A History Of Liverpool Thespians - Spencer Leigh

 

Spencer Leigh was born in Liverpool on the 16th of July 1963 and raised there, where he attended the King David High School, Childwall, a Jewish secondary school which also accepted non-Jewish pupils. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as Icky Higson in the Willy Russell series 'One Summer' (1983) which had a huge impact. The series came about when Yorkshire TV asked Willy Russell if he would like to write a follow-up to his play 'Daughters of Albion', Russell instead put forward the idea of 'One Summer', set during Thatcher's Britain. It tells the story of two teenage boys from Liverpool, Billy and Icky, who escape from the poverty and violence of their environment to try and find happiness in rural Wales. David Morrissey, Spencer Leigh and Ian Hart all made their screen debut in the series. Spencer says, "many years ago I was working with a director on a video with the band 'Oasis' and when the guys, the Gallagher brothers, met me, they couldn't believe it. Icky was their hero they told me and that 'One Summer' when they were growing up was the big TV show for them. And the same thing happened to me with Richard Ashcroft (of 'The Verve') we also did a video with him, and he said the absolute same thing. So I know it's had a big of impact on a lot of people." His co-star Dave Morrissey was there with him when they were involved in the Everyman Theatre. Spencer was part of the Youth Theatre and was in an Alan Bleadsdale play called 'No More Sitting on the Old School Bench' at the time.

He remembers being one minute a kid from Liverpool and then the next thing doing a five hour TV series. "You can't really forget that can you? It changes your life. One day you're just a kid in Liverpool waiting for the bus, the next day you're working for 6 months on a TV show and you're one of the lead characters meeting all these fantastic people for the first time. It's a life changer. At the time I was going to a local drama school, that wasn't a particularly good one. But I had been in the youth theatre and someone told me there was this TV show that they were going up for. I eventually heard about the audition and I was like, God I'd really like to go for that, what have I got to loose. And then I went to meet the director Gordon Flemyng who was a fantastic guy at the hotel and the casting director. I did several auditions and I had a great sense that I was going to get the part because I knew the glove fit. When I went there I felt fantastic. And after being there about 3 or 4 times I felt like if I didn't get the job I'd done great. It really helped me with my confidence, it really helped me in a big way. It was a fantastic feeling to go and meet these people and read this script and read words that you understood." After 'One Summer' came out Dave Morrissy went off to RADA, but Spencer decided that he wasn't going to go to drama college and instead went to London and got an agent. 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.

With Sean Bean in 'Caravaggio'

However Spencer 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. Derek had seen 'One Summer', met up with Spencer and asked him to be in 'Caravaggio'. Spencer became friends with Derek and every time he made a movie he'd put Spencer in it without asking him. His next appearance therefore was in 'Caravaggio' (1986), written and directed by Jarman and he starred alongside Sean Bean. There followed ''Smart Money' (1986) and 'Vardo' (1986), before appearing in the premiere episode of the TV detective drama 'Inspector Morse' (1986), where he played a university student involved in a murder investigation. The following year he was in 'First Sight', 'The Last of England' and in 3 episodes of 'Knights of God' (1987). Minor parts in 'Young Toscanini' (1988), 'War Requiem' (1989), 'Hannay' (1989), 'The Garden' (1990) followed before he was in 'Casualty' (1990). 

After appearing in the 1992 television series 'Between the Lines', he moved to the United States, married a girl who he'd know for a long time in England who was an American and that got him his green card. Then he met up with Jake Scott, the son of Ridley Scott the filmmaker, who was a director and who he knew from London and asked him for a job. Unable to get him an acting job, he got him some work in production and he worked there for a couple of years, commencing a secondary career directing TV commercials. It wouldn't be for another twenty years before he would partake in his next role, portraying Nunzio in the 2012 film 'Hitchcock'.  Spencer now lives in Brooklyn, New York and has worked with Criterion on documentary material for their Merchant Ivory Collection.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/05/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-connor.html