Leon Ford

Leon Ford is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television and theatre productions. He is best known for his roles in the television series The Cooks, Changi and the telemovie Stepfather of the Bride.

Early life

Ford attended Telopea Park School and Narrabundah College in Canberra, Australia.

Career

Film & television

Ford portrayed 1st Lieutenant Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones in the Emmy award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific, which follows the story of World War II Marines through different battles of the Pacific theater of war.

He has also appeared in many other television series and films including All Saints, East West 101 and McLeod's Daughters, the 2005 movie The Great Raid and voiced a character in the 2008 stop motion animated movie $9.99. He recently appeared in the joint BBC and Stan production Ten Pound Poms and Baz Luhrmann's feature film Elvis. On 9 September 2025, Ford was announced as creator and actor in ABC series Dog Park.

Stage

Stage roles include playing pious charlatan Tartuffe in the 2014 Bell Shakespeare version of Tartuffe, based on the French play originally written by Molière.

Directing/writing

In addition to acting, Ford is both a director and screenwriter. In 2010, Ford notably wrote and directed the movie Griff the Invisible, starring Ryan Kwanten as a man who is bullied by his coworkers during the day, but a superhero by night. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it was well received by audiences and critics. Ford attended Binger Filmlab in 2008, where he developed short film The Mechanicals.

Author

Ford is also an accomplished author. In 2009, penned "What Doesn't Kill You", the story of a man waking up to find that, instead of the ideal life he'd been living, everything has gone horribly wrong overnight. He wakes up in the wrong house, his wife doesn't love him anymore, he no longer has a job, one of his friends betrayed him in the worst possible way and his car exploded.

Personal life

Ford first met his wife Alice Bell at the Old Fitzroy Hotel in 2006 while appearing in Josh Lawson's play Shakespearealism. Alice wrote a part for him in Puberty Blues.

Ford moved from Sydney to Los Angeles in 2018 with his wife and their three children, in order for Alice to work on The Expats, a U.S. series she was the writer and creator of (produced by Nicole Kidman's Blossom Films).

Filmography Short film Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor 1999 The Big Date 2005 The Mechanicals 2006 Glitch 2007 Katoomba 2016 Young Labor

Acting roles Year Title Role 2006 The Last Chip Croupier Craig Glitch Norton 2012 Julian Mr Braybon 2013 Things We Do For Love Evan

Feature film Year Title Director Writer 2010 Griff the Invisible 2023 The Portable Door

Acting roles Year Title Role 2004 Lost Things Gary 2005 The Great Raid American POW at Palawan 2008 $9.99 Stanton (voice) 2010 Beneath Hill 60 Lieutenant Robert Clayton 2015 Ruben Guthrie Dimitri 2016 The Light Between Oceans Franz Johannes Roennfeldt 2020 Rams De Vries 2022 Elvis Tom Diskin

Television Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2003 Life Support 4 episodes 2010–11 Rush 3 episodes 2012 Monday Bites House Husbands Season 1, episode 8 2012–17 Offspring 10 episodes 2015 No Activity 1 episode 2018 Squinters 6 episodes Wanted 1 episode 2019–20 Upright Also creator 8 episodes 2021–23 Love Me 4 episodes

Acting roles

Miniseries Year Title Role Notes 2001 Changi as Young Bill Dwyer 2006 Tsunami: The Aftermath Joe Meddler 2 episodes 2010 The Pacific 1st Lt. Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones 3 episodes 2014 The Moodys Gavin 1 episode Devil's Playground Brother Warren 2015 Gallipoli Charles Bean

TV movies Year Title Role 2004 Go Big Lars Foster 2006 Stepfather of the Bride Lachlan 2008 Emerald Falls Callum Peterson 2012 The Great Raid American POW at Palawan Mabo Henry Reynolds 2016 Comedy Showroom: The Letdown Ruben

Stage

Awards and nominations