Rumpole of the Bailey interest in nineteenth-century anarchists, especially the Russian Peter Kropotkin from whom the title of the play was drawn. The character's name was later changed to Horace Rumpole when it was discovered that there was a real barrister called Horace Rumbold. The title of the play was briefly changed to "Jolly Old Jean Jacques Rousseau" before settling on the less esoteric "Rumpole of the Bailey". Mortimer was keen on Michael Hordern for the role of Rumpole. When Hordern proved unavailable, the part went to Australian-born actor Leo McKern. Mortimer was initially unenthusiastic about McKern's casting but changed his opinion upon seeing
James Leo Ryan (actor) James Leo Ryan (actor) James Leo Ryan , also known as Jimmy or Jim, is an American stage, film, and television actor. He is one of three children and an alumnus of Loy Norrix High School and Denison University. He was recently interviewed for the Inside Acting Podcast. Ryan has appeared as Marlon in the short film "The Ropes", as Yosef in film "Species III", and as a dancer in the 2000 film "Psycho Beach Party". In 2006, he appeared as a paralyzed man in the Hallmark Channel movie "Though None Go with Me", in the short film "Haunted Prison",