Leon Ford

Last updated

Leon Willem Ford
Born (1974-12-17) 17 December 1974 (age 50)
Known for The Cooks
Changi
The Pacific
The Great Raid
Ten Pound Poms
Elvis
Partner Alice Bell

Leon Ford is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television and theatre productions. [1] He is best known for his roles in the television series The Cooks , Changi and the telemovie Stepfather of the Bride.

Contents

Early life

Ford attended Telopea Park School and Narrabundah College in Canberra, Australia.

Career

Film & television

Ford portrayed 1st Lieutenant Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones in the Emmy award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific, which follows the story of World War II Marines through different battles of the Pacific theater of war.

He has also appeared in many other television series and films including All Saints , East West 101 and McLeod's Daughters , the 2005 movie The Great Raid and voiced a character in the 2008 stop motion animated movie $9.99 . He recently appeared in the joint BBC and Stan production Ten Pound Poms and Baz Luhrmann's feature film Elvis .

Stage

Stage roles include playing pious charlatan Tartuffe in the 2014 Bell Shakespeare version of Tartuffe, based on the French play originally written by Molière.

Directing/writing

In addition to acting, Ford is both a director and screenwriter. In 2010, Ford notably wrote and directed the movie Griff the Invisible , starring Ryan Kwanten as a man who is bullied by his coworkers during the day, but a superhero by night. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it was well received by audiences and critics. Ford attended Binger Filmlab in 2008, where he developed short film The Mechanicals. [2]

Author

Ford is also an accomplished author. In 2009, penned "What Doesn't Kill You", the story of a man waking up to find that, instead of the ideal life he'd been living, everything has gone horribly wrong overnight. He wakes up in the wrong house, his wife doesn't love him anymore, he no longer has a job, one of his friends betrayed him in the worst possible way and his car exploded.

Personal life

Ford first met his wife Alice Bell at the Old Fitzroy Hotel in 2006 while appearing in Josh Lawson’s play Shakespearealism. Alice wrote a part for him in Puberty Blues .

Ford moved from Sydney to Los Angeles in 2018 with his wife and their three children, in order for Alice to work on The Expats , a U.S. series she was the writer and creator of (produced by Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films). [3]

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerEditor
1999The Big DateYesYesYesNo
2005The MechanicalsYesYesNoNo
2006GlitchYesYesNoNo
2007KatoombaYesYesNoNo
2016Young LaborYesNoNoYes

Acting roles

YearTitleRole
2006The Last ChipCroupier Craig
GlitchNorton
2012 Julian Mr Braybon
2013Things We Do For LoveEvan

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorWriter
2010 Griff the Invisible YesYes
2023 The Portable Door NoYes

Acting roles

YearTitleRole
2004 Lost Things Gary
2005 The Great Raid American POW at Palawan
2008 $9.99 Stanton (voice)
2010 Beneath Hill 60 Lieutenant Robert Clayton
2015 Ruben Guthrie Dimitri
2016 The Light Between Oceans Franz Johannes Roennfeldt
2020 Rams De Vries
2022 Elvis Tom Diskin

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2003 Life Support NoYesNo4 episodes
2010-11 Rush NoYesNo3 episodes
2012Monday BitesYesYesNo
House Husbands NoYesNoSeason 1, episode 8
2012-17 Offspring NoYesNo10 episodes
2015 No Activity NoYesNo1 episode
2018 Squinters NoYesNo6 episodes
Wanted NoYesNo1 episode
2019-20 Upright NoYesNoAlso creator 8 episodes
2021-23 Love Me NoYesYes4 episodes

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996 Water Rats First Probationer1 episode
2001/08 All Saints Ian Neal / Patrick Foster2 episodes
2002 Young Lions Josef Pozinak1 episode
McLeod's Daughters Mick Woodland1 episode
BackBerner Blair Fife1 episode
2004-05 The Cooks Dishpig13 episodes
2005 Hex Max Risen2 episodes
2007 East West 101 John Duff1 episode
2009 My Place Vernon1 episode
2012Monday Bites
2013 Offspring Dean1 episode
2012-14 Puberty Blues Mr Candy8 episodes
2014 ANZAC Girls Major John Prior3 episodes
2015 House of Hancock Alan Camp1 episode
2017-19 The Letdown Ruben11 episodes
2022 God's Favourite Idiot Reverend Milton Throp6 episodes
2023-25 Ten Pound Poms Bill Anderson9 episodes

Miniseries

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Changi as Young Bill Dwyer
2006 Tsunami: The Aftermath Joe Meddler2 episodes
2010 The Pacific 1st Lt. Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones3 episodes
2014 The Moodys Gavin1 episode
Devil's Playground Brother Warren
2015 Gallipoli Charles Bean

TV movies

YearTitleRole
2004 Go Big Lars Foster
2006Stepfather of the BrideLachlan
2008 Emerald Falls Callum Peterson
2012 The Great Raid American POW at Palawan
Mabo Henry Reynolds
2016 Comedy Showroom: The Letdown Ruben

Stage

YearTitleRoleType
1998–99 Henry IV, Parts I & II Gloucester / Mouldy Boy / Messenger / Servant Athenaeum Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Canberra with Bell Shakespeare
1999Interactive World Theatre Ensemble Theatre
2000 A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander National tour with Bell Shakespeare
2001 The Coming of Stork Tony Stables Theatre with Naked Theatre Company
2002The Soldier's TaleSoldier Bell Shakespeare
Hippolytus Hippolytus Government House Ballroom, Sydney with Bell Shakespeare
The Credeaux Canvas Winston Stables Theatre, Sydney
ProgressOliver Old Fitzroy Theatre
Presence Jake Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company
2003 Hamlet HamletAustralian tour with Bell Shakespeare
2004Noir Darlinghurst Theatre
2005Top Shorts Old Fitzroy Theatre
2006Shakespearealism (as part of Plays: By Himself - Three Short Plays by Josh Lawson)Ralph Old Fitzroy Theatre with Tamarama Rock Surfers Theatre Company / Naked Theatre Company
2007 Dead Caesar Cicero Wharf 2 Theatre with Push Productions
2008The Credeaux CanvasWinston Stables Theatre with Griffin Theatre Company
2012 Old Man Daniel Belvoir Theatre Company
2013 Constellations RolandFairfax Studio, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company
2014 Tartuffe Tartuffe Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare
Private Lives Elyot Chase Southbank Theatre with Melbourne Theatre Company
2016 A Flea in Her Ear Etienne / Olympe Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company
Double IndemnityWalter Huff Playhouse Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company
2017 The Rover Colonel Belville Belvoir Street Theatre
2018 An Enemy of the People Mayor Peter Stockmann Belvoir Theatre Company
2022 Snugglepot & Cuddlepie Mr Lizard Adelaide Festival Centre with Canute Productions / New England Theatre Company
2023 A Little Night Music Frederick Egerman Hayes Theatre Co
Rope PhilipMarama Cabin Crew
Macbeth Macduff / Lennox Melbourne Theatre Company

[4] [5]

Awards and nominations

YearNominated workAwardCategoryResult
2003 Hamlet Green Room Awards Best Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated
2006The Mechanicals St. Kilda Film Festival Best Short Film (Comedy)Won
2007Katoomba Sydney Film Festival Best Australian Short Film (Dendy Award)Won
AFI Awards Best Screenplay in a Short FilmNominated
2008St. Kilda Film FestivalBest FilmWon
Best DirectorWon
IF Awards Best Rising TalentWon
2011 Griff the Invisible Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival Best Feature FilmNominated
2012 AACTA Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
2015 Offspring (episode 5.10) AWGIE Awards Best Television SeriesNominated
2019Day SixComedy Award — Situation or NarrativeNominated
2020 Upright Best Situation or Narrative Comedy ScreenplayNominated
AACTA Awards Best Television Comedy Series Won
2022Love Me Best Television Drama Series Nominated
Logie Awards Most Outstanding Drama Series Nominated
Most Popular Drama Program Nominated
2023 Elvis CinEuphoria AwardsBest Ensemble - International CompetitionNominated

[6]

References

  1. "Suicidal from the outset, this Hamlet will be a troubled youth". 4 March 2003.
  2. "Binger Filmlab". Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. "Leon Ford takes a break after 'The Letdown,' 'Upright' and 'Rams'". 8 August 2019.
  4. "AusStage".
  5. https://markhamfroggattandirwin-cdn-1.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/13105839/Leon-Ford-CV-1.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. https://markhamfroggattandirwin-cdn-1.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/13105839/Leon-Ford-CV-1.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]