Frederick Nnaemeka Leonard, (born May 1, 1980) is a Nigerian actor who won the award for ''Best Supporting Actor'' in a movie at the ''

Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards ''Golden Icons Academy Awards (GIAMA)'' is an annual film award in the diaspora to reward outstanding contribution to the African film industry. The first edition was held in Houston, Texas, United States. The most recent ceremony was held in Staff ...

in 2014'' and in 2016 won the ''City People Movie Award For Best Supporting Actor of the Year (English)'' at the

City People Entertainment Awards City People Entertainment Awards are an annual accolade presented by ''City People Magazine'' to honour Nigerian and Ghanaian entertainers. The first edition was held in Abeokuta, Ogun State on June 14, 2009. The event was hosted by Governor Gbe ...

Early life and education

Leonard was born in

Anambra state Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

in Nigeria which is a south-eastern geographical area of Nigeria predominantly occupied by the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

of Nigeria. He is the firstborn child of his parents in a family of four consisting of two children, a mother and a father. He received primary education in St Peter's Anglican Primary School, Alausa, Ikeja In

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

and attended Oregun High School in Oregun,

Ikeja Ikeja is the capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, clean and quiet residential and commercia ...

also for secondary education. In bid to obtain a degree he relocated to

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

In Northern Nigeria and applied to

Kaduna Polytechnic Kaduna Polytechnic is one of the earliest polytechnics in Nigeria, located at Tudun Wada area of Kaduna South local government of Kaduna state, North-Western Nigeria. It was established in 1956 as Kaduna Technical Institute after the British ...

where he was accepted and eventually graduated with a degree in biochemistry.

Career

Leonard debuted his career into the Nigerian movie industry in 2001 where he played brief one scene roles and took a break from acting almost immediately as he debuted in order to complete his university education and obtain a degree. Upon completion of his university education, Leonard returned to the Nigerian movie industry referred to commonly as

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

in 2008 and obtained his first ever lead role character in a movie titled ''Indian Doctor''. In 2009, he ventured into the Nigerian TV soap opera series and featured in a TV series titled ''Disclosure'' which aired predominantly on

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and no ...

DSTV Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...

. Leonard debuted his career with a movie titled ''Grey'' and subsequently in 2019 produced a movie titled ''Void''.

Influence

Leonard credited

Bimbo Akintola Bimbo Akintola (born 5 May 1970) is a Nigerian actress. Early life and education Akintola was born on 5 May 1970 to a father from Oyo State and a mother from Edo State. She studied at Maryland Convent Private School in Lagos State. She proc ...

, a Nigerian female actress as one of the people who have influenced his acting style.

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Leonard is an orphan and has spoken publicly about the devastating impact of losing both parents especially the death of his mother which he described as an unfortunate incident that has created a void in his life. Leonard in an interview with a Nigerian print media

This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-in ...

, described himself as introvert and not the party type and also revealed that he doesn't drink nor smoke and maintains a very small circle of few friends and family.

Selected filmography

Films (partial)

*''

Our Jesus Story ''Our Jesus Story'', is a 2020 Nigerian religious drama film directed by Tchidi Chikere and produced by Ojiofor Ezeanyaeche for O.J Production. The film stars Frederick Leonard in the lead role as Jesus the Christ, whereas Zack Orji, Sam Dede ...

'' (2020) *''Void (2019)'' *''The Reunion (2019)'' *''A Better Family (2018) as Nick'' *''In Every Way (2018) as Dominic'' *''Discontent (2017) as Damian'' *''Discontent II (2017) as Damian'' *''Monster Under Skin (2015)'' *''Monster Under Skin II (2015)'' *''Indian Doctor (2008)'' * 40 Looks Good on You *''Desperate son (2021)'' *''The Royal dignity (2021)''

References

External links

IMDb Page Of Frederick Leonard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Frederick Living people 21st-century Nigerian male actors 1976 births Igbo male actors Nigerian male film actors Nigerian male television actors Male actors from Anambra State Kaduna Polytechnic alumni