JLPIIBAD, LLC

Originally from Aberdeen, Maryland, and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, J.Leon Pridgen II now resides in Mooresville, NC. His extraordinary journey spansfrom serving in the jungles of Panama with the elite 82nd Airborne Division toacting on Hollywood film sets.Leon’s film and television credits include starring alongside Halle Berry and OmarEpps in the iconic college football film The Program, appearing in the longrunning soap opera As The World Turns, and leading roles in BET projects such asThe First Noelle, Cruel Encounters, Route 187, and The Righteous Gemstones. Healso stars in the faith-based romantic comedy Heaven Sent, currently streaming onPureFlix and Prime.A passionate storyteller, Leon is the writer, producer, and sole performer of thepowerful one-man, two-act stage play Ben Davis – Watch Him Fly, which brings tolife the legacy of General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first commander of theTuskegee Airmen.In addition to his acting and theatrical work, Leon is a published author of threeacclaimed novels: Hidden Secrets, Hidden Lives and Color of Justice (bothreleased by Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster), and Unit 416(published by St. Martin’s Press). His literary works are represented by renownedagent Sara Camilli.He lives by the belief that everyone has a destiny rooted in greatness. Life bringschallenges—but with faith, resilience, and self-belief, success is always withinreach. As Leon often says:“Those who don’t believe in you will never believe in you—unless you firstbelieve in yourself.”And his motto?“Dream big, because you might just never want to wake up.”