Will he never quite make a leading man? (6)
I believe the answer is:
daniel
'man?' is the definition.
(I know that Daniel is a soldier)
'will he never quite make a leading' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'he' could be 'danie' and 'danie' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'l' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for daniel that I've seen before include "Lions' den survivor" , "Make larger" , "Old Testament character found in a den of lions" , "-- Barenboim, -- Boone" , "- Defoe, English writer" .)