Leonard Whiting (June 30, 1950) is a British actor and singer best known for Romeo and Juliet (1968) (1968).
He was married to Cathee Dahmen, currently married to Lynn Presser and has two children.
Filmography
- 1965: The Legend Of Young Dick Turpin as Jimmy the Dip
- 1966: The Magical World Of Disney as Jimmy the Dip
- 1968: Romeo and Juliet (1968) as Romeo
- 1969: The Royal Hunt Of The Sun as Young Martin
- 1969: Infanzia Vocazione E Prime Esperienze Di Giacomo Casanova Veneziano as Giacomo Casanova
- 1971: Say Hello To Yesterday as Boy
- 1972: War Is Hell as Franz Keller
- 1973: Love Story as Nicholas Miller
- 1973: Frankenstein: The True Story as Dr. Victor Frankenstein
- 1975: Rachels Man as Jacob
- 1990-1995: The Dreamstone as Urpgor
- 2015: Social Suicide as Julia's Father
Tropes:
- The Cast Show Off: He was originally going to sing "What Is a Youth?" in Romeo & Juliet, but instead a Capulet performer called Leonardo is given that moment. Leonard did later record another version that was released.
- Casting Gag: In Social Suicide, he and Olivia Hussey play Julia's parents as a nod to their most famous roles. It was even Olivia's idea to get Leonard for the part, as she was trying to get her daughter cast in the film.
- Celebrity Resemblance: Many have noted how in his younger days he looked nearly identical to Zac Efron.
- Friendship on the Set: Although he and Olivia Hussey dated briefly, they soon realised they were Better as Friends and have remained lifelong friends ever since.
- He Also Did: He performed lead vocals on "The Raven", by the Alan Parsons Project for a compilation album Tales of Mystery and Imagination.
- I Am Not Spock: As he chose to end his film career in the 70s and focus on stage work, voiceover, music and writing, he is best remembered as Romeo.
- Mr. Fanservice: Olivia Hussey describes him filming the famous nude scene in Romeo & Juliet "strutting around the set, not caring if the whole world got a look at his bum."
- The Other Darrin: He voiced Urpgor for three seasons of The Dreamstone, but was replaced with Colin Marsh for the fourth.
- Playing Against Type: Romeo was actually this for him. He had been used to playing plucky children like Dodger in Oliver! and Jimmy in The Legend Of The Young Dick Turpin.
- Vocal Evolution: He describes spending his childhood and teen years speaking with a cockney accent and being sent to extensive vocal training to get rid of it when cast in Romeo & Juliet.