Leon
Biography
Credited simply as Leon, this American actor and singer got his start in film during the early 1980s. Born in New York City in 1962, he took early parts in All the Right Moves (1983) and The Flamingo Kid (1984), then appeared in Band of the Hand and in Dennis Hopper's gang film Colors. He became best known as J.T. Matthews in The Five Heartbeats (1991), Derice Bannock in Cool Runnings (1993), Shep in Above the Rim (1994), and David Ruffin in the NBC miniseries The Temptations (1998). His turn as Little Richard in a 2000 NBC biography earned an Emmy nomination, and he went on to play Jefferson Keane on HBO's Oz and Lawrence Hill on Resurrection Blvd. He hosted his own late-night BET show, headlined three national theater tours, and fronts the band Leon and the Peoples.
64years old
Turns 65 on March 8in 147 days
- Born New York City
- Star sign: PiscesThe sign runs February 19 to March 20
- Also credited as Leon Preston Robinson
Movie Career
- Films
- 19
- Career span
- 39 years1983 to 2022
First and latest
Photos
Share
Did you know?!
Behind the camera
Leon took both acting and producing duties on The Price of Kissing, a romantic drama from 1997, and TV star Pauley Perrette appeared with him in it.
Beyond film
Leon sings lead and writes songs for Leon and the Peoples. Their first CD, The Road Less Traveled, brought him an International Reggae and World Music Award nomination in 2007.
Beyond film
Leon has headlined three national tours in theater. These included Friends and Lovers in 2005, based on Eric Jerome Dickey's New York Times bestselling book, with sold-out shows at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre and NYC's Beacon Theatre.
A change of course
Leon hosted a late-night talk show of his own called The L-Bow Room, which aired on BET, though his time as host was brief.
Leon movies on Netflix
A Day to Dieas Pettis
Time for Us to Come Home for Christmasas Jasper
I Really Hate My Exas Sean
Buffalo Soldiersas Stoney
Batsas Jimmy Sands
Friends & Loversas Manny
The Temptationsas David Ruffin
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Coloredas Uncle Melvin
Waiting to Exhaleas Russell
Above the Rimas Shep
Cliffhangeras Kynette
Cool Runningsas Derice Bannock
The Five Heartbeatsas J.T.
The Lawless Landas Road Kill
Band of the Handas Moss
Streetwalkin'as Jason
Sole Survivoras Gang Leader
The Flamingo Kidas Fortune Smith
All the Right Movesas Shadow
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Leon shares two films with Troy Byer, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.








Films together
Troy Byer2 films together, 1991 to 2015
Troy Byer's page I Really Hate My Ex2015IMDb rating 6.5Leon as SeanByer as Tanya
The Five Heartbeats1991IMDb rating 7.6Leon as J.T.Byer as Baby Doll
Bruce Willis1 film together, 2022
Bruce Willis's page A Day to Die2022IMDb rating 3.5Leon as PettisWillis as Alston
Laurence Fishburne1 film together, 1986
Laurence Fishburne's page Band of the Hand1986IMDb rating 6.2Leon as MossFishburne as Cream
Ed Harris1 film together, 2001
Ed Harris's page Buffalo Soldiers2001IMDb rating 6.7Leon as StoneyHarris as Colonel Berman
Lacey Chabert1 film together, 2020
Lacey Chabert's page Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas2020IMDb rating 7.0Leon as JasperChabert as Sarah Thomas
Sylvester Stallone1 film together, 1993
Sylvester Stallone's page Cliffhanger1993IMDb rating 6.5Leon as KynetteStallone as Gabe Walker
Renny HarlinDirector, 1 film, 1993
All films by Renny Harlin Cliffhanger1993IMDb rating 6.5Leon as Kynette
Jon TurteltaubDirector, 1 film, 1993
All films by Jon Turteltaub Cool Runnings1993IMDb rating 7.0Leon as Derice Bannock
Gregor JordanDirector, 1 film, 2001
All films by Gregor Jordan Buffalo Soldiers2001IMDb rating 6.7Leon as Stoney
Box office
What Leon's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$526 million
9 of the 19 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 19 films: 9 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.
- 9Worldwide figure
- 4US gross only
- 3Never in cinemas
- 3Figure not found
Top grosser

Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$255M48.4% of the total
- 2$155M29.4% of the total
- 3$81M15.5% of the total
- 4$17M3.3% of the total
- 5$10M1.9% of the total
- 6$4.9M0.9% of the total
- 7$2.3M0.4% of the total
- 8$400K0.1% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.












