# Robert Sean Leonard

Robert Lawrence Leonard (born February 28, 1969), known professionally as Robert Sean Leonard, is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Neil Perry in the drama film Dead Poets Society (1989) and Dr. James Wilson in the medical drama series House (2004–2012).
A prolific stage actor, Leonard won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in The Invention of Love in 2001. His other theater credits include Candida, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Breaking the Code, The Speed of Darkness, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Arcadia, The Music Man, Born Yesterday, Fifth of July, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

## Early life

Robert Lawrence Leonard was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on February 28, 1969. He grew up in nearby Ridgewood, where he attended Ridgewood High School but later dropped out at 17 to pursue acting. He studied at Fordham University and later the Columbia University School of General Studies. He studied theater at HB Studio. He has a brother named Sean, whose name he adopted as his new middle name when the Screen Actors Guild advised him to take a stage name because his birth name was already taken by another actor.

## Career

Leonard is a three-time Tony Award nominee, and won Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2001 for his role as A. E. Housman in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love. He had previously played the role of Valentine in the New York premiere of Stoppard's Arcadia at Lincoln Center in 1995. He was nominated for a Tony in 2003 for his portrayal of Edmund Tyrone in a well-received revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, co-starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian Dennehy, and Vanessa Redgrave. He has also appeared in Broadway musical productions, and replaced Craig Bierko as the lead performer in a revival of The Music Man in 2001. He co-starred as Paul Verrall in the 2011 Broadway revival of Born Yesterday.
Leonard and Ethan Hawke, who have been friends since childhood, co-founded New York's Malaparte theater company alongside James Waterston, Steve Zahn, and Frank Whaley in 1991. The company was officially dissolved in 2000, partly because its members wanted to devote more time to their families. Hawke later referred to the company's heyday as "pretty much the most thrilling period of [his] life".
In 1993, Leonard had a leading role in the film Swing Kids, playing Peter Müller. In 1997, he received rave reviews for his role in the television film In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve. Entertainment Weekly said that Leonard "does a first-rate job of juggling Danny's mixture of despair, neediness, and mordant jokiness."
From 2004 to 2012, Leonard had his most famous onscreen role as Dr. James Wilson in the Fox medical drama series House. He had been invited to audition for the role of Charlie Eppes in the CBS crime drama series Numb3rs as well as House, and thought the Numb3rs script was "kind of cool", but decided to audition for House because he thought the character of Charlie was in "too many scenes". He later admitted, "The less I work, the happier I am." He believed that his House audition was not particularly good, but that his friendship with the show's executive producer Bryan Singer helped win him the role. In 2007, he appeared on Entertainment Weekly's 100 list as "Dr. Underrated".
From 2013 to 2014, Leonard had a recurring role as Dr. Roger Kadar on the series Falling Skies. In 2016, he played King Arthur in David Lee's adaptation of the musical Camelot at the Westport Country Playhouse. From February to April 2017, he appeared in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George as Jules/Bob. In 2023, he had a supporting role in HBO's The Gilded Age as the Reverend Luke Forte.

## Personal life

Leonard remains close friends with his House co-star Hugh Laurie. He has also been friends since childhood with Ethan Hawke, who would later become his co-star in Dead Poets Society and Tape.
Leonard married Gabriella Salick in 2008. The couple has two daughters, one born in 2009 and one in 2012.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | The Manhattan Project | Max | Credited as Robert Leonard |
| 1988 | My Best Friend Is a Vampire | Jeremy Capello | |
| 1989 | Dead Poets Society | Neil Perry | |
| 1990 | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | Douglas Bridge | |
| 1991 | Married to It | Chuck Bishop | |
| 1993 | Swing Kids | Peter Müller | |
| 1993 | Much Ado About Nothing | Count Claudio | |
| 1993 | The Age of Innocence | Ted Archer | |
| 1993 | A Dog Race in Alaska | | Short film |
| 1994 | Safe Passage | Alfred Singer | |
| 1996 | Killer: A Journal of Murder | Henry Lesser | |
| 1996 | I Love You, I Love You Not | Angel of Death | |
| 1997 | In the Gloaming | Danny | |
| 1998 | Standoff | Jamie Doolin | |
| 1998 | The Last Days of Disco | Tom Platt | |
| 1998 | Ground Control | Cruise | |
| 2001 | Tape | Jon Salter | |
| 2001 | Driven | Demille Bly | |
| 2001 | Chelsea Walls | Terry Olsen | |
| 2003 | The I Inside | Peter Cable | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | My Two Loves | Larry Taylor | Television film |
| 1987 | Bluffing It | Rusty Duggan | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Himself | Season 2 Episode 31, aired July 19, 1993 |
| 1994 | Normandy: The Great Crusade | Rusty Sales | Voice, television film |
| 1996 | The Boys Next Door | Barry Klemper | Television film |
| 1999 | Wasteland | Jesse's ex | Episode: "My Ex-Friend's Wedding" |
| 2000 | The Outer Limits | Robby Archer | Episode: "Nest" |
| 2001 | A Glimpse of Hell | Lt. Daniel P. Meyer | Television film |
| 2002 | Corsairs | | Television film |
| 2003 | Malcolm in the Middle | Agent | Episode: "Softball" |
| 2003 | A Painted House | Jesse Chandler | TV movie |
| 2004–2012 | House | Dr. James Wilson | Main cast |
| 2010 | American Experience | Herman Melville | Voice, episode: "Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World" |
| 2013 | The Blacklist | Frederick Barnes | Episode: "Frederick Barnes" |
| 2013–2014 | Falling Skies | Dr. Roger Kadar | Recurring; 9 episodes |
| 2014 | The Good Wife | Del Paul | Episode: "Dear God" |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Brock | Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil" |
| 2015–2016 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | ADA Kenneth O'Dwyer | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Blue Bloods | Charles Beard | Episode: "Lost Souls" |
| 2019 | The Hot Zone | Walter Humboldt | Miniseries |
| 2019 | The Good Doctor | Shamus O'Malley | Episode: "Claire" |
| 2022 | The First Lady | Harry S. Truman | Episode: "Victory Dance" |
| 2023 | The Gilded Age | Reverend Luke Forte | Recurring; season 2 |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1986 | Brighton Beach Memoirs | Eugene Jerome |
| 1987–1988 | Breaking the Code | Christopher Morcom |
| 1990 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo |
| 1991 | The Speed of Darkness | Eddie |
| 1993 | Candida | Eugene Marchbanks |
| 1994 | Philadelphia, Here I Come! | Gareth O'Donnell in Private |
| 1995 | Arcadia | Valentine Coverly |
| 1999 | The Iceman Cometh | Don Parritt |
| 2000–2001 | The Music Man | Harold Hill |
| 2001 | The Invention of Love | A. E. Housman |
| 2003 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Edmund Tyrone |
| 2003 | The Violet Hour | John Pace Seavering |
| 2011–2012 | Born Yesterday | Paul Verrall |
| 2013 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Atticus Finch |
| 2013 | Pygmalion | Professor Henry Higgins |
| 2016 | Prodigal Son | Alan Hoffman |
| 2016 | Camelot | King Arthur |
| 2017 | Sunday in the Park with George | Jules/Bob |
| 2017 | Richard II | Richard II |
| 2018 | Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo | Peter |
| 2025 | Betrayal | Jerry |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1990 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Most Promising Actor | Dead Poets Society | Won |
| 1993 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | Candida | Nominated |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | In the Gloaming | Nominated |
| 2001 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | The Invention of Love | Won |
| 2003 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | Long Day's Journey into Night | Nominated |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | House | Nominated |
| 2011 | People's Choice Award | Favorite TV Doctor | House | Nominated |
| 2023 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Gilded Age | Nominated |