# Leon Wadham

Leon Wadham (born 1989) is a New Zealand actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in the film Under the Mountain (2009), comedy series Go Girls (2013) and the Amazon Prime fantasy show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present).

## Early life

Wadham was born and raised in Karori, Wellington, New Zealand. He attended Karori Normal School and Onslow College. He studied at Toi Whakaari Drama School from 2009 to 2011, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Performing Arts (Acting). He also received the Museum Art Hotel Scholarship Award in his final year of training.

## Career

Wadham started acting at a young age, and made his on-screen debut in 2000, appearing in a guest role in the sci-fi series The Tribe. After finishing his education he also went on to become a filmmaker. He wrote and directed several short films, TV shows and plays starting from 2013.
In 2009, Wadham starred as Ricky in the fantasy film Under the Mountain, which was based on the novel of the same name. In 2013, he joined the main cast of the fifth season of comedy drama Go Girls, where he played the role of Levi Hirsh. He appeared in a supporting role in the 2019 crime drama The Bad Seed.
In 2020, he was cast in the Amazon Prime TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premiered in 2022. He plays Kemen, Pharazôn's son, who was invented for the series.

## Personal life

As of 2022, Wadham resided in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2023, he moved to London, England.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Maintain | Mark | |
| 2008 | Jack & Jill | Jack | Short film |
| 2008 | Unorthodox My Balance Sheet | The Assistant | Short film |
| 2009 | Under the Mountain | Ricky | |
| 2009 | Monkeys Don't Mix | Inmate #1 | Short film |
| 2012 | A Bend in the Road | Dave | Short film |
| 2012 | The Catch | SPCA Agent | Short film |
| 2012 | Wellington | Noel | Short film |
| 2012 | Packed | Alex | |
| 2013 | Shopping | Fresh Face | |
| 2013 | Blankets | Jack | Short film |
| 2014 | School Night | – | Short film; writer and director |
| 2016 | Moving | – | Short film; writer and director |
| 2017 | Pork Pie | Young Cop | |
| 2020 | Weirdoes | Driver | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | The Tribe | – | 1 episode |
| 2001 | Dark Knight | Tom | Series 2, episode 5: "Black Tree" |
| 2013 | Sunny Skies | – | Writer |
| 2013 | Go Girls | Levi Hirsh | |
| 2014 | Pirates of the Airwaves | Paul Lineham | Television film |
| 2015 | When We Go to War | Guy Weatherstone | |
| 2016 | Terry Teo | Jasper La Roux | Series 1, episode 4: "Head to Head" |
| 2017 | Why Does Love? | Adam Holt | Television film |
| 2018 | The Brokenwood Mysteries | Darryn Walker | Series 5, episode 2: "Bride Not to Be" |
| 2019 | Power Rangers Beast Morphers | Lab Assistant | Series 1, episode 1: "Beasts Unleashed" |
| 2019 | Roman Empire | Gemellus | Series 3, episode 2: "A New Hope" |
| 2019 | The Bad Seed | Matt Logan | |
| 2019–2020 | Golden Boy | – | Director |
| 2020 | The Citizen's Handbook | – | Director |
| 2020–2022 | Alice Snedden's Bad News | – | Writer and director |
| 2022–present | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Kemen | |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2000 | Nuncrackers | – | Stetson Productions |
| 2001 | Rush | Singer/Dancer | Capital Theatre Productions |
| 2007 | The Cape | Jordyn | Circa Theatre |
| 2007 | The Henchmen | Captain Caffeine | Young and Hungry |
| 2007 | Brain Power | Self Preservation | Out of Bounds |
| 2012 | Tribes | Billy | Silo Theatre / Q Theatre, Auckland |
| 2013 | Lord of the Flies | Ralph | Auckland Theatre Company / Maidment Theatre |
| 2018 | Giddy | Solo | Basement Theatre |