Leonard Whiting (born June 30, 1950 in London, England) is a British actor who starred as Romeo in the 1968 Zeffirelli film version of Romeo and Juliet opposite Olivia Hussey's Juliet.
Whiting was born in the Wood Green area of London, England, the only son of Arthur Leonard Whiting and Peggy Joyce O'Sullivan. He has English, Irish, and some Gypsy ancestry. Whiting attended the St. Richard of Chichester School, Camden and graduated just a week or two before beginning work on Romeo and Juliet (1968). Whiting was spotted by an agent at a recording studio at the age of 12. After hearing him sing, the agent suggested he try out for Lionel Bart's Oliver! which constantly needed replacement for its child performers. Whiting played the Artful Dodger in the long-running London musical for 18 months, and for 13 months appeared in the National Theatre production of Congreve's "Love for Love", which toured Moscow and Berlin.
Director Franco Zeffirelli described his discovery, made from 300 youngsters auditioned during more than three months: "He has a magnificent face, gentle melancholy, sweet, the kind of idealistic young man Romeo ought to be."
Whiting has married twice, first time to fashion model Cathee Dahmen, and second time to South African Lynn Presser. He has two children: daughter Sarah by his first marriage. His second daughter is the theater director Charlotte Westenra from his relationship with Valerie Tobin.
