Allen Leech

Irish actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:Irish actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Allen Leech** (born **Alan Leech**; 19 May 1981) is an Irish actor best known for his role as Tom Branson on the historical drama series *Downton Abbey*. He made his professional acting debut with a small part in a 1998 production of *A Streetcar Named Desire*, made his first major film appearance as Vincent Cusack in *Cowboys & Angels*, and earned an Irish Film & Television Awards nomination in 2004 with his performance as Mo Chara in *Man About Dog*. Leech played Marcus Agrippa on the HBO historical drama series *Rome*. He also played Paul Prenter in the 2018 biopic *Bohemian Rhapsody*.

## Early life

Leech was born in Killiney, County Dublin, to David Leech, the CEO of a computer systems company, and Kay Leech. He is the third of four children; he has an older brother, Greg, an older sister, Alli, and a younger brother, Simon. He attended St Michael's College. Leech became interested in acting at 11 when he was given the part of the Cowardly Lion in a school production of *The Wizard of Oz* and found he loved being on stage. He recalled how he immediately decided to become an actor when Peter McDonald told him how acting is a profession on the last night of the production's run.

Afterwards, drama became the "focal point" of Leech's teenage years, apart from his family life, and drama and family support helped him through his school years. He became set on acting after winning a small role in a 1998 production of *A Streetcar Named Desire* at the Gate Theatre. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's Degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Trinity College, Dublin, later noting this was a "loophole" in his parents' stipulation that he earn a degree to fall back on if he failed to have success as an actor. He landed his first major roles in *Cowboys & Angels* and *Man About Dog* while at Trinity, and he has admitted that he did little schoolwork because he spent his time on auditions and acting.

## Career

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 File:Allen Leech at the Malibu Film Society by Don Ramey Logan.jpg
Leech's first professional stage role was in 1998 at the Gate in their production of *A Streetcar Named Desire*. "I was the gentleman caller to Frances McDormand's Blanche Dubois. The Coen brothers were walking backstage, and me a naive 16-year-old."

He appeared as Willi in the *Queen and Peacock*, at the Garter Lane Arts Centre. The following years, Leech was in Tom Murphy's *The Morning After Optimism* and then Hugh Leonard's *Da* at the Abbey.

Leech's breakthrough film performance was in *Cowboys and Angels*, in which he played Vincent, a gay fashion student, followed by a role in the 2004 cross-country caper film *Man About Dog*.

Leech played the role of Shane Kirwan in the Ireland's RTÉ series *Love Is the Drug*, in which he received a Best Actor nomination from the Irish Film and Television Awards. He followed that up with the role of Willy in the television series *Legend*, which is the story of three different Irish families. He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from Irish Film and Television Awards for his performance.

In 2007, Leech appeared in the HBO drama series *Rome* as Marcus Agrippa, Octavian's top soldier and friend. The film, *Rewind*, opened in Ireland on 25 March 2011.

In 2010, he appeared on the small screen in *The Tudors* as the doomed Francis Dereham, former lover of Catherine Howard. Leech also appeared in ITV 2010s television series *Downton Abbey* as chauffeur Tom Branson, whose political ideologies clash with the upper class. He played the role of officer Sam Leonard in television series *Primeval* in 2011 in series five. Leech also starred in the 2012 film adaptation *The Sweeney*. In 2014 he starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, as the spy John Cairncross, in *The Imitation Game*.

Leech was voted sexiest Irish male in 2005 in *U Magazine*. He was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed men in Britain in 2015.

Leech played Freddie Mercury's personal manager and boyfriend Paul Prenter in the biopic *Bohemian Rhapsody* (2018), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2019 Leech plays a major role in the feature film *Downton Abbey*, as his character Tom Branson is prominently present in the story line.

## Personal life

In February 2018, Leech announced his engagement to actress Jessica Blair Herman. They were married on 5 January 2019 in Solvang, California. In September 2019, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child.

## Appearances

 2005
 2007

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 MacDonald, Marianne (22 July 2007). "Rome Sweet Rome". The Evening StandardTemplate:Subscription required. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA165480231&v=2.1&it=r&p=STND. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Randall, Lee (15 September 2012). "Interview: Allen Leech on the return of Downton Abbey". Retrieved on 10 November 2012.
3. ↑ Butler, Laura (3 November 2012). "'Downton' star Allen loves his role as rebellious Irishman". Retrieved on 10 November 2012.
4. ↑ "Downton Abbey star Allen Leech denies being bullied as a child" (17 February 2014). Retrieved on 25 February 2014.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Nolan, Emma (3 September 2006). "A cowboy and an angel wrapped up to make a legend". Retrieved on 10 November 2012.
6. ↑ "Allen Leech". Troika Talent. http://clients.troikatalent.com/kat-gosling/allen-leech. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
7. ↑ Template:Cite episode
8. ↑ "Allen Leech". 28 February 2015. http://link.galegroup.com/aps/doc/K1650009686/BIC?sid=BIOC&xid=a41d28f7.
9. ↑ Matt Wolf: "A Streetcar Named Desire", [Variety.com], 18 May 1998
10. ↑ Robert Koehler: "Cowboys & Angels", [Variety.com], 13 July 2004
11. ↑ Rich Cline: "Man About Dog". ShadowsOnTheWall.co.UK, [19 Oct. 2004]
12. ↑ Jamie Russell: "Man About Dog" (2004), BBC.co.uk, 14 November 2004.
13. ↑ "Living legends" (in en), *The Irish Times* (9 December 2018). Retrieved on 9 December 2018.
14. ↑ "HBO". http://www.hbo.com/rome/cast/character/season2/marcus\_agrippa.html. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
15. ↑ "Welcome to Twitter – Login or Sign up". https://twitter.com/rewindthefilm. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
16. ↑ http://www.troikatalent.com/#/kat-gosling/allen-leech/ Allen Leech's Troika agency profile
17. ↑ "50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015", *GQ* (5 Jan 2015). Archived from the original on 7 January 2015.
18. ↑ "Allen Leech Joins 'Bohemian Rhapsody' As Paul Prenter, Freddy Mercury's Judas", *Deadline* (August 30, 2017). Retrieved on August 30, 2017.
19. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (December 12, 2018). "SAG Awards: Full List of Nominations". *The Hollywood Reporter*. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2019-sag-nominations-complete-list-1166352. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
20. ↑ "Allen Leech on Instagram". *Instagram*. 2018-02-14. https://www.instagram.com/p/BfL7y3Eg105/. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
21. ↑ Martin, Annie (2018-02-16). "*Downton Abbey* alum Allen Leech engaged to actress", *UPI*. Retrieved on 14 December 2018.
22. ↑ Shahid, Sharnaz (2019-01-15). "Exclusive: Downton Abbey's Allen Leech surrounded by co-stars on wedding day", *Hello!*. Retrieved on 21 January 2019.
23. ↑ Jen, Juneau (2019-09-10). "Downton Baby! Allen Leech and Wife Jessica Blair Herman Expecting First Child", *People*. Retrieved on 10 September 2019.

## External links

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* Template:IMDb name
* RTÉ Legend Official Site

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