Born in Miranda do Douro, Portugal, to a Portuguese mother and Spanish father. From a very young age, he has felt a strong inclination for design and devoted himself to painting at the age of 15. By age 17, he had settled into the city of Oporto, where he studied design for 3 years. At 20 years of age, he moved to Madrid where he completed a Course in Film Directing at the TAI School in the early 90s. Hardly 26 years of age, he returns to Portugal and directs his first feature film, "A Sombra dos Abutres". With his second film "Zona J", he succeeded in making one of the biggest hits in Portuguese film: In 1998 it was the biggest box office success in Portugal and the 4th biggest in Portuguese film history. In 2001, he directed the large scale production "A Selva" in the Brazilian Amazon, which was also a huge success in 2002. "A shot in the dark" was released in 2005 and in 2007 he directed "The Trial". In October 2008 premiered "The Art of Stealing" and starts to shoot 2 TV movies in co-production with TV3(Spain) and TV Galicia(Spain) "Connection". Stopline films, Leonel's film production company is involved in more then a dozen international projects. Red Brazil is presently being filmed in Rio de Janeiro and its one of the biggest Portuguese co-production to date, involving Portugal, Brazil, France and Canada. With two major stars leading the cast, Stellan Skarsgard and Joaquim de Almeida. "The Last Animal" Leonel's next feature is being prepared and once again, a co-production between Portugal, Brazil and US (RCR Media Group). Leonel also directs commercials over the year, and his part of a team of young and seasoned directors, who make Stopline Films one of the leading production houses in Portugal, both for film and commercials.
Has a daughter with ex-partner 'Marta Leite de Castro' named Emília, born in 2006.