Adam Leese

Raised in the Historic town of Arundel in West Sussex, Adam left school at 16 to pursue his love of skiing. Whilst studying for his Ski instructors qualifications he worked as a groundsman for the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk at Arundel Castle. He regularly saw film productions come and go at the castle and would watch the open air Shakespeare every summer in the grounds. Little did he know at the time that a future job would bring him home to perform in front of a home crowd. Whilst ski guiding in France his mother ( a Classically trained singer) sent off for Drama school auditions for him to attend upon his homecoming. In 1998, whilst attending The Arts Ed Drama School in Chiswick, he landed his first TV role in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies for the BBC, a job he describes as "a true baptism of Fire!"From Dinnerladies work started to become more regular and fairly soon he had built up a healthy cv with guest leads in programs such as Eastenders, Holby City, Waking the Dead and Bad Girls. Two of which would come together in the future to give him the role which he's most known for. Felix McGowan in ITV's Rock Rivals.During this time Adam had the opportunity to work with Tour de Force, a theatre company that would converge every summer to perform Shakespeare at Arts Festivals around the country. It was this job that saw him returning to his home town of Arundel for four years in a row. It's a job that he holds very dear to his heart and rekindled his love for Shakespeare.2002 was a great year for Adam. Not only was it the year his son was born but it also saw his break into Feature Film. From a couple of smaller jobs with the director James Erskine a script was written with Adam in mind for the lead. Adam was skeptical at first but then found himself playing Adam Jones in the multi award winning film EMR. This film saw him starring opposite cameo's from actors such as Tom Hardy, Gil Bellows Guy Henry and Kate Buffery. It was a hugely challenging role for Adam that saw him perform in all scenes but one and it was squeezed into a 3 week schedule that saw the production film in London, L.A and San Francisco. In 2003 EMR became the first film in UK history to be released 'multi platform' at cinemas, DVD and down-loadable. A distribution method which has subsequently been copied by the likes of Paul Greengrass. EMR went on to win several international awards at prestigious Film festivals including Washington DC, San Francisco, Nurnberg and beat Paddy Considines 'Dead Mans Shoes' to the coveted Best UK Feature award at London's Raindance Festival.Adam was then cast to star opposite Jean Claude Van Damme in the action film 'Until Death' which saw him going toe to toe with the Muscles from Brussels. More recent film credits include Attack The Block, the Sci fi comedy horror written and directed by Joe Cornish, and Intruders with Clive Owen. Both films are due for release in 2011.Adam now has over 40 professional credits to his name and in 2010 was asked to become a Youth Mentor for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Behind the cameras Adam works with youth groups in and around London to help inspire and develop the talent of the future. A role he finds very rewarding and at times more challenging than his own acting!He now lives in Kent with his wife and children. Show less «