Lincoln Leavere has worked as a single dad, tour guide, bartender, construction worker, performer, and is now well on his way to becoming a well-known television actor across the nation with his new mini series Legends & Lies.

Leavere, 37, was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. After a short vacation to Tombstone in 1998, he later made the move with his family and never looked back.

Currently, he is a performer at Helldorado Town in Tombstone and does several shows per week. Leavere’s natural charm and charisma with other people has always been meant for show business, which is part of the reason why acting has come so natural to him.

“Some people are good with people and some aren’t good with people, and I’ve just always had a natural way of talking to people I guess.” said Leavere.

During his high school years, he was voted “funniest male” out of a group of 3,000 kids.

Leavere is quick with a joke. A tall bearded man, he enjoys riding his motorcycle around the streets of Tombstone. His connection to the Wild West comes from his interest in history.

A jack-of-all-trades, every job he’s ever had and every obstacle he’s ever faced in his life has led him and pushed him to pursue his acting career. Over the past few years, Leavere has been able to work in special projects with Kevin Costner, Johnny Depp, Michael J. Fox, and Kurt Russell just to name a few.

Nowadays, however, Leavere seems to be getting more attention than usual after scoring his breakout lead role as Butch Cassidy in Legends & Lies, A Fox television series which aired on April 12.

Legends & Lies is a 10-week run of historical events in the West. According to the official press release, each week will feature different moments in history that focus on different American heroes, featuring special accounts from direct descendants and historians.

Each Sunday, a new episode with a different cast about historical points in time is set to air for Legends and Lies.

“I’m gonna have to blame Terri Jo Neff for me starring in the show,” said Leavere, “She saw an audition come up from Fox and she said that I really had to do it.”

Although Leavere was hesitant at first, he eventually auditioned for Butch Cassidy, along with approximately 1,000 other people auditioning for the same role.

“I had worked on set with Lincoln before and knew he could take direction, ride a horse, and has a great look,” said Terri Jo Neff, a close colleague who has worked professionally with Leavere. “So I encouraged him to submit his resume, because how many projects do we get out here that will air on a network seen by millions of viewers?”

The episode featuring Leavere is scheduled to air on June 14 as the big finale for the series.

The road for filming was long. Despite only starring in two episodes, Leavere filmed for Legends & Lies across the country, from York, Pennsylvania to San Antonio, Texas.

“If I had to pick one character to play in show, it would be Butch,” said Leavere, “He’s fun loving but he has a serious side, he’s not a killer.”

He loves being able to walk along Tombstone’s boardwalk and imagine who else had walked the same spot he’s in. His desire to walk in the footsteps of history made him the perfect fit for the role of Butch Cassidy.

 Although Leavere can’t say much for his Butch Cassidy episode, he likes the idea of being in this production because it’s based on reality.

“Reality is better than a campfire story,” Leavere said.

“I love the attention, I’ve never had an agent. I work full time and my phones always going off, I have 14 voicemails about projects coming up or emails,” Leavere said about the impact from his new role.

“I’m excited for it, I earned since I spent 18 years getting my bones broken, getting stitches, riding a horse, or flying around the country,” said Leavere.

Not only has he worked so hard for himself, but also for his 2 year-old-daughter, Piper. Leavere was awarded sole custody of his daughter in March. After 18 years of chasing after his dream, his opportunity has finally come his way now that he has his daughter and his new mini series, Legends & Lies.

Now that Leavere his daughter, Piper, and his new breakout role he said, “I feel free now, I can really breathe. There’s a lot of weight off my shoulders.”

Larissa Teran is a reporter for Arizona Sonora News Service, a service from the School of Journalism with the University of Arizona. Contact her at [email protected]

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