Melissa Leo on ‘Welcome to the Rileys’
If you’re familiar with Oscar-nominated performances, then you know the name Melissa Leo. In 2008, she starred as an impoverished single mother, trying to hold onto her home in ?Frozen River.? Desperate and almost destitute, her character eventually takes to smuggling undocumented immigrants over a frozen river between the U.S. and Canada. The role earned Leo an Oscar nomination.
Leo also starred as Detective Kay Howard on ?Homicide: Life on the Street? for most of the ’90s and currently stars on HBO’s “Treme.” She has several movies that are soon to be released, including ?The Fighter,? opposite Mark Wahlberg, and ?Welcome to the Rileys,? which opens today.
“Welcome to the Rileys” focuses on a couple coping with the aftermath of their daughter’s death. Leo’s character responds by becoming agoraphobic. Her husband, played by James Gandolfini, copes by developing a father-daughter relationship with a stripper played by Kristen Stewart.
Melissa Leo joins us from New Orleans to talk about ?Welcome to the Rileys? and her many other projects.
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