Leonard Donato
- Actor
- Stunts
Leo Donato (Born Leonardo Di Pierri in New York) is an accomplished
voice over talent and actor.
Donato was raised in Little Italy, New York. As a young boy he spent his free time running numbers for the mobsters on the street. His parents, both Italian Immigrants worked hard to give him and his two siblings a better life. His mother Gilda Carmella Padrevita Di Pierri worked at a local factory while his father, Bernardo Di Pierri (once a stowaway to America) worked many tedious, tireless hours as a grave digger.
Their work paid off as eventually Donato moved to a better neighborhood and went to a private Episcopalian High School with an amazing curriculum. His parents thought college was the most important thing for their son, giving him the chance that they did not get. It was sometime before then that he saw a movie called East of Eden with James Dean. He watched that film countless times. After attending The University of Hartford Connecticut and majoring in Psychology, Donato headed back to New York to pursue his dream. At twenty-two he had the kind of thirst for the theatre that would eventually pay off.
Seen in an Off Broadway play, he was approached by an agent and hence began his career as an American Theatre Actor and Television Actor. He studied under Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Susan Baton. In between plays he was cast in the television soap opera One Life to Live and shortly thereafter he was also cast in All My Children and General Hospital. Leo decided to move to Los Angeles permanently in 1989 to pursue roles in television and film.
He landed his first lead role in a television series in 1989 when he was cast as the lead in Joe Bash.
He has guest starred on, to name a few, LA Law, NYPD Blue, Matlock, and several Television Movies of the week including Wolf, directed by Rod Holcom. He worked determinedly for years before meeting voice coach, Maurice Tobias. After studying under her for a few years, Leo began putting his attention into voice overs with the same tenacity that started him in New York just after college.
Donato was raised in Little Italy, New York. As a young boy he spent his free time running numbers for the mobsters on the street. His parents, both Italian Immigrants worked hard to give him and his two siblings a better life. His mother Gilda Carmella Padrevita Di Pierri worked at a local factory while his father, Bernardo Di Pierri (once a stowaway to America) worked many tedious, tireless hours as a grave digger.
Their work paid off as eventually Donato moved to a better neighborhood and went to a private Episcopalian High School with an amazing curriculum. His parents thought college was the most important thing for their son, giving him the chance that they did not get. It was sometime before then that he saw a movie called East of Eden with James Dean. He watched that film countless times. After attending The University of Hartford Connecticut and majoring in Psychology, Donato headed back to New York to pursue his dream. At twenty-two he had the kind of thirst for the theatre that would eventually pay off.
Seen in an Off Broadway play, he was approached by an agent and hence began his career as an American Theatre Actor and Television Actor. He studied under Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Susan Baton. In between plays he was cast in the television soap opera One Life to Live and shortly thereafter he was also cast in All My Children and General Hospital. Leo decided to move to Los Angeles permanently in 1989 to pursue roles in television and film.
He landed his first lead role in a television series in 1989 when he was cast as the lead in Joe Bash.
He has guest starred on, to name a few, LA Law, NYPD Blue, Matlock, and several Television Movies of the week including Wolf, directed by Rod Holcom. He worked determinedly for years before meeting voice coach, Maurice Tobias. After studying under her for a few years, Leo began putting his attention into voice overs with the same tenacity that started him in New York just after college.
