David Leon

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English actor (born 1980)

title: "David Leon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] description: "English actor (born 1980)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Leon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English actor (born 1980) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameDavid Leon
birth_nameDavid Jeremy Leon
birth_date
birth_placeNewcastle upon Tyne, England
occupationActor, director, writer, producer
yearsactive2004–present
::

| name = David Leon | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = David Jeremy Leon | birth_date = | birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne, England | alma_mater = | occupation = Actor, director, writer, producer | yearsactive = 2004–present | spouse = | children = David Jeremy Leon (born 24 July 1980) is an English 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's 2008 feature, RocknRolla, as Malcolm. From 2011 to 2014, Leon co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the ITV detective series Vera. He returned to the series in 2024.

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. His next short film, the 2012 Orthodox, an entry in the 58th BFI's London Film Festival, 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, England, where his mother, Ann J. Brown, was a secretary and his father, Anthony N. Leon, worked in a power station. He is Jewish on his father's side and describes himself as half-Jewish. He briefly played for Blackburn Rovers F.C. 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. He dropped out of drama school in 2004 to shoot the film Alexander with Oliver Stone in Morocco.

From 2011 to 2014, he played DS Joe Ashworth in the ITV detective series Vera alongside Brenda Blethyn. On 30 March 2023, it was confirmed that Leon would reprise his role as Joe Ashworth after a decade away from the series. He returned as the character, promoted to DI, in the first episode of series 13, called Fast Love.

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.

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.

Filmography

As actor in film and television

As actor in theatre

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

References

  1. Birth Certificate at General Register Office. Retrieved May 2014.
  2. Macnab, Geoffrey. (August 4, 2006). "Review: The Lives Of The Saints". ScreenDaily.com.
  3. Ferrero, Berta. (2014-07-22). "The future is hiding out in Rascafría".
  4. "Vera's David Leon on whether he'd return as Joe Ashworth again".
  5. (2021-11-12). "David Leon: 4 Quick Things About The British Actor!".
  6. Saner, Emine. (27 April 2011). "David Leon: A Whole New Ball Game". [[The Guardian]].
  7. Applebaum, Stephen. (2 November 2015). "Fighting Back to Put Antisemitism on the Ropes". TheJC.com.
  8. Wonfor, Sam. (23 February 2016). "Vera Actor David Leon Teams Up with Boardwalk Empire's Stephen Graham for Debut Feature". ChronicleLive.co.uk.
  9. (2007-03-02). "Today's Highlights". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  10. (2010-04-07). "The burden of bipolarity". [[The Independent]].
  11. Carnevale, Rob. "Vera-David Leon interview". indieLondon.
  12. Wonfor, Sam. (3 April 2013). "TV Star David Leon Back Home to Flesh Out Impressive Short film". The Journal (Newcastle).
  13. (30 March 2023). "Brenda Blethyn welcomes back David Leon for a 13th series of the hit ITV crime drama Vera".
  14. Quinn, Ben. (29 April 2011). "Tribeca Film Festival: British Film About Paedophile Suspect Among Winners". The Guardian (UK).
  15. Kemp, Stuart. (19 March 2013). "'Orthodox' Filmmaker David Leon Plans Feature Version Starring Stephen Graham". HollywoodReporter.com.

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1980-birthsliving-peopleenglish-people-of-jewish-descentenglish-male-film-actorsenglish-male-television-actorsmale-actors-from-newcastle-upon-tynenational-youth-theatre-memberspeople-educated-at-dame-allan's-school