Leslie Hope

Leslie Hope Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: May 6, 1965

Age: 59 years old

Birth Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Best known for playing Kiefer Sutherland's long-suffering wife during the first season of the hit drama "24," (Fox, 2001-10), Canadian actress Leslie Hope seems on the cusp of finally becoming a star in her own right.

A familiar face to American television audiences since the 1990's, Hope was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and attended St. Michael's University in British Columbia. Though she had originally studied to become a lawyer, Hope was bitten by the acting bug during her graduate year of college when she won a small role in a movie called "Ups & Downs" (1981), a little-seen Canadian comedy about private school life.

Leaving her native Canada for Hollywood in the mid-1980's, Hope landed steady work guesting on a number of prime-time soaps including "Berengers" (NBC, 1985) "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-90), and "Knots Landing" (CBS, 1981-1990). Hope remained busy throughout the 1980's and into the 90's, appearing in a string of made-for-TV movies. Among them were the HBO telefilm "Sword of Gideon" (1986), the Herman Wouk mini-series "War and Rememberance" (1988) and the romantic comedy "Ask Me Again" (1990).

While none of these projects succeeded in making Hope a household name, they did help the young actress to carve out a solid reputation for herself as a talented, multi-faceted performer. Hope also kept her feature career going around this time with supporting roles in such films as Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio" (1988) and the dramatic thriller "Kansas" (1988) opposite Matt Dillon. In 1990, Hope also starred with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen in the blue-collar farce "Men at Work."

In the mid-90s, Hope started her own theatre company called The Wilton Project, which she ran for 10 years. To gain the theatre experience she felt she had missed out on early in her career, Hope sought to develop new plays and cultivate burgeoning playwrights in the Los Angeles area. In addition to running the company, Hope acted in, produced and directed several of the productions, including the award-winning "Therese Raquin," "Slide," and "Ghost Stories."

In 2001, Hope received her breakout role on the drama "24." Cast in the role of Teri Bauer, estranged wife of secret service agent Jack Bauer, Hope caught the attention of critics and audiences alike. Though the character began as little more than a shrill, one-note harpy, Hope's vulnerable performance breathed life into Teri Bauer, allowing the character to develop over the course of 24's first season. In keeping with the show's dark and gritty tone, however, the character of Teri Bauer was unexpectedly killed off in the show's season finale - A decision which blind-sided fans and reportedly, Hope, herself.

Hope resurfaced as the professionally skilled but personally troubled senior FBI agent Lisa Cohen in "Line of Fire" (2003), the first TV drama created by filmmaker Rod Lurie. A complex multilayered drama exploring the intertwining lives of a team of Baltimore FBI agents and a powerful crime czar (David Paymer), the series was a critical darling but failed to catch on with viewers.

In 2005, Hope found herself back at work on another popular hit, opposite another Sutherland--not Kiefer, but his father Donald Sutherland--in Lurie's politically-charged drama "Commander In Chief " (ABC, 2005-06), in a recurring role as the hard-edged, uncompromising security advisor to the first female U.S. president (Geena Davis).

Credits

Murder in a Small TownStream

Director
Series
2024
70%

A Small LightStream

Director
Series
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100%

NCIS: Hawai'iStream

Director
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Star Trek: Strange New WorldsStream

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2021
98%

Law & Order: Organized CrimeStream

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Series
2021

Lie Exposed

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2020

Lie Exposed

Producer
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EmergenceStream

Director
Series
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94%

Station 19Stream

Guest Star
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Slasher: Guilty Party

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2017

Crimson Peak

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2015

Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

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2015

NCIS: New OrleansStream

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Series
2014

TyrantStream

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Series
2014
60%

TyrantStream

Guest Voice
Lea Exley
Series
2014
60%

Christmas on the Bayou

Director
Movie
2013

Home & Family

Guest
Talk
2012

RevolutionStream

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Series
2012
67%

The RiverStream

Actor
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Series
2012
63%

Buried Treasure

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Movie
2012

Buried Treasure

Executive Producer
Movie
2012

Merry In-Laws

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2012

SuitsStream

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Anita Gibbs
Series
2011
91%

Off the Map

Guest Star
Bridget Clemmons
Show
2011

The Bling Ring

Executive Producer
Movie
2011

Blue BloodsStream

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Anne Farrell
Series
2010

Tangled

Actor
Show
2010

CastleStream

Guest Star
Series
2009
82%

Jesse Stone: Thin Ice

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Sidney Greenstreet
Movie
2009

My Neighbor's Secret

Director
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2009

Formosa Betrayed

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Movie
2009

The MentalistStream

Guest Star
Kristina Frye
Series
2008

H2O

Actor
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2008

Everest

Actor
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2008

Murdoch MysteriesStream

Director
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2008

Never Back Down

Actor
Margot
Movie
2008

A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride

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Movie
2008

Everest

Actor
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2007

Private PracticeStream

Guest Star
Linda
Series
2007

Don't Cry Now

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Bonnie
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2007

Runaway

Actor
Lily Rader/Brenda Holland
Show
2006

etalk

Guest
Show
2006

Commander in ChiefStream

Guest Star
Melanie Blackston
Series
2005
82%

HouseStream

Guest Star
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2004
90%

Pleins feux

Actor
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2004

Human Cargo

Actor
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2004

Deadly Friends

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Sarah
Movie
2004

Meltdown

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H20

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Sgt. Leah Collins
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2003

NCISStream

Guest Star
Secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter
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2003

Robocop: Crash & Burn

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Movie
2003

Robocop: Resurrection

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2003

An Unexpected LoveStream

Actor
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Movie
2003

The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie

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2003

CSI: MiamiStream

Guest Star
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2002

EverwoodStream

Guest Star
Series
2002
93%

Robocop: Meltdown

Actor
Ann R. Key
Movie
2002

24Stream

Actor
Teri Bauer
Series
2001
87%

Law & Order: Criminal IntentStream

Guest Star
Terri Driver
Series
2001

RoboCop: Prime Directives

Actor
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2001

Nora Roberts' Sanctuary

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Kirby Fitzsimmons
Movie
2001

Double Frame

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Special Agent Kate Olsen
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2001

Stolen Miracle

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Sgt. Jane McKinley
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2001

Level 9

Guest Star
Show
2000

The District

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2000

Bruiser

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Rosemary Newley
Movie
2000

The Spreading Ground

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2000

Law & Order: Special Victims UnitStream

Director
Series
1999
78%

Judging Amy

Guest Star
Series
1999

Dead Aviators

Actor
Charlotte
Movie
1999

The Life Before This

Actor
Alice
Movie
1999

Water Damage

Actor
Arabella Bauer
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1999

Vengeance Unlimited

Guest Star
Series
1998
19%

Blackout Effect

Actor
Karen
Movie
1998

This Matter of Marriage

Actor
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Movie
1998

Bram Stoker's Shadowbuilder

Actor
Jenny Hatcher
Movie
1998

Summer of the Monkeys

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Sarah Lee
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1998

Asuntos Matrimoniales

Actor
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1998

Early Edition

Guest Star
Series
1996

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Actor
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1996

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Rowing Through

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1996

Shadow-Ops

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1995

The Outer LimitsStream

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1995

The Outer LimitsStream

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Weatherman
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1995

The Avenging Angel

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First Degree

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Schemes

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Movie
1995

Chicago Hope

Guest Star
Series
1994

Fun

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Jane
Movie
1994

Star Trek: Deep Space NineStream

Guest Star
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Series
1993
91%

Mátame Suavemente

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Movie
1993

Deux doigts de meurtre

Actor
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1993

DoppelgangerStream

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Elizabeth
Movie
1993

Caught in the Act

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Sweet Killing

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Paris, France

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1993

Flagrant délit

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1993

栄光なき勇者たち

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True Confections

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1991

Le Temps retrouvé

Actor
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1991

Law & OrderStream

Director
Series
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The Big Slice

Actor
Jenny Colter
Movie
1990

Men at WorkStream

Actor
Susan Wilkins
Movie
1990
32%

Working Trash

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Ask Me Again

Actor
Movie
1989

War and Remembrance

Guest Star
Madeline Henry
Miniseries
1988

It Takes Two

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Stephanie Lawrence
Movie
1988

Kansas

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Talk RadioStream

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Laura
Movie
1988
82%

Sword of Gideon

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1986

Berrenger's

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Series
1985

HunterStream

Guest Star
Julie Lawrence
Series
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Ups & Downs

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