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One actor who has deserved much acknowledgment and fame, and has had to do without it on a number of occasions, is Robert Sean Leonard, known by most as Dr. James Wilson on "House M.D." (2004). But his career has spanned a number of classic films, alongside such greats as Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, Paul Newman, and Denzel Washington. Born Robert Lawrence Leonard in Westland, New Jersey, he attended first Fordham University and then Columbia University. Afterwards, he was accepted into the Screen Actor's Guild, changing his middle name to 'Sean'. Leonard's first acting role was My Two Loves (1986) (TV) where he was cast in a small role. That same year, he was also in The Manhattan Project (1986). The film is a comedy starring John Lithgow, and is about a science experiment taken too far. Leonard continued on from these firsts and landed a role in Bluffing It (1987) (TV), and then acted in another teen comedy: My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1988). His next role is easily one of his most memorable. He took the second billing in Dead Poets Society (1989) opposite Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke. His character of Neil Perry is a young student whose passion for acting is smothered in fear of his father's wrath, and his parents' domination of his life. While Robin Williams earned himself an Oscar nomination, Leonard gave a truly Oscar-worthy performance. The 20-year old actor was well on his way now, and he proceeded to act in another Oscar-nominated film: Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990) starring Paul Newman. Leonard resumed the rebellious youth act from "Dead Poets" as he played on of the children caught between their father's conservative ways and their own ideas. Leonard followed up with the not-so successful Married to It (1991). Two years after that, Leonard found massive success in three different films. Firstly, he acted in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Pulling in 60 million on an 8 million dollar budget, it remains one of the most successful films based off of a play by Shakespeare. Leonard was surrounded by other talents apart from Branagh, such as Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, and Emma Thompson. Leonard played the character of Claudio, and was sadly criticized by several critics for his acting. In the same year, Leonard took the lead in Swing Kids (1993), which also starred Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey and Kenneth Branagh who rather than upstage Leonard, Bale, and Whaley, refuse any credit in the film. The film, another success for Leonard, told the story of a group of friends in the Hitler Youth attempting to hold onto something they love- the Lindy hop. Also that year, Leonard took a smaller role in Martin Scorsese's elaborate and artistic film The Age of Innocence (1993) starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The film is about the aristocrat who must choose between two women and risk scandal. The film earned Ryder an Oscar nomination, and a win for Best Costume.
Robert Sean Leonard
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