Allen Leech (born Alan Leech; 18 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.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.
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.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.
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