Spencer Leigh

Acting

Spencer Leigh

Born

1963-01-01 (63)

Place of birth

Liverpool, England

Known for

Acting

Credits

14 titles

Born in Liverpool, Spencer Leigh is an actor who first came to prominence in the 1980s as Icky Higson in the Willy Russell series One Summer. Face Magazine called him one of the Brit Pack actors, alongside the likes of Tim Roth, Colin Firth and Gary Oldman, tipping him for international fame. However Leigh favoured arthouse overall, and worked almost exclusively with Derek Jarman in a series of the auteur's films from the mid '80s through to his death. Moving to the States Leigh commenced a secondary career directing TV commercials and resurfaced in 2012, taking the part of Nunzio in Hitchcock.

Known for

Hitchcock poster
6.6

Following his great success with "North by Northwest," director Alfred Hitchcock makes a daring choice for his next project: an adaptation of Robert Bloch's novel "Psycho." When the studio refuses to back the picture, Hitchcock decides to pay for it himself in exchange for a percentage of the profits. His wife, Alma Reville, has serious reservations about the film but supports him nonetheless. Still, the production strains the couple's marriage.

Hitchcock

2012

One Summer poster
7.5

One Summer is a 1983 British television drama serial written by Willy Russell and directed by Gordon Flemyng. It stars David Morrissey and Spencer Leigh as two 16 year old Liverpool boys from broken homes who escape from their lives by running away to Wales one summer. It also starred James Hazeldine and Ian Hart. The series was shown in five 50-minute episodes on Channel 4 from 7 August to 4 September 1983. It was later repeated on ITV in April 1985.

One Summer

1983

Caravaggio poster
6.1

A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.

Caravaggio

1986

Aria poster
5.5

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound, and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

Aria

1987

Prick Up Your Ears poster
6.7

When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage.

Prick Up Your Ears

1987

The Last of England poster
6.1

The artist's personal commentary on the decline of his country in a language closer to poetry than prose. A dark meditation on London under Thatcher.

The Last of England

1987

Film credits

1980s · 10 titles

Caravaggio poster
6.1

A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.

Caravaggio

1986

Aria poster
5.5

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound, and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

Aria

1987

Prick Up Your Ears poster
6.7

When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage.

Prick Up Your Ears

1987

The Last of England poster
6.1

The artist's personal commentary on the decline of his country in a language closer to poetry than prose. A dark meditation on London under Thatcher.

The Last of England

1987

No artwork available
NR

1988 English-language film by Derek Jarman.

L'ispirazione

1988

War Requiem poster
6.3

During World War I, British soldier Owen is mortified by the examples of cruelty that surround him in the trenches. He combats these terrifying images by maintaining hope in his love for an army nurse. But he also begins to accept his fate as another battlefield sacrifice.

War Requiem

1989

Young Toscanini poster
6.7

A fanciful biopic of legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini as a very young man.

Young Toscanini

1988

Strapless poster
7.4

An expatriate American doctor in London allows herself to lighten up when her freewheeling younger sister and a mysterious man enter her life. Her inhibitions released, the beautiful doctor learns that freedom has its own price.

Strapless

1989

Depuis le Jour poster
NR

Derek Jarman's interpretation of the aria 'Depuis le jour' from the final act of Gustave Charpentier's opera Louise (1900) features Aimée Delamain as an aging opera singer taking her final bow and recalling a love affair from her youth. As the aria goes: 'Et je tremble délicieusement au souvenir charmant du premier jour d'amour! (And I tremble deliciously at the delightful memory of the first day of love!)' – Her reveries feature Tilda Swinton and Spencer Leigh wandering around the topiaries of Swinton's family garden and at various seaside locations. The film was made for Aria (1987), the portmanteau project of producer Don Boyd who invited ten directors to create short films set to operatic arias of their choice. The particular performance used in Depuis le jour is by esteemed African-American soprano Leontyne Price.

Depuis le Jour

1987

Smart Money poster
6.3

Leon, a hacker convicted for a crime he did not commit, escapes from detention centre following the death of his father, to take revenge on the man who really did it.

Smart Money

1986

Series credits

Behind the camera