Robert Sean Leonard Movies

Based on John Grisham's semi-autobiographical novel (which he regarded as his favorite because it "contains no lawyers"), A Painted House is set in the rural community of Oak Park, AR, in 1952. The story is told through the eyes of ten-year-old Luke Chandler (Logan Lerman), who lives and works on a rundown cotton farm with his parents (Robert Sean Leonard and Arija Bareikis) and grandparents (Scott Glenn and Melinda Dillon). It is Luke's personal mission to earn enough money picking cotton to be able to afford a new coat of paint for the Chandler house. But as harvest time approaches, a number of plot complications distance Luke from his goal, including failed crops, dangerous weather, periodic run-ins with a family of migrant workers, and -- this being a John Grisham story -- a murder to which Luke is the sole eyewitness. Filmed on location in the Arkansas town of Lepanto, A Painted House first aired April 27, 2003, as a CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dennis Weaver stars in this TV movie as a blue-collar family man who has earned his own keep for 40 years. He holds down a well-paying job at a Massachusetts factory--until one day, when he is summarily dismissed. The reason? Weaver has spent his adult life harboring a terrible secret: he has never learned to read or write. This compelling pro-literacy tract was first telecast as a Nabisco Showcase presentation on September 13, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robin Williams toned down his usually manic comic approach in this successful period drama. In 1959, the Welton Academy is a staid but well-respected prep school where education is a pragmatic and rather dull affair. Several of the students, however, have their thoughts on the learning process (and life itself) changed when a new teacher comes to the school. John Keating (Williams) is an unconventional educator who tears chapters of his textbooks and asks his students to stand on their desks to see the world from a new angle. Keating introduces his students to poetry, and his free-thinking attitude and the liberating philosophies of the authors he introduces to his class have a profound effect on his students, especially Todd (Ethan Hawke), who would like to be a writer; Neil ( Robert Sean Leonard), who dreams of being an actor, despite the objections of his father; Knox (Josh Charles), a hopeless romantic; Steven (Allelon Ruggiero), an intellectual who learns to use his heart as well as his head; Charlie (Gale Hansen), who begins to lose his blasé attitude; unconventional Gerard (James Waterston); and practical Richard (Dylan Kussman). Keating urges his students to seize the day and live their lives boldly; but when this philosophy leads to an unexpected tragedy, headmaster Mr. Nolan (Norman Lloyd) fires Keating, and his students leap to his defense. Dead Poets Society was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Williams; it won one, for Tom Schulman's original screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ground Control follows the reluctant return to work of Jack Harris (Kiefer Sutherland), a retired air traffic controller who is still haunted by his role in a probably unavoidable plane crash that has left him guilt-ridden and professionally gun shy. When a Phoenix airport fighting budget cutbacks calls him in for emergency duty, he begins experiencing flashbacks to the night of the disaster, all while trying desperately not to lose concentration even for the single moment it would take to cause a fresh disaster. He is supported by a seasoned supervisor (Bruce McGill) but challenged by a cocky young controller (Robert Sean Leonard) who not so privately questions his mettle. All must put aside their differences and band together when stormy weather and failing equipment puts another flight in harm's way. The tension mounts as a resourceful mechanic (Henry Winkler) tries to paste together the outdated circuitry and give the skeleton crew technical support beyond their professional cunning. Ground Control also stars Kristy Swanson and Kelly McGillis. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Season Two of House begins as the gloriously obnoxious and abrasive Dr. Gregory House, head nephrologist at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, stubbornly (and somewhat perversely) trying to save the life of a seriously ill death-row inmate over the objections of his colleagues. Perhaps House is being more contrary than usual because he doesn't like being forced to work in close quarters with his ex-girlfriend Stacy (Sela Ward). Elsewhere, House's colleague Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) is herself faced with a life-or-death crisis when evidence indicates that she is HIV-positive; House's superior-in-name-only Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) clashes with him over the treatment of a man who suffered an injury while working on Cuddy's roof; neurologist Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) briefly becomes House's boss, with both men pushing the envelope to see which one will go ballistic first; and after separating from his wife, oncologist James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) moves in with House--who despite his anger over having to share his space with anyone is reluctant to let Wilson leave because the guy is such a great cook! And in the two-part episode "Euphoria", House races against time to determine the malady that is causing a wounded policeman to literally laugh himself to death--things getting uncomfortably personal when Foreman begins showing the same symptions! The second ends when House is shot and wounded by the husband of a former patient--and those fans aware of the series' many references to Sherlock Holmes will get a kick out of the name of the assailant. Among the honors bestowed upon House during its second season on the air was the prestigious Peabody Award for "Best of Electronic Media." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During his fourth season, the dyspeptic medical detective (Hugh Laurie) is consumed by his search for a new team of associates to replace Foreman and Cameron (Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison), who quit on him, and Chase (Jesse Spencer), whom he fired. The winnowing process begins with an unmanageable 40 applicants, so House gives them numbers and behaves like Simon Cowell, MD: firing people arbitrarily (by where they are sitting, at one point) and ordering others to wash his car. Eventually, he narrows the field to Jeffrey Cole (Edi Gathegi), Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek), Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) and "Thirteen" (Olivia Wilde). He also hires a CIA doctor (Michael Michele) who doesn't want the job---only to fire her when she reconsiders. House dismisses Cole and Volakis (also known as "cutthroat bitch") as well, but she doesn't go away. Instead, she starts a relationship with Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard). Meanwhile, House's sexually tense love-hate relationship with Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) intensifies, and Foreman, Cameron and Chase all return to Princeton/Plainsboro, although only Foreman returns to House's team. And through it all, House continues to perform his unique brand of medicine. In one episode, he diagnoses a psychiatrist (Mira Sorvino) who is stranded in an Antarctic research station via Webcam. And in another he kidnaps an unbelieving soap star (Jason Lewis) after noticing disturbing symptoms while watching him on television. ~ Paul Droesch, All Movie Guide

Actor Christopher Reeve made his directorial debut with this dramatic made-for-cable movie about the effects of AIDS on a family. Robert Sean Leonard stars as Danny, a son who returns home to his parents to be with them in the final days of his battle against AIDS. The stress of the situation brings out the tensions and anxieties that the family members have been quietly bearing for years. Glenn Close stars as Danny's mother, who grows closer to her son through the tragedy. David Strathairn stars as his father, who struggles with the reality of his son's life and illness. Whoopi Goldberg and Bridget Fonda appear as his nurse and his sister, respectively. Beautifully filmed in Westchester, New York and sensitively directed, this film was nominated for four Emmy Awards. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Arthur Hiller directed this comedy/drama concerning three couples, thrown together by fate, who become friendly and help each other through their marriage difficulties. Claire (Cybill Shepherd) and Leo (Ron Silver) are a wealthy couple having trouble with a daughter from a previous marriage. John (Beau Bridges) and Iris (Stockard Channing) are a couple from the '60s who have weathered a relationship involving sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Chuck (Robert Sean Leonard), a securities analyst, and Nina (Mary Stuart Masterson), a child psychologist, are newlyweds needing guidance through the pitfalls of married life. The couples meet on a committee formed at a PTA meeting. They find they like each other and invite each other to dinner parties. As they meet and talk with one another, they reveal their problems and help each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Actor Kenneth Branagh made his directorial debut with a rousing screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V. Four years later, he returns to the bard's work with this lively version of one of Shakespeare's best comedies. Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), the Prince of Aragon, returns victorious from battle to the praises of the Governor of Messina, Leonato (Richard Briers). One of Don Pedro's bravest men, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), falls in love with Hero (Kate Beckinsale), Leonato's daughter, and they plan to marry. However, Don Pedro's devious half-brother Don John (Keanu Reeves) opposes the match, and he devises a plan to turn Hero against Claudio. Meanwhile, Benedict (Branagh), Don Pedro's second-in-command, detests Leonato's niece Beatrice (Emma Thompson), but Don Pedro cleverly brings them together by making each think that the other is secretly in love with them. Much Ado About Nothing also features Michael Keaton in a showy turn as Dogberry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mariette Hartley stars in this groundbreaking TV movie as Gail Springer, a widowed mother on the horns of an outwardly familiar romantic dilemma. Equally in love with two different people, Gail has the devil's own time choosing between them. What made this film unique (at least when it initially aired over the ABC network on April 7, 1986) is that one of Gail's amours is her late husband's business partner Ben Taylor (Barry Newman)--while the other is Gail's female best friend, Marjorie Lloyd (Lynn Redgrave). Impeccably tasteful in its treatment of a potential volatile subject, and refreshingly honest and uncompromising at its conclusion, My Two Loves was filmed on location in San Antonio, Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A large, dysfunctional family awaits word on a loved one's fate in this domestic drama starring Susan Sarandon as Mag Singer, mother of seven sons. One, Percival (Matt Keeslar) is serving in the Marine Corps, and when news comes that his barracks in the Middle East has been bombed by terrorists, Mag's family assembles at her home, anxious for more information. In the meantime, a series of old wounds are reopened and healed. The prodigious Singers include the father, Patrick (Sam Shepard), unhappily estranged from Mag and prone to bouts of hysterical blindness, and Alfred (Robert Sean Leonard), the responsible, sober eldest, who is engaged to divorced mother Cynthia (Marcia Gay Harden). There's also Simon (Nick Stahl), the intellectual Izzy (Sean Astin), two twins, and guilt-wracked Gideon (Jason London), a track star who outshone Percival athletically, inspiring the latter to join the military. While the Singers deal with minor crises like a neighbor's dog that repeatedly attacks Simon, Percival's fate looms, and Mag deals with her fear by cleaning out the ramshackle garage and drinking Tequila with her daughter-in-law to be, Cynthia, with whom she's surprised to find much in common. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide