David Leland

David Leland was a British director, screenwriter and actor, born in Cambridge in 1941, who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and helped found Drama Centre London in 1963. After small acting parts, he began working with television director Alan Clarke in 1981 on Made in Britain, which won the Prix Italia. He co-wrote Mona Lisa with Neil Jordan, earning BAFTA, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America nominations, and wrote Personal Services for Terry Jones. His directorial debut, Wish You Were Here, won the FIPRESCI award at Cannes in 1987 and a BAFTA for best screenplay. Later work included the stage musical A Tribute to the Blues Brothers, The Land Girls, an episode of Band of Brothers and the Showtime series The Borgias, on which he was co-showrunner and executive producer. He also directed a documentary of the Concert for George that won a Grammy. He died in 2023.