Leonard "Oz" Osbourne

Infobox character
name = Leonard Jeffrey "Oz" Osbourne


caption =
first ="If I Were a Carpenter"
last = "Au Revoir: Part 2"
birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne
death_date =
occupation = Bricklayer
spouse = Marjorie Osbourne (divorced)
portrayer = Jimmy Nail

Leonard Jeffrey "Oz" Osbourne (b. circa 1957)Or|date=September 2007 was a fictional character from the television series "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet". Portrayed by Jimmy Nail, Oz featured in every series from 1983 to 2004.

Oz in the original series was a crude, tactless, abrasive, rough Geordie lout who showed no fidelity towards his wife Marjorie (described by Dennis as "a right ball-breaker") or concern for his son Rod. In fact he has an escapist attitude to life in general, always trying to avoid certain aspects of his life.

He had a passionate xenophobic attitude to Germans ("Erics"), (and later on to Turks ("Abduls") and Spaniards to a lesser extent). His major passions in life were drinking Newcastle Brown Ale and religiously supporting Newcastle United (and Sunderland in one episode). He frequently annoys his peers, in particular Dennis and Neville who have travelled with him from Newcastle. He gives pal Wayne a wide berth, because of his dislike for Cockneys and there is a lot of rivalry between the two of them.

In the second series, Oz has arrived in the country for the first time since the Germany years, having spent time reconstructing the devastation in the Falklands with Barry. After re-uniting with his pals they begin work for notorious Glaswegian criminal Ally Fraser. Oz develops an interest in Ally's girlfriend, Vicki, and towards the end of the series he wins the Spanish lottery and spends much of his new-found wealth on presents for his friends.

His wealth has been squandered by the beginning of the third series, in which he re-unites his five surviving pals at his phoney funeral. By this time the character has changed somewhat, becoming more mature and less violent, and is prepared to lead his friends off on new adventures overseas. His son has grown up and is gay, which at first horrifies Oz, who is notably homophobic. In series 4, he falls for a Cuban woman called Orfelia Ortez.

Oz has a passion for music. Originally he preferred his hero Merle Haggard, whom he met in the US, but branching out from country music, he later develops a fetish for Rock, especially Dire Straits, and AC/DC.