Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson have heralded their collaborations with leading UK director, writer and actor David Leland who died on December 24, 2023 at the age of 82
Brosnan thanked the filmmaker, best known for directing Wish You Were Here and The Land Girls, for giving him his first professional acting role in Tennessee William’s stage production of The Red Devil Battery Sign.
“It was the thrill of my young lifetime to be cast as McCabe, working with David and Tennessee. David will forever be an essential part of my story and of all who knew and loved him,” the actor said.
Wish You Were Here, starring Emily Lloyd, debuted at Cannes in 1987, winning the Fipresci prize. Leland went on to win a best original screenplay Bafta in 1988 for the film. He was nominated in the same year and the same category for his original screenplay for Personal Services, directed by Terry Jones and starring Julie Walters.
Leland had been Bafta nominated the previous year in 1987 for his screenplay for Mona Lisa, co-written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson. Mona Lisa had also premiered at Cannes, going on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for best drama and an Oscar for best actor for Hoskins.
Also paying tribute to the filmmaker was Neeson, who starred in Leland’s 1990 sports drama The Big Man. “David was a dream to work with. He was a real collaborator; he genuinely loved and admired actors. We formed a close bond. I loved his mischievous sense of humour. You are always in my heart old friend. See you down the road,” said the actor in a statement.
Leland won an Emmy for directing an episode of HBO series Band Of Brothers while his other recent writing credits included Showtime series The Borgias, reuniting him with series creator Jordan.
“David Leland was an acerbic and gimlet-eyed part of the film-making world I encountered when I came to London in the eighties,” remembered Jordan. ”When every piece of work was “a searing indictment of Thatcherite Britain”. His masterpiece Made In Britain fitted that description and I worked with him on the script of Mona Lisa, which had a few more things on its mind. George Harrison, who produced that film, asked me and David to make a “searing indictment” of the Catholic Church, and when I came to make the TV series The Borgias, although George was long gone, I realised it fitted that description. I called David again. We had such fun with searing indictments of everything that came within the purview of those gimlet eyes. He will be terribly missed.”
Producer Margaret Matheson recalled Leland’s ability to “dig deep” to tell stories “with truth and humour”.
“David always found the funny side of things but not without an original perspective,” she said. ”His fundamental seriousness didn’t stop him spotting the ridiculous everywhere. The joyful sight of his bed draped in an Arsenal bedspread tells it all. Four decades ago, I was introduced to David by Alan Clarke who thought we’d get on, and we did. We made a plan to do something about education on television, but exactly what remained to be seen. We both had young children, so our interest was immediate. Over many a lunch and dinner, the conversation ranged far and wide. With typical forensic focus David visited schools of all kinds, people “educating otherwise” and people excluded altogether. The upshot was four films together titled Tales Out Of School. The scripts just appeared one after the other, ready to go, seen through his contrary, witty lens. He made a seminal disruptive contribution to the national debate on youth.
’We later collaborated on two films based on the life of Cynthia Payne so again there was exhaustive research. Even I found myself hanging out in Cynthia’s unique home comfort brothels. David and Cynthia formed a lifelong bond. She trusted him implicitly to show her view of the world.
Likewise, as a friend he was always there with a laugh and a smile, even if bemoaning the sometimes-short sightedness of the film and TV business, or his veg plot wasn’t performing as hoped.”
Editor Mick Audsley, who worked with Leland on Rhinom part of the ’Tales Out of School’ series addd: “David was an outstanding creator of film drama both sides of the camera, as an actor, writer, and director and all the encompassing arts and crafts those roles entail. His ability to unite those that worked for and with him was unique. He will be greatly missed.”
Michael Palin remembered a lifetime of friendship with Leland. “David has been a great and steadfast friend for most of my life,” said the UK writer, performer nad presenter. ”In the 1970’s he encouraged Terry Jones and myself to write two plays for the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. They were experimental and David admired us for pushing the boundaries. He remained a loyal and encouraging presence, and we remained serious admirers of his work, particularly his ground-breaking Made In Britain television series, in which he drew incredibly powerful performances out of young unknown actors like Tim Roth. David was not afraid to shock. His was a provocative and fearless voice which saw the role of writer and director to produce fresh, original, and often disturbing work.
He was also an accomplished actor and he and I were justly proud of his extraordinary performance as the football manager in the Ripping Yarn Golden Gordon. A long, slowly building rant which I’d written only the night before, was delivered in one glorious take, whilst taking his shorts off and jumping over a dry-stone wall. Life will never be quite the same without his wisdom, generosity, and humour. Throughout the 50 or more years we knew each other, he was a fine companion.”
Leland is survived by his wife, five children and six grandchildren.
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