Leon Ockenden

English actor, director and writer

Leon Ockenden

Ockenden in The Cosmonaut (2013)

Born|  (1978-08-16) 16 August 1978 (age 46)

Looe, Cornwall, England

Occupation| Actor
Years active| 2003–present
Spouse|

Vanessa Hehir

(m. 2010)​

Children| 1

Leon Ockenden (born 16 August 1978) is an English actor, director and writer who works in TV, film, theatre and radio. He grew up in the resort town of Looe, Cornwall.[1] He is best known for his role as Norman Jayden in Heavy Rain.

## Career

[edit]

Ockenden left school at the age of 16 to become a baker. After working in hotel kitchens in Sweden and Germany for one year, he returned to Britain to work as a pastry chef at the Hilton Hotel on London's Park Lane. He studied performing arts at the College of Further Education in Plymouth. He then received a scholarship from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he took a three-year acting course and graduated in 2003.[2][1]

Ockenden appeared in the British/Australian drama television series Tripping Over, playing a carpenter named Callum. He lent his voice and likeness to the 2010 video game Heavy Rain, in which he played Federal Bureau of Investigation profiler Norman Jayden. Before the show was cancelled in 2015, he was a regular of the British drama television series Waterloo Road, in which he played the role of Hector Reid, a jocular and sometimes vitriolic teacher of PE. After Waterloo Road, Ockenden has had other roles as a recurring cast member. One of these roles includes the character of Will Chatterton in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. He has also joined the presenting team on the chat show This Morning as one of its regular chefs for its cooking segment.

He also appeared in a television advert for Verisure in 2021.[3]

## Personal life

[edit]

Ockenden married actress Vanessa Hehir on 24 October 2010. They have a daughter. Ockenden is a fan of Liverpool[4]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Films

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2005  | Vegabond Shoes | Champagne waiter  | Short film
2009  | Mr. Right | Lawrence  |
2009  | Dread | Jimmy Cake  |
2011  | Baroque | Lover/fighter  | Short film
2011  | The Field of Vision | Cpt. Joe Temski  | Short film
2012  | Red Tails | Co-pilot  |
2013  | The Cosmonaut | Stas  |
2013  | Don't Miss the Cup | Peter  | Short film
2015  | Eliana | Dude  | Short film
2016  | Across the River | Cake shop owner  |
2020  | Ria | Robert  | Post-production
TBA  | The Reckoning | Morton  | Post-production

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2003  | Judge John Deed | Nick  | Episode: "Economic Imperative"
2003  | The Private Life of Samuel Pepys | Pembleton  | Television film
2004  | Midsomer Murders | Jamie Cruickshank  | Episode: "The Maid in Splendour"
2004  | Hawking | Rosencrantz  | Television film
2004  | Hustle | Simon  | Episode: "A Touch of Class"
2004  | Family Affairs | Sam Taylor | Series regular (May–December)
2005  | Totally Frank | Miles  | Episode: "Bed"
2006  | Tripping Over | Callum  | 6 episodes
2007–2008  | Heartbeat | Dr Chris Oakley  | 10 episodes
2008  | Heroes and Villains | Earl of Leicester | Episode: "Richard the Lionheart"
2009, 2013  | Casualty | Luke Riley/Adam Ridle  | 2 episodes
2010  | Secret Diary of a Call Girl | Connor  | Episode No. 3.7
2010  | Identity | DI Terry Eggleston  | Episode: "Chelsea Girl"
2010  | An Old Fashioned Christmas | Cameron  | Television film
2010  | New Tricks | Kevin Humphreys  | Episode: "Good Morning Lemmings"
2011  | The Runaway | Bruce  | Episode No. 1.4
2012  | Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story | Philip  | Television film
2012  | Secrets of the Dead | Vasily Arkhipov | Episode: "The Man Who Saved the World"
2013  | Open Desert [de] | David  | Television film
2013  | The Cosmonaut: Transmedia Experience | Stas  | Main cast (31 episodes)
2014  | Waterloo Road | Hector Reid  | 20 episodes
2015  | Mr Selfridge | Serge De Bolotoff  | 10 episodes
2015  | Supreme Tweeter | Tweeter  | Episode: "Follow the Leader"
2015  | The Coroner | Danny Ball  | Episode: "That's the Way to Do It"
2016  | This Morning | Guest Chef  | 10 Episodes, stood in for Phil Vickery
2016–2017  | Coronation Street | Will Chatterton | Recurring role; 40 episodes

### Video games

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role

|
|

2010  | Heavy Rain | Norman Jayden

### Music videos

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Artist  | Role

|
|
|

2005  | "Desire"  | Geri Halliwell | Boss

## Theatre

[edit]

* How the Other Half Loves (2017)
* Flare Path (2015)
* Muswell Hill (2012)
* Plague Over England (2008)
* Women Beware Women (2006)
* The Tempest (2006)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Crawford, Sue (30 March 2008). "Heartbeat Heart-throb Leon Ockenden Sets Pulses Racing". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
2. ^ "Interview – Leon Ockendon (Norman Jayden)". YouTube. 24 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
3. ^ "Verisure Advert in the AnswerBank: Media & TV".
4. ^ "'I was sick to my stomach,' says Vanessa Hehir on love scenes with her husband". Daily Express. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Leon Ockenden at IMDb

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