The Transformation Of Leo Woodall
There's no question that Leo Woodall's star is on the rise. Born in London in 1996, Woodall doesn't have many screen credits under his belt. Nevertheless, he's made a big impact with the few roles he has taken.
Woodall's big break came early in his career when he landed a high-profile role in the critically acclaimed HBO hit "The White Lotus," placing him squarely on Hollywood's radar. In fact, no one is more amazed at how his career has skyrocketed than Woodall himself. "It shouldn't really have happened for me at that point," he reflected in an interview with The Guardian. "'White Lotus is a star-studded show and I was not a star." That's certainly changed — he followed up that attention-grabbing role by starring in Netflix's "One Day," a major hit that catapulted him to an even higher tier of stardom.
The actor's future is surely bright, and fans are anticipating even greater success to come. Until then, take a look at his journey thus far, and experience the transformation of Leo Woodall.
He comes from a family of actors
For Leo Woodall, pursuing a career in acting was a bit like falling into the family business. As he explained in an interview with W Magazine, he was raised in a family of actors — his mother and father, in fact, met in acting school. His father, Andrew Woodall, is a professional actor onscreen and on stage, with theater roles including the title character in a 2017 London production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" and TV credits including "Endeavour" and "The Couple Next Door." He's also appeared in films, most notably "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story." In addition, Leo's grandfather was an actor, as is his stepfather, Alexander Morton. Morton's screen credits have included the U.K. television series "Monarch of the Glen," "Luther," and "Taggart."
Leo's familial connection with acting actually goes back even further than that. "I have a great, great, great, great grandmother named Maxine Elliott and she had her own theater off-Broadway in New York," he told W Magazine. As revealed by the outlet, Elliott's theater was the only one in the U.S. to be run by a woman at the time. In 1909, The New York Times reported on Elliott's friendship with King Edward VIII, who famously abdicated the throne of England. In addition to being a theater actor, Elliott starred in silent movies, appearing in a handful of films between 1913 and 1919.
He didn't consider acting until he saw Peaky Blinders
Despite growing up surrounded by actors, Leo Woodall never envisioned that he'd become an actor himself. In fact, his early career goals were more physically oriented. "I wanted to be a PE teacher or a stuntman," he told W Magazine. His attitude changed, however, when he watched the period crime drama "Peaky Blinders," in which actor Cillian Murphy played the iron-tough leader of a vicious street gang. "For some reason, it changed my mind," he revealed.
Given his family's history, it would be easy to assume that Woodall's family would have welcomed him into the acting fold with open arms. However, Woodall told the Daily Mail that his father discouraged it, continually giving him one piece of career advice: "Whatever you do, don't be a f***ing actor."
"I was really scared to tell him, and he also got really nervous," Woodall told W Magazine of the moment he sat his father down to break the news of his career decision. "He thought I was going to say I was ill or I'd gotten into bad trouble or something," said Woodall, remembering that his father was more relieved than anything else. "He said, 'Why did you do that to me? Why did you build up this suspense? Just to tell me you wanted to do what I knew at some point you'd want to do?'" Woodall recalled.
His early roles weren't all that memorable
Leo Woodall pursued drama at Arts Educational School in Cheswick, graduating in 2019 with a BA in acting. He then began the life of a professional actor in his native London, going on audition after audition. It didn't take him long to land a role. After his first TV spot in the British series "Holby City," he appeared in two episodes of the series "Vampire Academy."
He felt his big break was at hand when he was cast in "Cherry," a dark drama for Apple TV+ headlined by "Spider-Man" star Tom Holland. However, Woodall's performance barely made it into the film, with most of what he'd shot relegated to the cutting room floor. "It was [a] tiny role," he told W Magazine, revealing, "I had a cough in a spit in Cherry."
That was followed by a role in the Prime Video series "Citadel," an action-packed espionage thriller starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. That role not only raised his profile but proved to be a financial godsend. "That came at a point where I wasn't really working and my tax bill had just come in as well."
He fell in love with The White Lotus before discovering he'd been invited to audition
During the 2021 holiday season, Leo Woodhall had time on his hands after getting sick. "I'd gotten COVID on set, so I spent Christmas in a hotel room and my dad told me to watch ['The White Lotus],'" he told W Magazine. "I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of it, but I quickly fell completely in love with it." After he finished binge-watching the first season, he caught up on his emails — only to discover one from his agent containing an opportunity to audition for the second season of the show he'd just watched.
He auditioned and landed the role, cast as Jack, a character not what he seems to be. At the start, he begins a holiday romance with Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), assistant to wealthy Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), before far darker motives emerge. Much like its first, the second season of "The White Lotus" became a pop culture phenomenon, going on to receive a staggering 23 Emmy nominations.
Woodall wound up receiving more attention for his role as Jack than any other character he'd played. "I had a really fun role in the show. And the show — it was so lovely that so many people were watching it and loving it. And I was very proud to be a part of that," he told People. "But I also maintained a level of anonymity, which I was really holding onto."
A British reality TV star helped him nail the Essex accent for The White Lotus
Among the more distinctive aspects of Leo Woodall's character in "The White Lotus" is his British accent — technically, as the Brits would describe it, an Essex accent, an evolved version of the iconic working-class Cockney dialect. As Woodall told GQ, when he first read for the role, all he had to go on was the script in which Jack is introduced. "There was a tagline in the breakdown of the character that was like, 'Guy from Essex, is a magnetic person who causes some trouble in the hotel.' I wish I could paraphrase it better than that," he recalled.
To get himself in tune with the character, Woodall watched videos of British reality TV star Joey Essex to nail both the accent and the attitude. "[While filming] they all had no idea what I was saying half the time," he added. "All the Americans in the cast, Mike [White, the showrunner], the Italians. No one really knew what I was saying."
Thanks to the success of "The White Lotus" Season 2, Woodall became an instant celebrity — something on which he hadn't banked. "That was fun," he told British Vogue. "Although [fans] were probably disappointed when they heard my real non-Essex accent."
He found love on the set of The White Lotus
Fame and acclaim weren't the only things that Leo Woodhall took from his experience on "The White Lotus." It was while filming the show in Sicily that he met co-star Meghann Fahy. He first hinted that the two were an item when he shared photos of himself with Fahy — and his "White Lotus" co-stars (but mainly Fahy) — on Instagram, taken on the set in September 2022. "That's amore," he wrote in the caption, with Fahy commenting in response, "I love you! I love these! I love you!" (via People). Woodall replied to the comment, writing, "Love you right back." A few months later, Fahy shared an array of photos of herself and Woodall, as well as other "White Lotus" co-stars, to Instagram.
When asked about their rumored relationship, the two initially played coy. When Fahy appeared on "Watch What Happens Live," a member of the viewing audience asked if they were dating. '"Oh, I don't kiss and tell," she said before saying they were friends. After that, however, the pair were spotted kissing in New York City and getting cozy at an Emmys afterparty. While they hadn't officially confirmed their relationship, neither made any attempts to hide it. "I'm a lucky boy," Woodall told British Vogue in November 2023. When asked by the publication whether he was a good boyfriend, he responded, "You'll have to ask Meghann."
In February 2024, Fahy posted a photo of the two on Instagram, walking arm in arm.
Leo Woodall breathed 'a huge sigh of relief' when he got the part in One Day
Before the second season of "The White Lotus" even debuted, Leo Woodall had been cast in another Netflix series. This time, he wasn't a supporting character in a large ensemble cast but one of two main stars. As Deadline reported in June 2022, he'd been cast as Dexter Mayhew in "One Day," starring opposite Ambika Mod (who'd been a standout in British medical drama "This Is Going to Hurt") as Emma Morley.
Based on the bestselling novel by David Nicholls, which had been previously adapted into a 2011 movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, the series had a unique premise: Following an intense night together on the date of their college graduation at the University of Edinburgh, viewers received a snapshot of their lives on each anniversary of that same date as the two move in and out of each other's lives over the course of 20 years.
Landing the role of Dex was no mean feat, with Woodall put through multiple rounds of rigorous auditions. "I remember when I did get it, I wasn't elated or even smiling," Woodall recalled in an interview with The Face. "I remember literally just breathing a huge sigh of relief. And I laid on the floor and was just like: thank f*** for that! Because it was such a tough process."
The film was a Netflix mega-hit
When "One Day" finally made its premiere on Netflix in February 2024, it was unlikely that Leo Woodall expected the rapturous reception it would receive. As TheWrap reported, "One Day" immediately shot to the No. 3 spot in Netflix's list of English-language TV shows, viewed over 5 million times. That viewership just kept growing, with "One Day" being watched more than any other series during the week of February 12, garnering 9.9 million total views. As the Daily Mail reported, that number grew to 15.2 million within the 11 days following its premiere.
Among the millions of viewers reduced to tears by the emotional story that unfolded in "One Day" was Kim Kardashian, who took to Instagram Stories to recommend the show to her gazillions of followers. "Kinda slow but worth sticking through ... if I want a good cry," she wrote (via Capital).
Ultimately, the same elements that made "One Day" so popular with viewers are what attracted Woodall to the project in the first place. "It's just a beautiful, beautiful story, and it has this legacy already," he told Netflix's Tudum. "Both characters are so well-formed. There's a huge [amount] of joyfulness."
One Day catapulted Leo Woodall to even bigger stardom, but he doesn't think of himself as famous
While there's no doubt that Leo Woodall enjoyed the experience of making "One Day," he was also ready to view the character in the rearview mirror when it was all over. "I love Dexter, but I felt like I gave a lot of myself to really honor his story," Woodall told Harper's Bazaar. "And it was all the things — it was fun, it was filling, it was heartbreaking. So with everything done and dusted, I think me and him can amicably part ways as distant friends."
In an interview with Elle, Woodall explained that the burst of fame he'd experienced after "The White Lotus" had prepared him for the next level of celebrity that followed his role in "One Day." "I think some of the changes, maybe, since 'The White Lotus' ... when people are excited to meet someone off of the show that they love, there's an instant connection and you don't have to try as hard," he said.
Even though his star has risen considerably, Woodall doesn't consider himself to be "famous." "I've experienced crumbs of what famous people experience," he told The Guardian, insisting he's trying not to let his stardom go to his head — because if it did, he joked, "Oh, I'd be an unbearable f***er."
He and his fashion have evolved
While Fans of Leo Woodall have watched him act in "The White Lotus, "One Day," and other projects, he's also offered them a glimpse into his personal life via his Instagram account. While he hasn't been particularly prolific at posting, Woodall's Instagram feed offers a fascinating timeline of his career as it evolved. Woodall's first post, in fact, dates back to 2017, when he was just 20 years old. His early posts are typical of someone his age, featuring fun with friends, another with his brother and their mom, and a 2018 acting headshot.
As his career began heating up, Woodall's social media reflected that — such as a 2019 post featuring a photo taken on the set of the film "Nomad" during production in Chile, and another of him in costume for the role. The account took a big step toward Hollywood in early 2022, when he posted the Variety report on his "White Lotus" casting, and later that year to announce his casting in "One Day."
Another thing that Woodall's Instagram followers may have noticed is that his style game has become heightened over the years. As he told People, he's always been a tracksuit-and-sneakers kind of guy who emphasized comfort over fashion — until attending red carpet events forced him to focus on fashion. "And I'm slowly getting more used to it and getting more into it I guess," he said.
He's got big plans for the future
After the success of "One Day," the sky's the limit for Leo Woodall. An anticipated upcoming project starring the actor is the sci-fi film "Nomad," which has been in the works since 2019. One big challenge for the film's director, Taron Lexton, was capturing a solar eclipse in a scene, with the actors and crew having just one shot to get it right.
As for what Woodall would like to do in the future, he told W Magazine he'd enjoy working with Stanley Tucci, whom he met briefly while filming "Citadel" but didn't actually get to work with, and director Christopher Nolan. "Now that I get asked this question, I should probably think of an answer," he quipped.
Another upcoming project is "Nuremberg," the historical drama in which he'll share the screen with an A-list cast including Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, and Michael Shannon, and he's also signed on to a conspiracy thriller for Apple TV+, "Prime Target." Beyond that, he hasn't revealed any long-range plans, apparently preferring to go with the flow and let things play out as they do. "One of the exciting parts about being an actor, is you don't really know what's coming next," he told Harper's Bazaar.