Lydia Leonard
Born (1981-12-05) 5 December 1981
Paris, France
NationalityBritish and Irish
EducationBedales School
Alma materBristol Old Vic Theatre School
OccupationActress
Years active2004–present
Known forBring Up the Bodies, Ten Percent, and The Crown

Lydia Leonard (born 5 December 1981)[1] is a British stage, film and television actress, best known for her roles in the theatrical adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies and the television series Ten Percent, and The Crown.

Early life and education

Leonard was born in Paris to an Irish mother, a teacher, and Anglo-French father, an accountant; she lived in France until the age of five. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career

Beginning her career in the theatre, Leonard played Anne Boleyn in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at London's Aldwych Theatre from May until October 2014. The RSC production transferred to Broadway as Wolf Hall: Parts One and Two at the Winter Garden Theatre, running from March until July 2015. Leonard reprised the role, which earned her a nomination for the 2015 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[2]

On television she had an ongoing role in 1950s-set detective series Jericho starring Robert Lindsay, and appeared in True True Lie (2006) and The Long Walk to Finchley (2008), along with a cameo in Rome (2006, "The Stolen Eagle"), and as a nurse in the BBC's Casualty 1909.

Leonard appeared on stage as Polyxena in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hecuba starring Vanessa Redgrave, the production played in London's West End and then at B.A.M in New York. She played Hazel Conway alongside Francesca Annis in the National Theatre's production of Time and the Conways. In 2005 she appeared as Caroline Cushing in the original Donmar Theatre and West End productions of Frost/Nixon. In 2010 Leonard played the role of Jackie Onassis in Martin Sherman's play Onassis at the Novello Theatre in London.[3]

In 2008 Leonard played the female lead in the BBC remake of The 39 Steps. Part of the Christmas scheduling, its first showing was the most watched programme on BBC One on that day. Leonard starred as Cynthia in Joanna Hogg's 2010 feature film Archipelago. In 2012, Leonard starred in two episodes of ITV drama series Whitechapel, as psychiatrist Morgan Lamb, for which she was nominated for Most Outstanding Actress at the Monte Carlo television awards. In 2013, Leonard played a leading role in the action adventure film Legendary: Tomb of the Dragon alongside Dolph Lundgen and Scott Adkins. In the same year, Leonard played Alex Lang in DreamWorks The Fifth Estate starring Benedict Cumberbatch. In 2015, Leonard played Virginia Woolf in Life in Squares, a BBC miniseries on the Bloomsbury Group.[4]

Between 2019 and 2022, Leonard appeared as Mariana Lawton in Gentleman Jack.[5]

In 2022, Leonard starred as Rebecca Fox in Ten Percent, the English version of the French original, Call My Agent!.[6] That same year, Leonard appeared as Cherie Blair in series 5 of Netflix drama The Crown.[7] On playing Blair, Leonard told the Evening Standard, I have a huge amount of respect for her. [...] It's fun playing someone really famous. It brings its own interest from the wider audience and responsibility. Objectively I should care about playing a real living person, but I don't, it's just another character."[8]

In March 2023, Leonard starred as in Women, Beware the Devil at the Almeida Theatre, London. The production was rated 3/5 stars by The Guardian.[9]

Acting credits

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2004 The Heat of the Story Unknown Short film
2006 True True Lie Dana
2008 The 39 Steps Victoria Sinclair
2010 Archipelago Cynthia
2016 The Prevailing Winds The Hiker Short film
2019 Last Christmas Marta Andrich
2023 Northern Comfort Sarah

Television

Year Film Role Notes
2004 Foyle's War Marion Greenwood TV series (Series 3 Episode 1: "The French Drop")
Midsomer Murders Phoebe Frears Episode: "Ghosts of Christmas Past"
2005 Rome Julia Episode: "The Stolen Eagle"
Jericho Angela 4 episodes
2006 The Line of Beauty Penny Kent 3 episodes
2008 Ashes to Ashes Sara Templeton Episode 4: "The Missing Link"
Casualty 1907 Laura Goodley 3 episodes
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley Joyce TV movie
The 39 Steps Victoria Sinclair TV movie
2009 Casualty 1909 Laura Goodley 4 episodes
2011 Spooks Martha Ford Series 10, Episode 2
2012 Law & Order UK Lucy Kennard Episode 13: "Fault Lines"
Whitechapel Morgan Lamb Series 3; 2 episodes
2013 Ambassadors Fergana Episode: "The Tazbek Spring"
Da Vinci's Demons Reina Isabel I de Castilla Episode: "The Tower"
2015 Life in Squares Young Virginia Woolf Miniseries
River Marianne King Miniseries; 2 episodes
2017 Apple Tree Yard Bonnard Miniseries; 2 episodes
Quacks Caroline 6 episodes
2017–2019 Absentia Logan Brandt / Laurie Colson Recurring role (Series 1); Guest role (Series 2)
2019–2022 Gentleman Jack Mariana Lawton Recurring role; 8 episodes
2020 Flesh and Blood Natalie Miniseries
2021 Red Election Beatrice Ogilvy Main role
2022 Ten Percent Rebecca Fox Main role
2022–2023 The Crown Cherie Blair Guest role (season 5 and season 6)
2024 McDonald & Dodds TBA Episode: "Rule of Three"

Selected theatre credits

  • The Meeting (Chichester Festival Theatre)
  • Oslo (National Theatre/ West End)
  • Wolf Hall (RSC/ Broadway, Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play)
  • Onassis (West End)
  • Time and the Conways (National Theatre)
  • Let There Be Love (Tricycle Theatre)
  • Frost/Nixon (Donmar Warehouse/ West End)
  • Hecuba (RSC)
  • Women, Beware the Devil (Almeida)

Video games

Year Film Role Notes
2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic Additional Voices
2013 Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel Katha Niar
Divinity: Dragon Commander Princess Camilla, Prospera
2014 Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan Lana Beniko
2015 Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Lucia Heavensward expansion onwards
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Amanda Mason
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire Lana Beniko / Additional Voices
Star Wars: Battlefront Unknown
2016 Homefront: The Revolution Unknown
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne Lana Beniko
2017 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands Midas Female / Nomad Female Replicated
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Queen Marina
Total War: Warhammer II Unknown
2018 Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Nerea English version
2019 GreedFall Chief Derdre / Other Characters
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Onslaught Lana Beniko / Additional Voices

Selected audio credits

  • The Colour of Murder, by Julian Symons, BBC Radio 4 2003, with Tom Smith, Lydia Leonard, Frances Jeater[10]
  • A Sting in the Tale – Myrtle, Mahonia and Rue, by Briony Glassco, BBC Radio 4, 1//1/2004[11]
  • Bunyan John – The Pilgrim's Progress, weekly from 4 January 2004, with Anton Rodgers, Neil Dudgeon, Alec McCowen, Anna Massey, Philip Voss, Lydia Leonard
  • The Lair of the White Worm, by Stoker Bram, BBC World Service 4 December 2004, with Peter Marinker, Ben Crowe, Stephen Critchlow, Lydia Leonard, Richenda Carey
  • The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov, BBC World Service 18 March 2006, with Ben Silverstone, Lydia Leonard, Nicholas Farrell
  • Our Country's Good, by Thomas Keneally, adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker, BBC World Service ~15 October 2005, with Nichloas Bolton, Lydia Leonard, Geoffrey Whitehead
  • How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, by Toby Young; R4 afternoon play 3 November 2006; with Val Murray, Kerry Shale, Lydia Leonard, Elizabeth Bell, Kim Wall.[12]
  • Arms and the Man, by GB Shaw, BBC Radio 3 21 March 2010, with Rory Kinnear, Lydia Leonard, Hugh Ross, Frances Jeater

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
2015 Tony Award[2] Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Wolf Hall: Parts One and Two Nominated
Drama Desk Award[13] Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award[14] Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Dalglish, Darren (13 October 2010). "Questions and Answers with..." londontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  2. 1 2 "An American in Paris & Fun Home Top 2015 Tony Nominations". Broadway.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Sykes, Pandora (21 October 2010). "Lydia Leonard on being Jackie O". London Evening Standard.
  4. ↑ Debnath, Neela (27 July 2015). "Life in Squares: Lydia Leonard says new Bloomsbury group series will be 'racy'". Daily Express. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Barr, Sabrina (22 May 2022). "Gentleman Jack star Suranne Jones addresses possibility of future seasons as series 2 finale draws near". Metro. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Aroesti, Rachel (16 April 2022). "'We're not as cool as the French – it's more bumbling': Lydia Leonard on remaking Call My Agent!". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Molina-Whyte, Lidia (2 November 2021). "The Crown casts Lydia Leonard as Cherie Blair in season 5". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Clark, Nick (22 February 2023). Evening Standard [Women, Beware the Devil’s Lydia Leonard on the new Almeida show and playing Cherie Blair in The Crown Women, Beware the Devil’s Lydia Leonard on the new Almeida show and playing Cherie Blair in The Crown]. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Clapp, Susannah (3 March 2023). "The week in theatre: Women, Beware the Devil; Romeo and Julie; Shirley Valentine – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Saturday Play: The Colour of Murder". 18 October 2003. p. 121 – via BBC Genome.
  11. ↑ "A Sting in the Tale: 2: Myrtle, Mahonia and Rue". 1 January 2004. p. 225 – via BBC Genome.
  12. ↑ "Afternoon Play: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People". 3 November 2006. p. 135 – via BBC Genome.
  13. ↑ "Hamilton, An American in Paris & More Receive 2015 Drama Desk Nominations". Broadway.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Something Rotten! & On the Twentieth Century Top List of 2015 Outer Critics Circle Nominations". Broadway.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
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