Biography
Leon Acord isn't a household name - but he's an example of an actor/writer who carved out a career on his own terms. He's balanced theater, indie film, writing, and personal authenticity - and he's written candidly about that journey.
Leon was born in Kokomo, Indiana on May 23 "the same year as one of the Kennedy assassinations--you guess which one!"
He grew up on several different farms in the area. Moving frequently led Leon to develop a fantasy life at an early age, and he acted in high-school and community-theatre productions throughout Indiana.
Leon moved to San Francisco in the late 1980s, studying his craft in earnest with Jean Shelton's Actors Lab, Cliff Osmond, Mark Monroe Studios, and Inner-life Acting Workshop. He appeared in several black-box theatre productions, and was cast in several indie features, such as "Housebound," "Metalman," "Orange Field" and "Roommates & Cafe" (a.k.a. "Coffee Mates"), and short films, including Christos Dimas' "Breath," which won "Best Short" honors at festivals around the globe, and "about dominance and submission," which won the Robert Bell Outstanding Achievement Award from SF State University.
His first break was playing "Devon" in "Some Prefer Cake," the comedy feature which was distributed theatrically in Great Britain, screened at over 25 film festivals worldwide, and is available on DVD from Wolfe Video.
Leon wrote, produced and starred in his one-man show "Last Sunday in June" at Theatre Rhinoceros. He also originated the lead role of "Chris" in Lou Reda's comedy smash "Happy Anniversary," which enjoyed an extended three-month run at Theatre Rhino before moving to Off-Broadway.
Leon continued to play a variety of roles in both film and theatre while in the Bay Area,including the award-winning short films "Breath" and "Foucault WHO?."
On stage, he won raves and delighted audiences in 2002 with his portrayal of British raconteur Quentin Crisp in Jeffrey Hartgraves' hit comedy "Carved in Stone" at Eureka Theatre (which Leon also co-produced).
He enjoyed a long, successful association with New Conservatory Theatre Center, starring in West Coast premieres of Jonathan Tollins' "The Last Sunday in June;" "Message to Michael," as the Narrator in "Dream Boy," and as half of the star-crossed couple of "Thief River." He worked with stage notables John Fisher & Ronnie Larsen in "A Few Gay Men."
In 2004, Leon moved to Los Angeles. That year, he made his LA stage debut as the down-and-out yet over-the-top poet "Harlequin" in "The Scheme of Things."
In 2009 he co-produced and recreated his role of Quentin Crisp in an LA production of "Carved in Stone" that ran over 12 weeks and garnered rave reviews.
In 2011, Leon created the streaming TV series 'Old Dogs & New Tricks,' an ensemble comedy which he also wrote, co-executive produced, and starred in as Nathan Adler. The series ran until 2016, and can be viewed on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
He continues to perform in independent features and short films, as well as many USC student shorts, most recently starring as "Dr. Cybil" in Morgan Montgomery's 2025 thesis film "Death Doula."
