The Leading Man

1996
15
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

Jon Bon Jovi, Anna Galiena, and Thandiwe Newton in The Leading Man (1996)

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Watch The Leading Man: Don't Try To Impress Him

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Drama Romance Thriller

A successful playwright falls in love with his new actress Hilary (Thandie Newton) and, in an attempt to leave his wife Elena (Anna Galiena) without incident, recruits a handsome Hollywood a... Read allA successful playwright falls in love with his new actress Hilary (Thandie Newton) and, in an attempt to leave his wife Elena (Anna Galiena) without incident, recruits a handsome Hollywood actor (Jon Bon Jovi) to seduce her.A successful playwright falls in love with his new actress Hilary (Thandie Newton) and, in an attempt to leave his wife Elena (Anna Galiena) without incident, recruits a handsome Hollywood actor (Jon Bon Jovi) to seduce her.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Clip 1:12

The Leading Man: Don't Try To Impress Him

Photos7

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Storyline

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Trivia
In a 2020 interview with Vulture, Thandiwe Newton expressed her regret having appeared in this film, which was directed by John Duigan, who had groomed and abused her during the making of Flirting (1991) and had bullied her into participating. During a scene where Newton was topless, Duigan told her that the camera was framed above her breasts, and Newton was mortified to later discover that was not the case.

Goofs
The exterior of the theatre in which the play is performed is obviously The Playhouse, Charing Cross, London but the interior is the Theatre Royal, Stratford, London.

Connections
Featured in The Movie Show: Episode dated 1 June 1997 (1997)

Soundtracks
Burning Down the House
Performed by Talking Heads
Composed by David Byrne (as Byrne), Chris Frantz (as Frantz), Tina Weymouth (as Weymouth) AND Jerry Harrison (as Harrison)

User reviews14

Featured review

6/10

Serial Seducer

The Leading Man cast Jon Bon Jovi as a charming seducer willing to help a friend for consideration. Bon Jovi was looking to spread his wings a little and try straight acting like Crosby and Sinatra did as the best examples of singers who expanded their careers.

In fact Bon Jovi is in London after suffering a discreet blacklist involving him bedding the wife of some studio executive. He's hoping to jumpstart his career again on the London stage. He's in a play that Lambert Wilson wrote, in fact in the title role of The Hit Man.

Wilson has his problems, he's falling in love with his leading lady Thandie Newton. No problem, Bon Jovi offers to nail Wilson's wife Anna Gallena for favors to be named later. It works like a charm.

I have to say that the climax which occurs at the premier of the play and the aftermath kind of fooled me. Which is the mark of a good film in my humble opinion. Bon Jovi did a good job in the lead and got good support from the other three in the foursided triangle. In fact he went above and beyond the call of duty.

Two others to note in the cast are Barry Humphries as the director and veteran actor David Warner as a veteran actor.

Looking at his credits I see Bon Jovi decided to concentrate on music, his career choice.