WATLING, LEONOR

(1975- )

After her roles forPedro Almodovar,Bigas Luna,Isabel Coixet, andVicente Aranda, Leonor Watling became one of the most indemand young actresses of recent times. She was the bilingual daughter of a British mother and an Andalusian father. Although dance was her first vocation, a knee injury prevented her from pursuing a career, and she went to London to train as an actress. On her return to Spain in the mid-1990s, she worked intelevisionsoaps and had her breakthrough as the protagonist of theCivil WardramaLa hora de los valientes(Time for the Brave, Antonio Mercero, 1998), a role for which she was nominated for aGoya.More remarkable parts followed, which played on her serene beauty and down to earth personality, including a dancer in Almodóvar'sHable con ella(Talk to Her, 2002) and a soulful waitress inCescGay's ensemble comedyEn la ciudad(In the City, 2003). Equally at home in comedy and drama, she was funny and touching inA mi madre le gustan las mujeres(My Mother Likes Women, Daniela Fejerman and Ines París, 2002), as a young woman who is shocked to discover her mother is a lesbian; and she displayed her sense of comic timing inJoaquínOristrell'sInconscientes(Unconscious, 2005). She also played more serious parts inManuelHuerga'sSalvador(2006) and Ray Loriga'sTeresa, cuerpo de cristo(Teresa, Body of Christ, 2007).