David Leon

David Jeremy Leon[1] (born 24 July 1980) is an English actor, director, writer and producer. As an actor, he is best known for appearing in photographer Rankin's directoral debut Lives of the Saints as Othello and Guy Ritchie's film RocknRolla. From 2011 to 2014, he co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the ITV detective series Vera.[2] Leon has directed several short films Father, Man and Boy and Orthodox. He completed his first feature-length film, also called Orthodox, in 2015.

For other people named David Leon, see David Leon (disambiguation).

David Leon
Born
David Jeremy Leon

(1980-07-24) 24 July 1980
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
OccupationActor, director, writer, producer
Years active2004–present

Early life

Leon was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where his mother (Ann J Brown) was a secretary and his father (Anthony N Leon) worked in a power station.[3] He is Jewish on his father's side and describes himself as half-Jewish.[4] He briefly played for Blackburn Rovers F.C..[3] He is a graduate of the National Youth Theatre. He was educated at Dame Allan's School.[5]

Career

Leon dropped out of drama school to shoot the film Alexander with Oliver Stone in Morocco.[2]

In 2002, Leon was a presenter on CITV.

In 2006, he had a main role in the film These Foolish Things, which also starred Terence Stamp, Lauren Bacall, and Anjelica Huston. The film's lead actress was Zoë Tapper, who guest-starred in an episode of Cutting It.

In 2007 David played Billy the Kid in the BBC's mini series The Wild West. In 2010 he played Jesus in Mark Haddon's play Polar Bears at the Donmar Warehouse. Joe Vera

From 2011 to 2014, he played DS Joe Ashworth in the ITV detective series Vera alongside Brenda Blethyn.[6]

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.[7]

Filmography

Director
  • 2009: Father (short) (co-director with Marcus McSweeney)
  • 2010: Man and Boy (short) (co-director with Marcus McSweeney) - Best narrative short, Tribeca Film Festival[8]
  • 2012: Orthodox (short)
  • 2016: Orthodox (feature)
  • 2017: Vera

Producer
  • 2009: Father (short)
  • 2010: Man and Boy (short)
  • 2012: Orthodox (short)
  • 2016: Orthodox (feature)

Actor

Theatre

References
  1. Birth Certificate at General Register Office. Retrieved May 2014.
  2. Carnevale, Rob. "Vera - David Leon interview". indieLondon. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  3. Emine Saner (27 April 2011). "David Leon: A whole new ball game". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  4. Stephen Applebaum (2 November 2015). "Fighting back to put antisemitism on the ropes". TheJC.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  5. "Vera actor David Leon teams up with Boardwalk Empire's Stephen Graham for debut feature". The Chronicle. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. Wonfor, Sam (3 April 2013). "TV star David Leon back home to flesh out impressive short film". The Journal (Newcastle). Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  7. Kemp, Stuart (19 March 2013). "'Orthodox' Filmmaker David Leon Plans Feature Version Starring Stephen Graham". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  8. Quinn, Ben (29 April 2011). "Tribeca film festival: British film about paedophile suspect among winners: New York festival honours Man and Boy but top awards go to Swedish and Israeli directors". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 27 December 2013.
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