Leland Palmer is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He also appears in the prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

Leland (played by Ray Wise) is an attorney, with his primary client being local businessman Ben Horne. He is well-known and respected in the town of Twin Peaks. Together with his wife Sarah and his daughter Laura, his family seem to be the perfect family. When Laura is murdered, Leland’s psychological foundations begin to crumble. He experiences multiple nervous breakdowns and during Laura's funeral flings himself into her grave and must be pulled out. He remains unstable for some time.

When Jacques Renault is arrested as a suspect for the murder of Laura, Leland loses control and murders Jacques. After killing Jacques, Leland's hair suddenly turns white. Leland is arrested, but released (without bail) pending trial due to personal assurances made by Sheriff Harry S. Truman that he does not pose any danger to the community. Leland's behavior at times appears normal but he behaves manically happy at times before crashing into grief. The arrival of his niece, Madeleine Ferguson, who looks almost exactly like Laura (both roles are played by Sheryl Lee), is of great help to him in learning how to deal with his daughter’s death.

Raymond Nicolas "Ray" Wise (born August 20, 1947), an American actor. Some of his best-known roles include Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, henchman Leon C. Nash in RoboCop, and the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.

Wise was born in Akron, Ohio, and attended Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is of Romanian descent on his mother's side. He grew up in a religious family, during his childhood he went to a Romanian Baptist church in Akron, OH, and later he moved to a Methodist church.

Wise has two children with wife Kass McClaskey: a son, Gannon (born 1985), and a daughter, Kyna aka DJ Kyna (born 1987). Wise resides in Glendale, California.

Best known for his role as the murdered Laura Palmer's father Leland in Twin Peaks. In the late sixties and seventies, Wise played attorney Jamie Rollins on the soap opera, Love of Life. He played the character of Dr. Alec Holland in the 1982 film Swamp Thing, directed by Wes Craven and based upon the comic book series of the same name. Dr. Holland is the man who becomes the titular character after his lab is destroyed and he is left for dead. The actual Swamp Thing character was played by Dick Durock. In 1985, Wise played Sol Gann, father to Natty Gann in The Journey of Natty Gann, directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan. In 1987, wise played Tom Gunther, Catherine Chandler's boyfriend, in the pilot episode of "Beauty and the Beast" TV series. In addition to Twin Peaks, Wise has played several roles in science fiction. He played the harried dad in the horror film Dead End. He made an appearance as Liko in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Who Watches the Watchers", and later played Arturis in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Hope and Fear".