actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born and raised in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Leigh attended the King David High School, Childwall, a Jewish secondary school which also accepted non-Jewish pupils. (Other notable alumni include actor
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of D.J. in ''Event Horizon'' (1997), Ronald Quincy in ''Armageddon'' (1998), Colonel William Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' ...
and musician
Guy Chambers
Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams.
Education
Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...
).
Career
He became interested in the theatre and joined the Everyman and Playhouse Youth Theatre soon after it opened in Liverpool. Fellow theatre student
David Morrissey
David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. He had numerous small roles in films and television series throughout the 1990s before achieving wider recognition for playing Gordon Brown in '' The Deal'' (2003 ...
and he were chosen by
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
to play as two poverty-stricken kids in the drama miniseries ''
One Summer
''One Summer'' is a 1983 British television drama serial written by Willy Russell and directed by Gordon Flemyng. It stars David Morrissey and Spencer Leigh as two 16-year-old Liverpool boys from broken homes who escape from their grim lives ...
'' in 1983.
Leigh has since appeared in various TV and film roles, including in several films directed by
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist.
Biography
Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...
, and in the premiere episode of the TV detective drama ''
Inspector Morse
Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England.
On television he was portrayed by John ...
'', wherein he played as a university student involved in a murder investigation. In the 1980s, he was considered one of the "Brit Pack".
After appearing in the 1992 television series Between the Lines, it wouldn't be for another twenty years before he would partake in his next role, portraying Nunzio in the 2012 film
Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
.
Personal life
He moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the early 1990s, where he worked with music video producer
Jake Scott
Jacob E. Scott III (July 20, 1945 – November 19, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a safety and punt returner from 1970 to 1978 for the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). H ...
, then directing
TV commercials
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
.
Leigh also worked with
Criterion
Criterion (: criteria) may refer to:
General
* Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States
* Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England
* Criterion Restaurant, in London, England
* Criteri ...
on documentary material for the
Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...