Zen Ledden

Australian actor Zen Ledden was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He is the son of Megan (Wallace), who works in natural healing and wellness and David John Ledden, who worked in production at Lighthouse (State Theatre Company of South Australia). He is of Scottish, German (mother) Irish and English (father) descent. As a child, his parents took him to the theatre on weekends which fed his imagination. Before becoming an actor, he had considered being an archaeologist and a marine biologist. Zen attended Glenunga International High School where his interest in theatre grew, playing Peppino Priore in Eduardo De Fillipo's Saturday, Sunday, Monday. After finishing his SACE with high marks in drama, he auditioned for The Centre for Performing Arts (now Adelaide College of The Arts) and was enrolled in the acting class of 1999. After a full year of studies, it was a suggestion from his friend and mentor, the great Australian Shakespearean actor, Bille Brown (1952-2013) to attend Zen Zen Zo's Japanese physical theatre intensive over the summer of 2000 in Brisbane. This became a defining moment in his career trajectory. On his return to Adelaide he left his acting studies after being asked to join The Yashchin Ensemble where he worked with Israeli director and actor Netta Yashchin, touring the production Mnemosyne to the Melbourne Fringe Festival. He worked with other local companies at this time, playing Matt of The Mint in The Adelaide University Theatre Guild's production of The Threepenny Opera and Constable Neville Ross for The Bakehouse Theatre's The Removalists. He performed in The Weimar Room on Hindley Street, seductively singing Cole Porter's 'Find me a Primitive Man' heavily kajaled and dressed as a Sheikh and also sang the memorable Haimsohn-Miller duet Choo Choo Honeymoon with actor and writer Anna Lindner. Moving to Melbourne he worked in regular play readings of new works for Melbourne Writers Theatre at The Carlton Courthouse and with The Australian Shakespeare Company playing Planchet in The Three Musketeers (2003). He got his break in television on Stingers (2004) playing Mark Robinson, and started appearing regularly in other guest roles. He performed with Magnormos Oz Made Musicals in Dutch Courage (2004) and A Bunch of Ratbags (production and cast recording 2005). He landed a guest role playing Kevin Casey on Neighbours (2007) opposite Nikki Whelan as her ex-boyfriend, with Rowena Wallace as his mother. Returning to Adelaide to shoot on McLeod's Daughters (2007) he re-established a connection to his hometown. Marrying Italian radio producer Stefano Pratola in 2018, he is now based in Adelaide.