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David Jeremy Leon (born 24 July 1980) is an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
actor, director, writer and producer. As an actor, he is known for appearing in Rankin and Chris Cottam's 2002 feature film, ''Lives of the Saints'' (as the character Othello), and director
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...
's 2008 feature, ''
RocknRolla ''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 action crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, and Chri ...
'', as Malcolm. From 2011 to 2014, Leon co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the ITV detective series '' Vera.'' Leon's directorial debut, the 2010 short, ''Man and Boy'', co-directed with Marcus McSweeney, won the award for best narrative short at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
. His next short film, the 2012 ''Orthodox'', an entry in the 58th
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
's
London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...
, led to his first feature-length film of the same name, which was released in 2015.


Early life and education

Leon was born on 24 July 1980 in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where his mother, Ann J. Brown, was a secretary and his father, Anthony N. Leon, worked in a power station. He is
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
on his father's side and describes himself as half-Jewish. He briefly played for
Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. ...
He is a graduate of the National Youth Theatre. He was educated at Dame Allan's School.


Career


Acting and presenting

In 2002, Leon worked as a presenter on
CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
. He dropped out of drama school in 2004 to shoot the film ''
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
'' with Oliver Stone in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
. From 2004–2005 he acted in 12 epidodes of the TV series, ''
Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...
'', playing the character Troy Gillespie. In 2006, Leon's acting roles included the film ''
These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...
,'' which also starred Lauren Bacall, Anjelica Huston,
Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
, and Zoë Tapper, and in 2007 he played
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...
in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's mini series ''The Wild West.'' In 2010 he played the theatrical role of Jesus in
Mark Haddon Mark Haddon (born 28 October 1962) is an English novelist, best known for '' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth W ...
's play,
Polar Bears The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
, at the
Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...
. From 2011 to 2014, he played DS Joe Ashworth in the ITV detective series '' Vera'' alongside Brenda Blethyn.


Writing and directing

Leon wrote and co-directed the short film, ''Father'', with Marcus McSweeney, premiering in 2009. The next year, the same team premiered the short, ''Man and Boy'', which was entered in film festivals, including the
Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...
. ''Orthodox'', Leon's third short film as writer/director, was accepted into several international festivals including the 58th BFI London Film Festival. The feature-length version of ''Orthodox'' was completed in 2015.


Awards and recognition

Leon's and McSweeney's 2010 ''Man and Boy'' won the award for the best narrative short at that year's
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
.


Filmography


As actor in film and television

*2004: ''
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
'' as Hermolaous *2004–2005: ''
Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...
'' as Troy Gillespie (TV series) - 12 episodes *2005: '' Boy Eats Girl'' as Nathan *2006: ''
These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...
'' as Robin Gardner *2006: ''The Wild West'' as Billy the Kid (TV mini-series) *2006: ''The Lives of the Saints'' as Othello *2006: '' Strictly Confidential'' as Jeff (TV series) - 1 episode *2007: ''
Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...
'' as Alfie Cartwright (TV one-off Drama) *2008: ''Love Me Still'' as Freddie *2008: ''
RocknRolla ''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 action crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, and Chri ...
'' as Malcolm *2010: '' Coming Up'' as Dan (TV series) - 1 episode *2011–2014: '' Vera'' as DS Joe Ashworth (TV series) - 16 episodes (Series 1-4) *2012: ''The Glass House'' as Lajos *2013: ''
Walking with the Enemy ''Walking with the Enemy'' is a 2014 American action drama film directed by Mark Schmidt, and scripted by Kenny Golde and Mark Schmidt. The film stars Jonas Armstrong, Ben Kingsley, Simon Kunz, Hannah Tointon, Simon Dutton, Burn Gorman, and Char ...
'' *2013: ''Grace and Danger'' as Cifaretto *2014: '' The Refugees'' as Álex *2017: '' In The Dark'' BBC TV Drama as DI Adam Perrin *2019: ''
Gold Digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...
'' as Kieran


As actor in theatre

*2010:
Polar Bears The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
as Jesus


As director

*2009: ''Father'' (short) (co-director with Marcus McSweeney) *2010: ''Man and Boy'' (short) (co-director with Marcus McSweeney) *2012: ''Orthodox'' (short) *2016: ''Orthodox'' (feature) *2017: ''Vera''


As producer

*2009: ''Father'' (short) *2010: ''Man and Boy'' (short) *2012: ''Orthodox'' (short) *2016: ''Orthodox'' (feature)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, David 1980 births Living people English people of Jewish descent English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne National Youth Theatre members People educated at Dame Allan's School