Allen Leech

Known for his role as unlikely aristocrat Tom Branson on the hugely popular series "Downton Abbey" (ITV, 2010-2015), Allen Leech was born in Dublin. He was just 11 years old when he was cast as the Cowardly Lion in a school production of "The Wizard of Oz," and he knew immediately that his life's passion was to be an actor. Leech even won a small role in a professional production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" at Dublin's Gate Theatre starring Frances McDormand when he was only 17 years old. He soon enrolled at Trinity College where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master's degree in Drama and Theatre Studies, though he later admitted that his grades at the university often suffered, as he was frequently more focused on auditioning for and appearing in plays than he was on his studies, playing Willie in "The Queen and Peacock" at the Garter Lane Arts Centre and appearing as Young Charlie in Hugh Leonard's "Da" at the Abbey Theatre. Leech landed his first significant on-screen role in 2003 when he was cast in the independent comedy-drama "Cowboys & Angels" (2003). He opened himself up to a wider audience a few years later when he was cast in the recurring role of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa on the prestige period series "Rome" (BBC, 2005-2007). Period dramas would prove a successful path for Leech, as he played the doomed Frances Dereham in a three-episode arc on "The Tudors" (Showtime, 2007-2010) shortly before being cast on "Downton Abbey" in 2010. The show's massive success made him a famous name, and he stuck with the show until it eventually wrapped in 2015. In the meantime, Leech also appeared in other projects during the show's run, including the horror movie "In Fear" (2013) and the acclaimed historical drama "The Imitation Game" (2014). He went on to appear in the crime drama "The Hunter's Prayer" (2017) and celebrated a milestone in his personal life the following year, when he married actor Jessica Blair Herman. Next, Leech appeared in the wildly successful Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) playing agent Paul Prenter before reprising the role of Tom for the "Downton Abbey" (2019) movie, which proved to be a hit proportionate to the show's success. He quickly followed the project with a co-starring role opposite Sophia Bush in the TV movie thriller "Surveillance" (CBS, 2019).