Her mother trained to be an actress, her father is the actor Andrew Woodall and her stepfather Alexander Morton, a regular secondary on British television with an extensive theater career.
In addition, she is a descendant of the silent film star Maxine Elliott, a celebrity of the time.
With these references within his own family and with that kind of pretty face that the industry adores, Leo Woodall (London, 27 years old) seemed destined to continue his family legacy.
However, he didn't always want to be an actor.
He changed his mind when he got hooked on
Skins
, the British teen fiction released in 2007 and turned into a cult series.
The character of James Cook, played by Jack O'Connell, captivated him and sparked his interest in acting.
The same thing happened to him with the charismatic Tommy Shelby from
Peaky Blinders
, whom he imitated whenever he could.
Inspired by these iconic characters on British television, at the age of 19 he enrolled in Dramatic Arts and, then, he chose to dedicate himself to the most recurrent profession in his family.
And at the moment he couldn't do better.
His name has multiplied in recent weeks thanks to the premiere of the romantic comedy
Always the Same Day
, the Netflix adaptation of the novel of the same name by David Nicholls.
Woodall thus debuts with her first leading role in this 14-episode series that has been among the most viewed content on the platform since its premiere on February 8.
Without a doubt, the visibility provided by the audiovisual giant, a source of potential superstars, will open doors for the Londoner.
Even so, the opportunity that changed his life came in 2022, when he was part of the cast of the second season of the successful series
The White Lotus
with a secondary but very juicy character for the plot.
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In 2021, Mike White, the creator and director of
The White Lotus
, was looking for an actor for one of the supporting roles in the second season.
Woodall sent a video with the proof - cocktail
in hand and with sunglasses on his head, like his character—and, shortly after, he received the call that catapulted his career: White wanted to see him.
Thus he achieved the role of Jack, a seductive young man from Essex who stars in one of the most unexpected and talked about plot twists in the HBO Max series.
“I was with my brother when it aired and I recorded his reaction because he had no idea what was going to happen.
Some people had noticed, but he hadn't.
I sent the video to Mike [White] because he asked me to.
"My brother was like, 'Oh God, what's happening?'" Woodall revealed to
The Hollywood Reporter
when referring to that scene.
The first season of the series had already been a success, so Woodall knew the phenomenon behind
The White Lotus.
That added some pressure, but it didn't take away from the fun of filming: “I fell in love with the series and only a couple of weeks after watching it I found out that I had an audition for the second season.
“I think the stars aligned and despite the pressure I thought I had to have as much fun as I could,” he explained in an interview on
Vulture
.
Leo Woodall hugs his girlfriend, actress Meghann Fahy, whom he met during the filming of the second season of 'The White Lotus', with the role that would change his life.
The image belongs to the party organized by HBO after the Emmy Awards, held on January 15, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Jeff Kravitz (FilmMagic for HBO & Max/Getty Images)
His works prior to
The White Lotus
can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Her debut took place in 2019 with a small role in
Holby City
, one of the BBC's longest-running drama series.
In 2021 she participated with another very secondary character in
Cherry
, by the Russo brothers, and appeared in two episodes of the series
Vampire Academy
.
That is to say, his career had barely begun when he arrived practically as a stranger to the filming of
The White Lotus in Sicily.
“It's a
star
show and I wasn't a star.
“It wasn't even someone who had done television before,” he opened up to
The Guardian
.
However, when he finished airing that second season he began to experience fame firsthand.
During the months of filming, Woodall strengthened his relationship with his co-star Meghann Fahy (Daphne Sullivan in fiction) to the point of becoming his partner.
Discreet as much as possible with their private life, they have not been able to prevent the always clever paparazzi from photographing them together.
It was not until this week that they made their relationship official on social networks, in a viral photo in which both appear from behind, and in which he comments: “Who is that?”
Even so, the British man does not feel “famous.”
“I have experienced crumbs of what really famous people experience,” he told the British newspaper, detailing how a photographer chased them to get the image confirming his relationship with Fahy.
“He rode his bicycle and hid from building to building.”
Of course, the British is no longer just another anonymous man.
Now, even other celebrities congratulate him on his work, like when Breaking Bad
actor
Aaron Paul approached him in a Los Angeles restaurant to declare himself a fan of his character, a completely “surreal” experience, he recently explained in
GQ
.
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The months of filming the series were entirely fruitful, in addition to supporting his career as an actor and meeting his current partner, Woodall began the auditions for
Always the Same Day
, a long and intense process: “They really put me to the test.
Several auditions, very hard scenes.
I flew over and over again from Italy, round after round.”
The effort was worth it and his work in the fiction, as well as that of his co-star Ambika Mod, is garnering good reviews, in addition to millions of views around the world.
British
Vogue
refers to him as “TV's New Leading Man,” although Woodall's rapid rise to success does not stop there.
The interpreter has yet to release two film projects: the independent science fiction film
Nomad
and
Nuremberg
, an adaptation of the book
The Nazi and the Psychiatrist
by Jack El-Hai, where he will share the screen with Russell Crowe and Rami Malek.
Woodall's first steps as an actor resemble those of an already established star, it is up to him to prove that it is not about beginner's luck.