Canadian Actor Zach LeBlanc shows that ‘Things Get Better’ in award-winning film

Zach LeBlanc

Zach LeBlanc vividly remembers the moment he knew he was meant to be an actor. He was in his late teens and always had a passion for performing, and was in a class taught by John Dunsworth, most famous for playing Mr. Lahey on Trailer Park Boys. There was an exercise where Dunsworth asked the class to deliver an angry line to him, stressing that angry didn’t have to mean yelling. He went around the class, and after each person would deliver their line, he’d come back with a response that would make them laugh or throw them off guard, would work on the lone a couple times and move onto the next person. 

“I was at the end and delivered the line ‘you promised you’d be there this time’ and we went off into an improved scene for a couple minutes. After that, every time he asked us to pair up for something, he’d always say ‘Zach you’re with me’. At the end, he pulled me aside and told me he thought I was a very good actor. It was at that point that I decided I would pursue acting professionally,” says LeBlanc.

That decision proved to be fateful for LeBlanc, who is now an internationally sought after actor and voice actor. He has showcased his comedic chops in shows like Netflix’s Lucifer and his voice acting chops as the star of Playmobile’s Novelmore. He has leant his talents to many iconic cartoon franchises, including My Little Pony, Beyblade, and Ninjago, and most recently, his film Things Get Better was a Quarter Finalist at Canada Shorts: Canadian & International Short Film Festival and the winner of Best Comedy at the Western Canadian International Film Festival in spring of 2022.

“’Things Get Better’ won this prestigious award very much thanks to Zach’s memorable and beautiful portrayal of a normal man in a bizarre world of odd people. While the world was surreal, Zach was grounded and relatable, making the film my favorite project I’ve created to date,” says Ryan Minaker, Writer and Director of the film and founder of Minaker Unleashed Productions.

Minaker and LeBlanc had previously worked together on the web series Cloud Van and the film Grilled Chicken, a horror about a cult trying to bring forth a demon at a seance. LeBlanc played Jeremy, who brought comedy through his brash no nonsense deadpan personality, and the film went on to be an Official Selection at The Shockfest Film Festival. Because of this previous success, the two knew they made a formidable team. When Minaker was writing the script for Things Get Better, he wrote the lead with LeBlanc in mind, which is why the character’s name is Zach.

Things Get Better tells the story of a man attending therapy with his wife, who, after contacting his friend while stuck on a roof, meet at a bench to discuss their therapist’s odd tactics together. LeBlanc’s character brought both comedy and heart to the surreal project. During production, there was a lot of improvisation, and Minaker was open to ideas and input. There was plenty of room for laughs with Zach, but LeBlanc tried to be as grounded as possible so the project would be more centered in the zany world in which it was set. As a result, Zach is a very deadpan character, who while sometimes involved in the zany antics of this world, is often an observer of it, trying his best to get by.

“When I read the script, I decided that while the world was surreal, and my character had come to accept the world as it is, he is a sometimes-unwilling participant, and has learned to just go along with it, rather than truly becoming a part of it,” says LeBlanc. “It doesn’t feel like anything I’ve seen, and to work on something so distinctive is a real treat. Just when you think things can’t get weirder, they find a way to surprise you, and playing a grounded character in such a weird world really made for an interesting story.”

LeBlanc’s many ideas and contributions to the film lead to him receiving a producer credit as well. His performance was pivotal to the continued success of Things Get Better, and as a result, Minaker has shown interest in possibly working on more installments of the story. Be sure to keep an eye out for them and LeBlanc’s future work.