Published on August 30th, 2021 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

Portraying Art Through Emotions. Meet Leslie Durán, The Born Actor

Lights. Camera. Action!

The three magical words that every actor desire to listen to. Some take years of practice and learning to make their way to the screen, while others are just born with it. Leslie Durán, a versatile and talented actress, had found her passion, acting, at an early age. She was one of the blessed few who did not require much time to act; it came to her naturally. Starting at the tender age of four, Leslie has accomplished a lot over the years. Her acting skills and expressions have received praise and appreciation from many critiques worldwide.

Born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, on May 06, 1998, Leslie Durán Huerta found her calling while others her age were in kindergarten. She was born in a Mexican family and had one older sister and two younger ones. Durán was raised in Delavan, where she attended elementary school and finished high school. Leslie derived her inspiration to become an actress from Spanish soap operas airing in Telemundo and Univision. Although she was born and brought up in the States, she never let go of her Spanish descent and was proud of her native Spanish language. Durán’s parents always used Spanish while communicating within the household. It was not until eight where Leslie officially dominated the English language and became fluent. Speaking two different languages has given her an edge over actors and has added to her skillset. She considers herself lucky to be able to speak two languages fluently since this advantage helps her in her career to be able to play characters in both the English and Spanish film industries.

Finding her passion so early helped Leslie strengthened her acting skills. She self-learned as well as attended several acting schools to improve and add to her performance. Durán watched and many Spanish and American movies, TV shows, and soaps and picked up tips and tricks to bring out emotions and act naturally. Since she has been acting for years now, she has become a versatile actor who can seamlessly blend into any scene, portray any emotion, and perform brilliantly in any project.

Acting, The Love of Her Life

Passionate for acting, Leslie’s career kickstarted at the age of 11. She studied and perfected her craft for seven years by attending acting schools, workshops, and courses in Chicago. Due to her exceptional talent, Durán bagged a small role in a short film titled “Genesis,” released in 2018. Initially, she auditioned for the lead role, which required a higher age range that she did not qualify for. However, Leslie’s stellar performance captured the attention of the director; he then made a few amendments to the story and molded it in a way that includes Leslie in the film.

Durán’s appearance in the film opened many doors of opportunities for her. Although a small role, her powerful performance managed to garner the attention of many producers, filmmakers, and directors. A year later, Leslie obtained a supporting role in the film “Emilija,” released in 2019. She played the role of Thalia, the friend of a Serbian teen in her senior year of high school that struggled with a secret kept by her father. Leslie acted alongside Oscar Pavlo and Lara Vorkapic.

The Mexican-American actress and model had her first yet small appearance in the “The Blockade Runner” television series broadcasted in 2017. The same year she acted in “Imago,” a story that dealt with the subject of human trafficking. Having exposure to both American and Mexican media, she leveraged her descent and language skills to enter the Spanish film industry too. Durán is known for acting in the union of Cine Mexicano, a top-rated Spanish language movie network featuring Mexican movies. She has also appeared in the movie “15 Dias En La Sierra” directed by a popular icon in the Mexican cinema, Valentin Trujillo Jr. After the success of this movie, she obtained a role in the prominent Mexican movie titled “Vicio Capital” where she worked alongside Telemundo actor, Moises Cardez.

Over the years, Leslie Durán has significantly bloomed as an actress. She is always open to learning and takes every project as an opportunity to progress and perfect her craft. One of her recent projects is “Black,” released in 2021. The movie was written by Dan Johnson and starred Delilah Hefner, Chantelly Johnson, and Leslie.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.