Leo Woodall's CV from his time at London's ArtsEd drama school reads more like that of an athlete than an actor.
He is “highly qualified” in basketball and football and has expertise in badminton, cricket, darts, stage fighting, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
His skills on stage or screen are barely mentioned, aside from a few accent skills (American, Cockney and Estuary English) and a note that he can sing “high baritone” if necessary.
In fact, Leo, 27, the breakout star and bumbling heartthrob of the tear-jerking Netflix series “One Day,” which was seen by more than 15 million people in two weeks, was a late convert to acting.
“When I grew up, I wanted to be a gym teacher or a stuntman,” he recently admitted.
But from a young age, Leo's older brother Gabriel recognized that he had star qualities that inexorably drew him into the spotlight.
Mod and Woodall have developed a “close bond” and friendship since the creation of the hit series
From a young age, Leo's family recognized that he had star qualities that inexorably drew him into the spotlight. Pictured: With his brother Gabriel (far left), his father Andrew (left) and his sister Connie
Leo, 27, the breakout star and swashbuckling heartthrob from the tear-jerking Netflix series One Day – which was watched by more than 15 million people in two weeks
“From the moment my family and I saw Leo perform in the school’s second-grade production of Goggles the Penguin, we all said it,” jokes 31-year-old Gabriel.
Meanwhile, his father Andrew – an actor who has had roles in “Casualty” and “Grantchester” – watched his two sons reenacting scenes from “The Matrix” and “Lord of the Rings” in the playground in Hammersmith, west London, where they grew up were.
Ironically, 60-year-old Andrew tried to stop his son from following in his footsteps by telling him: “Whatever you do, don't be a f***ing actor.”
But he's not the only acting influence in Leo's life. Mother Jane, 62, also attended drama school and became deputy headteacher at Leo's alma mater in Chiswick.
After her divorce from Leo's father, she later married Alexander Morton, another actor best known for his role in Monarch Of The Glen.
Uncle Ed Woodall is an actor, director and movement coach, and Leo's older sister Connie, 32, works in the industry as an agent.
So the Woodalls are heavily involved in show business. But nepotism has nothing to do with Leo's quick rise to fame.
Those who know him say he alone – with boy-next-door charm and piercing blue eyes that have drawn comparisons to a young Brad Pitt – holds the secret to his success.
On screen, Leo plays the troubled Dexter Mayhew in One Day and stars opposite Ambika Mod as Emma Morley, the best friend from David Nicholls' heartbreaking 2009 best-selling novel.
Woodall appears in his first leading role in One Day alongside 28-year-old This Is Going To Hurt star Ambika Mod
Although Leo insists he has nothing to do with Dexter (“ad***,” he announces), there are certain parallels: both come from wealthy families (Leo's family is listed in the peerage, as his paternal grandmother is the daughter of one baronets). and both are, to use the actor's own words, “a bit spoiled” – Leo, because he is the youngest of three siblings.
As a child, recalls his proud stepsister Kerry Morton, an Essex-based video maker and artist, he was a “bouncing two-year-old” who she remembers “breaking all the sofas in the house”. [by] hop on them'.
Leo credits Kerry with helping him perfect his Essex accent for Jack, the character he played opposite Tom Hollander in the dark comic series The White Lotus. He also met his girlfriend, American actress Meghann Fahy, on set.
“I'm from west London but there are definitely a lot of people I know from Essex.” “My stepsister is from Essex so it was fun to get involved in that,” he said in a recent interview.
His family says Leo was happy until he was 11 years old. His father was quiet and well-behaved and once described him as a “silent child.”
Leo and his brother Gabriel with their mother Jane, who also attended drama school and met his father there
However, secondary school proved difficult as he was subjected to bullying and violence. A classmate pinned him to a wall by his neck; another hit him on the chest. Once, at a house party, someone threatened to stab him if he didn't hand over a pair of gloves.
The impact on Leo was dramatic. At home he became withdrawn and introverted, too afraid to leave the house. At school, he says, he impersonated a character.
“I started shaving my eyebrows,” he said. “I shaved my head. I wore a hood all the time and changed the way I talked. I think it was some kind of survival instinct. In order to belong. But I wasn't nice. I was blown away. “My mother was worried.” These days, Leo credits the “dark years” with giving him material: perhaps that's why he's so often portrayed as a frightened, tortured young man.
Studying wasn't his strong suit – “I didn't really care about my grades, so I couldn't just go to university to study economics” – and after school he ended up working in a bar. Smoking weed, with no purpose or direction .
One evening he was watching the gangster drama Peaky Blinders, starring Bafta winner Cillian Murphy, and realized his calling had been staring him in the face the whole time.
He enrolled at the Andrew Lloyd Webber supported ArtsEd and graduated with a BA in Acting in 2019.
His first break was a small part in Holby City. Next up was Cherry, the Russo brothers' 2021 action thriller starring Spider-Man star Tom Holland.
He caught the attention of directors, who cast him in their spy series “Citadel” alongside Hollywood greats Richard Madden and Stanley Tucci.
English actor Leo Woodall, 27, has been compared to Brad Pitt after winning a legion of fans for the role of charming Dexter Mayhew in Netflix hit One Day
This was followed by the Emmy-winning series “The White Lotus.”
On his father's recommendation, he was watching the first season while laying in a hotel room with Covid when the email came from his agent asking him to go to an audition for the second season in 2021 and that to do what he has since called “The greatest job I will ever have.”
Perhaps he's a little biased: This is where he met Meghann, 33, a former Broadway actress from Massachusetts who appeared on Gossip Girl and Law & Order.
Leo auditioned for One Day while he was still filming The White Lotus. He hadn't read the book, barely managed to watch the 2011 film (starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess) and could barely walk because he had suffered a herniated disc.
He was still a complete unknown at the time, but he said he knew he got the role when he saw the casting director in tears during one of his screenplays.
Woodall has gelled his long hair back for several red carpet appearances, just like Pitt, 60, has done in the past
It's been hard adjusting to the attention that his newfound fame brings. He now lives in London with his brother, spends a lot of time with family and friends and mostly avoids self-promotion.
As he puts it: “I think the work is why we do this, and… there's fun too.” But other than that… I'm close to the best people in my life and not too attached to the whole thing Hustle and bustle.'
He ended up watching “The White Lotus” with his brother, which contains several raunchy scenes – a mistake he wouldn't make with “One Day,” which he watched alone after logging into the Netflix account that he shared with his mother.
“I was so nervous about what the family would think of me as an actor,” he admits. “I always felt this personal pressure to make it.” And they were always wonderful and supportive.”
So what's next for this smoking hot young star once he has his acting family firmly behind him and acting in his blood?
David Nicholls has compared him to some of Hollywood's leading men: Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Gosling. One reviewer described him as “a tornado of charisma.” He was even considered the next James Bond.
And Leo? When asked about his future, he replied, “Now that I'm being asked that question, I should probably think of an answer.”
Perhaps fitting for the boy who never wanted to be an actor, he has no idea whatsoever.