclusion she wanted to do something she never thought she would have the courage to do – become an actress.
 
“I looked up acting classes in Oklahoma, enrolled myself in an audition class and I've never looked back!” Neidel recalled.
 
Neidel and her husband, an Oklahoma City firefighter, have been married nearly 20 years and have two daughters. She said outside of acting, she stays busy with an array of activities in which her daughters participate. She said she considers herself a “full time taxi driver” to her kids and their friends but said she wouldn’t trade it for the world.
 
“My Catholic faith definitely guides me across the board – as a wife, mother and in my work. My Catholic background has taught me to put my full faith and trust in God. Whether it be something going on in my personal life or my acting career, I have learned to hand it over, definitely do my part, put the work and dedication in, but then allow God's timing and guidance.” 
 
Neidel recently was cast in “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.” “Gosnell” tells the story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the American physician whose unethical practices in his Philadelphia-based abortion clinic led to his conviction on murder and manslaughter charges, resulting in a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.
 
Neidel, who only had been acting about eight months when she was cast in the film, said she’s “extremely grateful” she got to be part of “Gosnell.”
 
“The first person I told when I booked it, was my husband and then the kids overheard me going nuts! Of course, my next phone call was to my parents, who were ecstatic for me.”
 
When asked if she felt people who might be on the fence about abortion could be swayed to pro-life after viewing “Gosnell,” Neidel said it is possible.
 
She said the movie presents facts that many people simply don’t know, forcing the viewer to listen to the testimony of a doctor that gave the “cold hard facts” of what takes place during a legal abortion, “not to mention when (viewers hear and see) what Gosnell did.”
 
Neidel said in the weeks since the movie’s released, she has read about several people who were on the fence, changing their stance.
 
“This story needed to be told,” she said. “I'm also grateful that it finally made it to theaters and shined a light on what happened.”
 
“To quote MLK Jr., you only can drive out darkness with light and this movie shined a huge light on something so dark and hidden that hardly anyone even knew about it.”
 
Neidel has no plans to stop acting. She was recently cast in “Shifter,” a time travel horror film that she will begin filming in January.
 
Eliana Tedrow is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.