Robert Sean Leonard

BIRTHDATE: February 28, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Westwood, New Jersey
MARITAL STATUS: ????
WHY HE DESERVES HIS BIG BREAK:
Anybody who's seen Dead Poets Society knows that Robert Sean Leonard deserves to be a big star--or at least, he did then--recently he's been sticking more to the stage than the screen.

Born in New Jersey, Leonard made his film debut in 1986's The Manhattan Project, and has been a fixture on the New York stage before and since then, appearing in such high-profile productions as Brighton Beach Memoirs, Candida, and The Iceman Cometh (starring none other than Kevin Spacey). But the role that won him the most prominence was Neil Perry in 1989's Dead Poets Society, a rich prep school student in the 50's who finds his life and ambition turned around by the influence of English teacher Robin Williams. Originally doomed to a life of being a white collar stuffed shirt like his father, Neil makes a dramatic shift in goals and decides that he wants to become an actor, an ambition that, not surprisingly, is met with staunch disapproval from his upper-crust parents. Tragically, Neil's realization that he'll never get to live the life he wants results in his suicide. Leonard was absolutely heartbreaking in the role of the tortured young aspiring actor, effectively stealing the movie from star Robin Williams.

Unfortunately, Dead Poets Society has been as good as it gets in film for Robert Sean Leonard since then. Since then, he's put in more than capable performances in such stinking loads of crap as Married to It, Swing Kids, and Ground Control. He also has the misfortune of being frequently mentioned as the last guy Gwyneth Paltrow dated before becoming famous, much like fellow THAT GUY Jonny Lee Miller is frequently mentioned as the guy Angelina Jolie divorced before becoming famous. However, Leonard has managed to find a few projects worthy of his talent over the past few years, including Kenneth Branagh's production of Much Ado About Nothing, and the made for cable In the Gloaming, in which he plays a young man with AIDS who goes home to die. Over the past few years, he's been focusing his formidable talents back on the stage, most recently starring as the lead in the Broadway revival of The Music Man.

FILMOGRAPHY
Films highlighted in yellow present Robert at his best

Chelsea Walls (2001)--????
A Glimpse of Hell (TV Movie--2001)--LTJG Dan Meyer
Driven (2001)--DeMille Bly
Tape (2001)--John Salter
"The Outer Limits" (2000)--???? (TV guest appearance)
New York: A Documentary Film (TV Miniseries--1999)--Voiceover
"Wasteland" (1999)--Jesse's Ex (TV guest appearance)
Ground Control (1998)--Cruise
The Last Days of Disco (1998)--Tom Platt
Standoff (1998)--Jamie Doolin
In the Gloaming (TV Movie--1997)--Danny
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996)--Henry Lesser
I Love You, I Love You Not (1996)--Angel of Death
The Boys Next Door (TV Movie--1996)--Barry Klemper
Safe Passage (1994)--Alfred Singer
The Age of Innocence (1993)--Ted Archer
A Dog Race in Alaska (1993)--????
Swing Kids (1993)--Peter Muller
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)--Count Claudio of Florence
Married to It (1991)--Chuck Bishop
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)--Adult Douglas Bridge
Dead Poets Society (1989)--Neil Perry
My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1988)--Jeremy Capello
Bluffing It (TV Movie--1987)--Rusty Duggan
The Manhattan Project (1986)--Max
My Two Loves (TV Movie--1986)--Larry Taylor