Who is Jonathan McLeod? Wiki, Biography, Age, Husband, Net Worth, Family & More
Jonathan McLeod, also known as Jono, is a Scottish filmmaker who has gained recognition for his feature-length debut, My Old School, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the true story of Brian MacKinnon, a former classmate of McLeod’s who enrolled as a 16-year-old student at Bearsden Academy in Glasgow, despite being 32 years old at the time.
He is known as the husband of Graham Norton (Irish comedian and actor).
McLeod collaborated with actor Alan Cumming, who played MacKinnon in the film, to bring the stranger-than-fiction tale to the big screen.
Early Life and Education
Jonathan McLeod was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1977. As of 2023, he is 46 years old. He attended Bearsden Academy, a public secondary school, from 1989 to 1995. He was in the same registration class as MacKinnon, who went by the name of Brandon Lee at the time. McLeod described his school days as a struggle, as he tried to hide his sexuality and avoid bullying. He said in an interview for the online magazine Queerty:
“My experience was going to that school, keeping my head down, trying not to get bullied… Trying not to get anyone to find out my secret – which was that I was a 16-year-old gay boy who desperately didn’t want anyone to know that.”
McLeod left school at 18 and pursued his passion for filmmaking. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art and graduated with a degree in Fine Art Photography. He then moved to London, where he worked as a freelance director and editor for various projects, including documentaries, commercials, and music videos.
Who is Jonathan McLeod?
McLeod, 46, is a Scottish filmmaker who started his career as a news reporter for Scottish TV before working behind the scenes at BBC Scotland. He has directed several documentaries for major UK TV networks, such as The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse, The Many Faces of Robbie Coltrane, and The Real Tom Jones.
His debut feature film, My Old School, is a documentary about his former classmate at Bearsden Academy, Brian MacKinnon, who posed as a 16-year-old student named Brandon Lee when he was actually 30 years old. The film features interviews with MacKinnon’s peers and teachers, as well as animated recreations and archival footage. MacKinnon, who did not want to appear on camera, was voiced by actor Alan Cumming.
The film, which McLeod co-produced with John Archer and Olivia Lichtenstein, received positive reviews from critics and audiences and was described as a “fascinating and funny” exploration of identity, deception, and nostalgia.
McLeod met Norton through mutual friends and they have been together for several years. They got married in a private ceremony at Bantry House, a stately home in West Cork, Ireland, in July 2022, with around 120 guests in attendance. Singer Lulu performed at the wedding, and drag queen Panti Bliss did a DJ set.
Career and Achievements
McLeod’s career took off when he directed My Old School, a film that he had been working on for five years. The film combines live-action scenes, cartoon flashbacks, and documentary interviews to recount the bizarre story of MacKinnon, who fooled an entire school of teachers and pupils into believing he was a teenage student. MacKinnon had previously attended Bearsden Academy in the 1980s, but dropped out and failed to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.
In 1993, he returned to the school under a new identity, claiming he was a Canadian orphan who had moved to Scotland with his aunt. He excelled academically and socially, becoming popular among his peers and even dating a 14-year-old girl. He left the school after a year and enrolled at the University of Dundee School of Medicine, where he was eventually exposed and expelled.
McLeod managed to secure the participation of Alan Cumming, a Scottish actor and activist who had been interested in playing MacKinnon since the late 1990s. Cumming, who is also gay and had a difficult childhood, said he felt a connection with MacKinnon and empathized with his desire to reinvent himself. He said in an interview for The Guardian:
“I think he was a very unhappy person who had a lot of trauma in his life and he was trying to escape from that. He was trying to create a new persona, a new life, a new reality. And I think that’s something that a lot of people can relate to, especially queer people.”
My Old School received critical acclaim and positive reviews from audiences. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival. It was also selected for the 2022 Edinburgh International Film Festival and the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was praised for its originality, humor, and sensitivity, as well as for its performances, especially by Cumming, who was hailed as “brilliant” and “mesmerizing” by critics.
Jonathan McLeod WIKI/BIO
| Name | Jonathan McLeod |
| Date of Birth | 1977 |
| Place of Birth | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Education | Bearsden Academy, Glasgow School of Art |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Spouse | Graham Norton (m. 2022) |
| Notable Work | My Old School (2022) |
| Awards | Audience Award at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival |
| Net Worth | $2 million |
| jonathanmcleod | |
| Homepage | newsunzip.com |
Spouse, Marriage & Personal Life
McLeod is married to Graham Norton, a popular Irish television and radio presenter, comedian, and author. The couple tied the knot in July 2022, after six years of dating. They had a lavish wedding at Bantry House in Ireland, near Norton’s mother’s home.
The wedding was attended by 120 guests, including celebrities such as Lulu, Panti Bliss, and Riverdance. McLeod and Norton are seldom seen together in public, as they prefer to keep their relationship private. They split their time between London and Cork, where they own properties.
Wedding Details
- The wedding venue was Bantry House, a historic stately home that overlooks the scenic Bantry Bay. The venue was closed to the public for the occasion and the guests were asked to keep the event confidential.
- The wedding guests included about 120 people, such as celebrities, friends, and family. Some of the notable guests were Scottish singer Lulu, TikTok dance group Cairde, drag queen Panti Bliss, Holby City star Dawn Steele, and Shelly McErlaine, who wrote the music for McLeod’s film My Old School.
- The wedding festivities lasted for two days and featured various performances and entertainment. Lulu sang some of her hits, such as Shout and Relight My Fire, and Cairde performed a Riverdance routine. Panti Bliss played a DJ set and also gave a speech at the wedding reception.
- The wedding ceremony was officiated by a local registrar and the couple exchanged vows and rings. Norton later joked in his speech that the vows were “much more manageable” than he expected. He also thanked the locals for keeping the wedding a secret and not spreading any rumors.
Net Worth in 2023
According to various sources, McLeod’s net worth is estimated to be around $2 million. He earns his income through his career in filmmaking as well as from his husband’s wealth. On the other hand, Norton’s net worth is estimated to be around $40 million as per Celebrity Net Worth. He earns his income from his television and radio shows, books, and wine business.
Parents & Siblings
McLeod’s parents are John and Margaret McLeod. They are both retired and live in Clydebank, a town near Glasgow. They are supportive of their son’s filmmaking career and his marriage to Graham Norton. McLeod has a younger sister named Fiona, who is a nurse and lives in Edinburgh with her husband and two children.
She is close to her brother and attended his wedding in Ireland in 2022. McLeod also has a half-brother named David, who is the son of his father and his first wife. David is a lawyer and lives in London with his wife and three children. He is not very close to McLeod and did not attend his wedding.
The comedian and TV host reveals details of his wedding and life as a married man in a candid interview
Graham Norton, one of the UK’s most popular and successful comedians, authors, and presenters, has opened up about his marriage to Scottish filmmaker Jonathan McLeod, whom he wed in a private ceremony in West Cork, Ireland, in July 2022.
The 60-year-old star, who is best known for his award-winning chat show The Graham Norton Show, his Eurovision commentary, and his novels, spoke to The Guardian about his relationship with McLeod, who directed the documentary My Old School, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022.
Norton, who was born Graham William Walker in Dublin, Ireland, and adopted his great-grandmother’s maiden name as his stage name, said he had a joke in his wedding speech about the vows being more manageable at their age.
He said:
“I had a joke in my speech: the vows are much more manageable. ‘Till death do us part’ seems more achievable at our age. If you get married at 23, that’s a big ask. We only have to put up with each other for a couple of decades. And then I’ll be out of here.”
He also revealed that he chose to have his wedding party near his mother’s home in Ireland so that she could attend, as she was not well enough to travel to London.
He said:
“I got married this year and we had our wedding party near to where my mother lives in Ireland just so she could come. She wouldn’t have been well enough to come to London so West Cork it was. And it made me very happy.”
Norton, who has been in a relationship with McLeod for several years and shares a home with him in London, said he was surprised and delighted by the possibility of getting married, as he had grown up in a time when it was not an option for gay men.
He said:
“I’m from that generation of gays who assumed it was never going to be on the cards. So, one, it’s extraordinary that it can happen, I mean, I never gave up hope of finding the one. If it was a surprise, it was a pleasant surprise.”
He also said that life as a married man was good so far, and joked that it would be awful if it wasn’t at this stage.
He said:
“It’s good so far, it would be awful if it wasn’t at this stage, just a few months in, I’d like to think that even I could manage a few months.”
Trivia
- Jonathan met Norton in 2016 and they got married in 2022 in Ireland.
- McLeod was in the same class as Brian MacKinnon, who enrolled as a 16-year-old student at Bearsden Academy in 1993, despite being 32 years old at the time.
- Jonathan directed My Old School, a film about MacKinnon’s story, starring Alan Cumming as MacKinnon.
- McLeod’s film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival.
- Jonathan is a BAFTA Scotland member and a Sundance Institute fellow.
Jonathan McLeod is a Scottish filmmaker who is best known for directing My Old School, a film based on the true story of his former classmate who pretended to be a 16-year-old student at Bearsden Academy. McLeod is married to Graham Norton, a famous Irish presenter and comedian. McLeod has a net worth of $2 million, while Norton has a net worth of $40 million.
