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Leigh Lawson
Leigh Lawson
Born	21 July 1945 (age 79); Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, director, writer
Years active	1969–present
Spouse	Twiggy (m. 1988)
Partner	Hayley Mills (1975–1984)
Children	2

Allan Leigh Lawson (born 21 July 1945) is an English actor, director and writer.

Early life

Lawson was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He initially studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts^[1] before training further at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Lawson has acted in film and television since the early 1970s, and has directed plays in the West End and on Broadway. He has worked with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and with film directors such as Roman Polanski and Franco Zeffirelli. He has been quoted as saying that the only time in his career when he didn't feel he should be somewhere else doing something else was when he was with the RSC.^[2] Lawson's portrayals in films include Bernardo in Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) and Alec d'Urberville in Tess (1979). He played the leading role as Alan Lomax in the television drama series Travelling Man (1984–85), and guest starred in television series such as The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), Disraeli (1978), Feuer und Schwert - Die Legende von Tristan und Isolde (1982), The Ray Bradbury Theatre (1988) and Silent Witness (2005–2007). He also guested, with his wife Twiggy, playing themselves in an episode of the comedy series, Absolutely Fabulous (2001).

In 1999 Lawson co-wrote and directed the musical If Love Were All, which tells of the friendship between Gertrude Lawrence and Noël Coward. The Dream: An Actor's Story, a theatrical memoir about the day-to-day life of a working actor, was published in September 2009. (ISBN 978-1-84002-867-6)

Personal life

In 1976, Lawson and his first wife, Mondy, were divorced. He met the actress Hayley Mills in 1975, when they performed in London's West End in A Touch of Spring; the following year, they had a son, Jason.^[3] Lawson also served as a stepfather to Crispian Mills, Mills's son with director Roy Boulting. During that time, he appeared with Mills's father, John Mills, in the film The Devil's Advocate (1977). Lawson and Mills ended their relationship in the mid-1980s.

Lawson met the model Twiggy in 1984. In 1988, they both worked in the film Madame Sousatzka and were married on 23 September that year, in Tony Walton's back yard in Sag Harbor, Long Island.^[4] The couple reside in West London and also own a home in Southwold, Suffolk.^[5]

He adopted Twiggy's daughter, Carly, who took his surname.^[6] Lawson has played a large part in the lives of his children and of his nephew, Saul Dismont, who is the son of Lawson's sister and Bermuda politician Russell Dismont.^[7]

Partial filmography

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) - Bernardo
Ghost Story (1974) - Robert
QB VII (1974, TV mini-series) - Dix
Percy's Progress (1974) - Percy Edward Anthony
The God King (1974) - Kassapa
Love Among the Ruins (1975, TV movie) - Alfred Pratt
The Tiger Lily (1975) - Michael
The Duchess of Duke Street (1976, Episode: "For Love Or Money")
Space: 1999 (1976, Episode: "One Moment of Humanity")
The Devil's Advocate (1977) - Giacomo Nerone
Golden Rendezvous (1977) - Tony Cerdan
Tess (1979) - Alec d'Urberville
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980, TV movie) - Roger Bassington-ffrench
Hammer House of Horror (1980, Episode: "Charlie Boy") - Graham
Fire and Sword (1982) - Mark
Lace (1984, TV mini-series) - Count Charles de Chazalle
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984, Episode: "Black Carrion") - Paul Taylor
Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984) - Humphrey
Madame Sousatzka (1988) - Ronnie Blum
Out of Depth (2000) - Tate
Back to the Secret Garden (2000) - Sir Colin Craven
Being Julia (2004) - Archie Dexter
Casanova (2005) - Mother's Lover / Tito
Silence Becomes You (2005) - Father
Silent Witness: The Meaning of Death (2005) - Nikki's Father
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009, TV movie) - Rabbi Rozenfeld
The Red Tent (2014, TV mini-series) - Laban

Stage appearances

Ivan Kaliayev, The Price of Justice, Mermaid Theatre, London, (1972).
A Touch of Spring, with Hayley Mills, Comedy Theatre, London's West End, (1975–78).
Aubrey Tanqueray, The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, Royal National Theatre (1981).
Louis Dubedat, The Doctor's Dilemma, Greenwich Theatre, London, 1981
Amnon, Yonadab, directed by Peter Hall, Royal National Theatre (1985).
Antonio, The Merchant of Venice in London's West End and on Broadway (1989).
Oberon, A Midsummer Night's Dream, produced by Adrian Noble, Royal Shakespeare Company, (1990).
Loveless, The Relapse, Royal Shakespeare Company, (1996).
Marc, Art, London's West End and UK Tour, (2002).
Lloyd, Noises Off, London's West End and on Broadway (2003).
Death and the Maiden, King's Head Theatre, London (2004).
Nicholas Nickleby, Chichester Festival Theatre, (2006).
Shoreditch Madonna, with Francesca Annis, Soho Theatre, (2006).
Messerschmann, Ring Round the Moon, Playhouse Theatre, London, (2008)

Directed

If Love Were All, (1999), opened off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre with Twiggy as Gertrude Lawrence and Harry Groener as Noël Coward, written by Sheridan Morley & Leigh Lawson, directed by Leigh Lawson.^[8]
The Restaurant, New York
The Cherry Orchard, US^[9]
Death and the Maiden, King's Head Theatre, Islington, (2004)
Jack and the Beanstalk, Pantomime, Brighton Theatre Royal, (2005), starring Twiggy