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Of course, it's not my birthday today. Nor does the date denote any actual milestone of/in my life. But this is a date that I have been privately celebrating as a sort of special day for many years now.
Robert Sean Leonard, the offbeat, self-effacing, camera-shy, award-winning American actor, was born in 1969 today. Known for a lot of good, meaningfully meaty, unconventional cinema and more for his old-school, authentic theatre. Also known for portraying the oncologist Dr. James Wilson in the long-running TV series 'House M. D.', along with so many other major and minor appearances in so many movies/shows/plays.
BUT, best known for immortalising Neil Perry, 'the' – and not 'a' – 17-year-old suicidal schoolboy with a signature smile in 'Dead Poets Society', 'the' – and not 'a' – cult classic of 37 years ago. For the diehard devotee of 'Dead Poets Society' that I am, 'DPS' is a personal religion and Neil Perry is a personal god. And it was this man – RSL – who had played this god as a 20-year-old way back in 1989. The boy died at 17, but the man is 57 years old today.
Happy birthday, RSL! Long live Neil Perry!