Saura Lightfoot-Leon | |
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Born | 1998 (age 25–26) Leiden, Netherlands |
Nationality |
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Other names | Saura Lightfoot Leon |
Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Years active | 2020–present |
Saura Lightfoot-Leon (born 1998) is a Dutch-born English-Spanish actress. For her debut feature film Hoard (2023), [1] she received two British Independent Film Award nominations. She was named a 2024 Screen International Star of Tomorrow. [2]
Lightfoot-Leon was born in Leiden, Netherlands [3] to English father Paul Lightfoot and Spanish mother Sol León, both dancers and choreographers, and grew up in The Hague. [4] Lightfoot-Leon graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Acting. [5]
As a child, Lightfoot-Leon appeared in the projected background videos of her parents Paul Lightfoot and Sol León's ballet and contemporary dance productions, such as Silent Screen (2005) [6] and Stop-Motion (2014) at Lucent Danstheater in The Hague, [7] [8] which was also shown in 2018 at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. [9] Upon graduating from RADA in 2020, [10] Lightfoot-Leon featured in their final project with Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) She Remembers, [11] which was staged virtually. [12]
After making her television debut in an episode of the BBC One miniseries Life After Life in 2022, Lightfoot-Leon made her feature film debut as the lead Maria of Luna Carmoon's film Hoard , appearing alongside the likes of Joseph Quinn and Hayley Squires. For her performance in Hoard, Lightfoot-Leon was awarded a Special Jury Mention at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. [13] [14] [15] She was nominated for the 2024 British Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performance and jointly nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance with Quinn. Lightfoot-Leon has upcoming roles in the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air and the Netflix series American Primeval. [16]
† | Denotes titles that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Grapes | Rae | Short film |
2020 | Hard Pass | Short film | |
2023 | Hoard | Maria |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Life After Life | Hilde | 1 episode |
2024 | Masters of the Air | Louise | 2 episodes |
2025 | American Primeval † | Abish | |
2025 | The Agency † | In production | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Silent Screen | ||
2014 | Stop-Motion | Lucent Danstheater, The Hague | |
2020 | She Remembers | Nederlands Dans Theater (virtual) | |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Venice International Film Festival | Special Jury Mention | Hoard | Won | [17] |
2024 | British Independent Film Award | Best Joint Lead Performance | Pending | [18] | |
Breakthrough Performance | Pending | ||||
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