# Leo Staar

Leo Staar (born 24 July 1986) is an English actor, best known for his portrayals of Alec Jesmond in Call the Midwife and Inspector Lapointe in Maigret.

## Biography

Leo Staar was born in London and grew up in Worthing, West Sussex. After graduating from drama school in 2009, he went straight into theatre, playing the roles of Ferdinand in The Tempest and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet in the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. He also played Mr Wickham in a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In 2010, he appeared in Thea Sharrock's production of Terence Rattigan's After the Dance, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch at the National Theatre. That same year, he played a minor role in the National Theatre Live cinema broadcast of Sir Nicholas Hynter's production of Hamlet, with Rory Kinnear in the title role. In 2011, he appeared in Josie Rourke's production of Much Ado About Nothing at Wyndham's Theatre, alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate.
Staar became known to the public in 2013 when he landed his first major television role in the BBC medical drama Call the Midwife, where he played the recurring character Alec Jesmond, who became the boyfriend of main character Jenny Lee. He appeared in six episodes until the character died in a tragic accident. He then made guest appearances on Casualty, Lewis and Death in Paradise.
In 2015, Staar landed his next major television role when he was cast as Inspector Lapointe in the ITV detective drama Maigret, based on the books by Georges Simenon and starring Rowan Atkinson in the title role. The series ran from 2016 to 2017. In 2019, he played Denning in the BBC mini-series Summer of Rockets, opposite Toby Stephens and Keeley Hawes. He appeared in Fabio D'Andrea's music video The Sleeping Beauty, where he played a widowed father whose young daughter dreams of becoming a ballerina. The video was officially released in 2020.
In 2022, Staar appeared in the spy movie, The 355, opposite Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Penélope Cruz and Sebastian Stan.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | An Outstanding Performer | Charlie | Short film |
| 2019 | Cheating Charlie | Volker | Short Film |
| 2022 | The 355 | Grady | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Dark Matters: Twisted But True | Ed Forman/Krasnogorskiy | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Dancing on the Edge | Young Upper Class Man | 1 episode |
| 2013-2014 | Call the Midwife | Alec Jesmond | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Casualty | Will Jamison | Episode: "To Yourself Be True" |
| 2014 | Lewis | Simon Eastwood | Episodes: "Entry Wounds parts 1&2" |
| 2015 | Death in Paradise | Simon Parke | Episode: "Til Death Do You Part" |
| 2016 | Maigret Sets a Trap | Inspector Lapointe | TV film |
| 2016 | Maigret's Dead Man | Inspector Lapointe | TV film |
| 2017 | Maigret's Night at the Crossroads | Inspector Lapointe | TV film |
| 2017 | Maigret in Montemartre | Inspector Lapointe | TV film |
| 2018 | Jack Ryan | Williams | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2019 | Summer of Rockets | Denning | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Van der Valk | Florian Barby | Episode: "Blood in Amsterdam" |
| 2023 | Silent Witness | Calvin Dunn | Episodes: "Effective Range - Part 1&2" |

### Live Streaming Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | National Theatre Live Hamlet | Cornelius/Priest | Live via satellite |

### Music videos

| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
| 2020 | Fabio D'Andrea | The Sleeping Beauty | The Father |

### Audio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2020 | The Avengers: Steed and Mrs Peel | Jack/Agent Rogers/Rocliffe | Comic Strip Audio |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2014 | Dreamfall Chapters | Reza Temiz (voice) |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | The Tempest | Ferdinand | Cambridge Shakespeare Festival |
| 2009 | Romeo and Juliet | Benvolio | Cambridge Shakespeare Festival |
| 2009 | Pride and Prejudice | Mr Wickham | Theatre Royal, Bath |
| 2010 | After the Dance | Partygoer/Dr George Banner/Cyril Carter | Royal National Theatre |
| 2010 | Hamlet | Cornelius/Priest | Royal National Theatre |
| 2011 | Much Ado About Nothing | Messenger | Wyndham's Theatre |
| 2012 | Celebrity Night at Café Red | Harry | Trafalgar Theatre |
| 2015 | Hello/Goodbye | Leo | Hampstead Theatre |
| 2018 | The Country Wife | Harcourt | Southwark Playhouse |