Robert Sean Leonard

Early life

Leonard was born in Westwood, New Jersey, the son of Joyce Patricia (née Peterson), a nurse, and Robert Leonard, a teacher at Collier High School. He grew up in Ridgewood, where he attended Ridgewood High School before moving on to Fordham University and later the Columbia University School of General Studies.

Career

Because he shares his birth name with another actor, Leonard uses the name of his brother Sean for his Screen Actors Guild membership.

Leonard is a three-time Tony Award nominee (1993, 2001 and 2003), winning in 2001 (Best Actor – Featured Play) for his role as A. E. Housman in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love. He had a prior association with Stoppard's work, playing the role of Valentine in the New York premiere of Arcadia at Lincoln Center in 1995. His 2003 Tony nomination was for his portrayal of Edmund Tyrone in a well-received revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night that co-starred Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian Dennehy and Vanessa Redgrave. Leonard has also appeared in Broadway musical productions, in 2001 replacing Craig Bierko as the lead performer in a successful revival of The Music Man. On February 8, 2011, it was announced that Leonard would co-star as Paul Verrall in the 2011 Broadway revival of Born Yesterday beginning in March.

In 1997, Leonard received rave reviews for his role in the Christopher Reeve-directed television film In the Gloaming. Entertainment Weekly said that, in the film, Leonard "does a first-rate job of juggling Danny's mixture of despair, neediness, and mordant jokiness."

From 2004 he played Dr. James Wilson, head of the oncology department, on the FOX TV series House, until the series ended in 2012. In 2007 Leonard appeared on Entertainment's Weekly's 100 list as "Dr. Underrated."

In 2016, Leonard played King Arthur in David Lee's adaptation of the musical Camelot at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut. He appears in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George as Jules/Bob, running in February 2017 to April 23.

Personal life

Leonard maintains a good friendship with House co-star Hugh Laurie, as well as childhood friend, Dead Poets Society and Tape co-star Ethan Hawke, with whom he founded the Malaparte theater company, along with James Waterston, Steve Zahn, and Frank Whaley.

Leonard has been married to Gabriella Salick since 2008. They have two daughters: Eleanor (born 2009) and Claudia (born 2012).

Awards and nominations