Leslie Nielsen is an actor and comedian.

He studied at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before going to the United States.

Initially Nielsen was a serious dramatic actor, appearing in such 1950s films as the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet or as the ship's captain in 1972's The Poseidon Adventure. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s he was a staple television guest star, appearing countless times as a doctor, lawyer, or police official, and even in his own brief series The Bold Ones. With his serious demeanor and serious silver-haired appearance, he immediately lent gravitas to any drama he was in.

It was this image that was comedically reversed in the 1980 film comedy Airplane!, so effectively that his career suddenly became one of starring in a succession of broad, kitchen sink comedies. These included Police Squad! and the subsequent The Naked Gun series and a large number of other spoofs and comedies. His movies have sent up disaster movies, hospital dramas, vampire and horror movies, action blockbusters, etc.

His brother, Erik Nielsen, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. The sibling relationship serves as the premise of an HBO satirical documentary entitled The Canadian Conspiracy in which Leslie Nielsen appears, along with other prominent Canadian born media personalities.

Leslie Nielsen has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd, and has been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.