Vitali was born in the UK and got his breakthrough in Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon” where he played Lord Bullingdon, son-in-law of Ryan O’Neal’s title character. Vitali became so fascinated by Kubrick and his filmmaking that he made an unusual decision: he gave up acting and became the famous and demanding director’s right-hand man for over two decades.
Although Vitali is often described as Kubrick’s “assistant”, Tony Zierra’s 2017 documentary film “Filmworker” shed new light on Vitali’s significant and little-discussed influence over productions such as “The Shining”, “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut”.
He worked on casting and coaching actors and that Vitali is referred to as “personal assistant to the director” on “The Shining” is only part of the story. It was Vitali who guided four-year-old Danny Lloyd who played Danny Torrance and Louise and Lisa Burns as the creepy Grady twins.
Leon Vitali was married to Swedish costume designer Kersti Vitali and is the father of actress Vera Vitali and director Max Vitali.