Leon Ford


Leon Ford is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television and theatre productions. He is best known for his roles in the television series The Cooks, Changi and the telemovie Stepfather of the Bride.

Early life

Ford attended Telopea Park School and Narrabundah College in Canberra, Australia.

Career

Film & television
Ford portrayed 1st Lieutenant Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones in the Emmy award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific, which follows the story of World War II Marines through different battles of the Pacific theater of war.
He has also appeared in many other television series and films including All Saints, East West 101 and McLeod's Daughters, the 2005 movie The Great Raid and voiced a character in the 2008 stop motion animated movie $9.99. He recently appeared in the joint BBC and Stan production Ten Pound Poms and Baz Luhrmann's feature film Elvis. On 9 September 2025, Ford was announced as creator and actor in ABC series Dog Park.
Stage
Stage roles include playing pious charlatan Tartuffe in the 2014 Bell Shakespeare version of Tartuffe, based on the French play originally written by Molière.
Directing/writing
In addition to acting, Ford is both a director and screenwriter. In 2010, Ford notably wrote and directed the movie Griff the Invisible, starring Ryan Kwanten as a man who is bullied by his coworkers during the day, but a superhero by night. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was well received by audiences and critics. Ford attended Binger Filmlab in 2008, where he developed short film The Mechanicals.
Author
Ford is also an accomplished author. In 2009, penned "What Doesn't Kill You", the story of a man waking up to find that, instead of the ideal life he'd been living, everything has gone horribly wrong overnight. He wakes up in the wrong house, his wife doesn't love him anymore, he no longer has a job, one of his friends betrayed him in the worst possible way and his car exploded.

Personal life

Ford first met his wife Alice Bell at the Old Fitzroy Hotel in 2006 while appearing in Josh Lawson’s play Shakespearealism. Alice wrote a part for him in Puberty Blues.
Ford moved from Sydney to Los Angeles in 2018 with his wife and their three children, in order for Alice to work on The Expats, a U.S. series she was the writer and creator of.

Filmography

Short film

Acting roles
YearTitleRole
2006The Last ChipCroupier Craig
2006GlitchNorton
2012JulianMr Braybon
2013Things We Do For LoveEvan

Feature film

Acting roles
YearTitleRole
2004Lost ThingsGary
2005The Great RaidAmerican POW at Palawan
2008$9.99Stanton
2010Beneath Hill 60Lieutenant Robert Clayton
2015Ruben GuthrieDimitri
2016The Light Between OceansFranz Johannes Roennfeldt
2020RamsDe Vries
2022ElvisTom Diskin

Television

Acting roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1996Water RatsFirst Probationer1 episode
2001/08All SaintsIan Neal / Patrick Foster2 episodes
2002Young LionsJosef Pozinak1 episode
2002McLeod's DaughtersMick Woodland1 episode
2002BackBernerBlair Fife1 episode
2004-05The CooksDishpig13 episodes
2005HexMax Risen2 episodes
2007East West 101John Duff1 episode
2009My PlaceVernon1 episode
2012Monday Bites
2013OffspringDean1 episode
2012-14Puberty BluesMr Candy8 episodes
2014ANZAC GirlsMajor John Prior3 episodes
2015House of HancockAlan Camp1 episode
2017-19The LetdownRuben11 episodes
2022God's Favourite IdiotReverend Milton Throp6 episodes
2023-25Ten Pound PomsBill Anderson9 episodes
2026Dog ParkRoland6 episodes

Miniseries
YearTitleRoleNotes
2001Changias Young Bill Dwyer
2006Tsunami: The AftermathJoe Meddler2 episodes
2010The Pacific1st Lt. Edward 'Hillbilly' Jones3 episodes
2014The MoodysGavin1 episode
2014Devil's PlaygroundBrother Warren
2015GallipoliCharles Bean

TV movies
YearTitleRole
2004Go BigLars Foster
2006Stepfather of the BrideLachlan
2008Emerald FallsCallum Peterson
2012The Great RaidAmerican POW at Palawan
2012MaboHenry Reynolds
2016Comedy Showroom: The LetdownRuben

Stage

Awards and nominations