David Leland Dies: ‘Wish You Were Here’ Director & ‘The Borgias’ Co-Showrunner Was 82

Jesse Whittock
·3 min read
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British director and actor David Leland has died at 82, according to his long-time agency, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates

The theater, film and TV star passed away on Christmas Eve (December 24), surrounded by his family.

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Leland’s career spanned over five decades. He is known for writing two films about British suburban madam Cynthia Payne, the BAFTA-nominated Personal Services in 1987 and the Cannes Film Festival hit Wish You Were Here.

The former was directed by Terry Jones and starred Julie Walters, while Leland directed the latter himself, with Emily Lloyd starring.

Leland won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for Wish You Were Here and the film won the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes.

He is also noted for serving as co-showrunner of Showtime series The Borgias and for giving Pierce Brosnan his first stage opportunity in the British premiere of Tennessee Williams’ The Red Devil Battery Sign at The Round House, which Leland directed.

“David Leland holds a mighty place in my heart,” said Brosnan in a tribute. “I was just out of Drama Centre where David was also an alumni. 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.”

Leland initially trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was part of a group of teachers and students who broke away to form the Drama Centre London, and gained several credits before moving into stage management and direction at the Crucible Theatre. Here he worked with future Monty Python stars Michael Palin and Jones, and was to direct late British comedian Victoria Wood’s first play, Talent.

He later became a screenwriter for film and TV, on the likes of Alan Clarke’s Made in Britain (1982), Mike Newell’s Birth of a Nation (1983) and Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986), the latter of which won Bob Hoskins a BAFTA and received Oscars, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Award nominations.

Leland went on to direct films such as the Liam Neeson-starrer The Big Man and Land Girls and directed the stage musical A Tribute to the Blues Brothers, which played in the West End and then toured across the UK and Australia for 10 years.

On the TV side, he directed an Emmy-winning episode of HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and became a director and writer on Showtime period drama The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons. He returned as joint showrunner for the second season.

Leland was a close friend of Beatles star George Harrison and worked as director on the guitarist’s 1988 film Checking Out and as director on several Traveling Wilbur’s music videos. Following Harrison’s death, he directed cinematic doc Concert For George in 2003, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall and featured the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and many others. The doc won a Grammy.

Tim Roth, who starred in Made in Britain, said: “David was there at the very beginning of this crazy adventure. He changed my life, and I love him for it. I’ll keep him with me always.”

“David was a dream to work with,” said Neeson, who starred in The Big Man for Leland. “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.”

Long-time friend and early collaborator Gilliam added: “The loss of David is very sad. As a friend, and as a writer/director, he was always solidly grounded… invariably sensitive and ruthlessly honest. His 1987 film, Wish You Were Here, is still one of my all-time favourite British films.”

Leland is survived by his wife, four daughters, son and six grandchildren.

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