NEXT BIGG THING

SAURA LIGHTFOOT-LEON IS RIDING A TORNADO.

My heart stopped many times,’ says Saura Lightfoot-Leon, thinking back to her Venice Film Festival bow in Luna Carmoon’s startling Hoard last year. Born in 1998, and raised in The Hague in the Netherlands, the Spanish-English actor deservedly got a ‘special mention’ from the jury for her stunning performance as Maria, an unruly fostered teenager dealing with the twin volcanic emotions of love and grief…

How was it working with Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn on such an intimate film?

He’s a wonderful person, wonderful actor. And we have this beautiful friendship… because we did this mad thing together. We’re both living in London. So having someone to support you and to be a helping hand, not only as an actor but as a friend, is really, really big. Especially in this industry.

Hoard is a strange film, in the best way. Did it feel strange when you were making it?

When we were filming it, it felt like there were little crumbs… like Hansel and Gretel. Every time I took a little crumb... part of the feast became alive. And for Maria, I think her journey… She’s not aware. That’s the whole beauty and the magic of it, and the madness of it. Because madness is not something you’re aware of as it’s happening. For her, I saw it as a spiral, a tornado that she enters.

You grew up in The Hague. How was that?

Sometimes sleepy, very safe. Green. Lots of people from different walks of life. Lots of cycling. It’s the Dutch culture, which is very hands-on, straightforward, no bullshit. It’s what it is. And that’s what I grew up in. I also grew up in rehearsal rooms, because of my parents, who were choreographers and dancers. So I travelled a lot with them.

You’re starring in upcoming period TV drama American Primeval. What can you say about it?

That’s another beast of a project! We had one month of cowboy camp. For someone who’s never ridden a horse in her life before, it was amazing!