Leon Pownall

Leon Pownall came to Canada in 1957 and worked as an actor, director and writer. He was a frequent performer at the Stratford Festival for nearly 40 years. In 1982, Powys Thomas, his mentor at the Shaw Festival, encouraged him to create a play about Dylan Thomas. The result is a play titled Do Not Go Gentle which starred fellow Welsh-Canadian, Geraint Wyn Davies. Pownall also appeared in nearly 40 films and TV shows and played the role McAlistar in Dead Poets Society. He was nominated for a Gemini Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series” for his work in the mini series The Sleep Room. He died of cancer.

Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release

A Great Big Thing (1968)

Twelve and a Half Cents (1977)

Wiseguy (TV-1987)
Termini Station (1989)
Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and Joanne Thatcher (TV-1989)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Bye Bye Blues (1989)

Angel Square (1990)
L’amérique en otage (TV-1991)
How the West Was Fun (TV-1994)
Spenser: The Judas Goat (TV-1994)
Hiroshima (TV-1995)
Handel’s Last Chance (TV-1996)
Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (TV-1996)
Sleeping Dogs Lie (1998)
Leonardo: A Dream of Flight (TV-1998)
The Sleep Room (1998)
Evidence of Blood (TV-1998)
Dinner at Fred`s (1999)

Dirty Pictures (2000)
The Day Reagan Was Shot (TV-2001)
Four Minutes (TV-2005)

TV Series – Cast:
Conspiracy of Silence (mini-series, 1991)
Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (mini-series, 1999)
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (mini-series, 2003)
Slings & Arrows (2003-2005, mini-series)

TV Series – Guest appearances:
Wiseguy (1987)
Street Legal (1988)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1989)

Beyond Reality (1993)
Road to Avonlea (1995)
Forever Knight (1996)
PSI Factor: Chronicals of the Paranormal (1997)
Wind at My Back (1997)
Black Harbour (1997)

Mutant X (2003)