Oscar Leal finds momentum across 'Bump', 'Black Snow' and 'In Our ...

Oscar Leal moved from Colombia to Australia at 18 to study. In addition to his business degree at UNSW, he had hopes to pursue his long-held passion for acting. However, he kept coming up against the same advice: Leave Australia, as there is no work for actors with accents or diverse cultural backgrounds.

So leave Australia he did. Leal started flying in between Sydney and LA for training, learning from those such as Michael Woolson and Lesly Kahn. Eventually, he went to Mexico City and was cast in series La Pilotto in 2019.

However, Leal had always intended to make Australia his permanent home, and he headed back to focus on his conscious fashion label, Belance Tailors.

Just after he returned, COVID struck. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, he was able to secure local representation via Benchmark Creative and land his first Australian TV audition, for Stan/Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Bump.

The Latin American community in Australia is a vital part of Bump‘s fabric, incorporating Spanish-speaking characters and cultural themes. While Leal proved too old for the part he auditioned for in season one, he struck up a relationship with producer Claudia Karvan, leading to him landing the role of Hector across season two and three.

Leal was impressed by how authentic the show had strived to be, including employing University of Sydney Latin American Studies chair Dr Fernanda Peñaloza as a writer and consultant.

Oscar Leal as Hector and Paula Garcia as Rosa in ‘Bump’ season 3.

“I felt very seen and appreciated. They did an amazing job at not writing a character that felt stereotypical,” he tells IF.

“They wanted to make it as real as possible, and I wanted to make sure that the character wasn’t the typical Latin macho that you see in different shows.“

Bump was then quickly followed by the role of Alejandro in another Stan series, Goalpost Television’s Black Snow. Finding himself cast in another show so soon was a surprise, but Leal notes it was a thrill to work alongside Travis Fimmel and main co-star Lee Jones, as well as the actors from the South Sea Islander community.

“The energy in the show – I’ve never felt that before. The story was so emotional and deep. That was beautiful; an amazing story. It was a perfect place to meet people and to start building my community within the industry.”

While working on Black Snow, costume designer Vanessa Loh told Leal about Hoodlum Entertainment/ABC series In Our Blood. He was interested in the project immediately, with Loh helping secure an audition – he would go on to land the role of Gabe.

For Leal, three shows in quick succession has been a rewarding and surreal experience.

“I feel really proud of representing the Latin community. I’m also really proud of the shows that I’ve done and it makes me feel like I’m on the right path.

“I can recognise the effort of the writers, casting directors and producers that are pushing for true diversity in Australian TV. In the past I didn’t really think that I would have a healthy career in Australia. That perception changed these past two years and I really hope for more opportunities for actors with accents and different cultures – not just being portrayed as foreigners, but as an essential element of the current Australian landscape.”

Based on the Griffin Theatre play Never Let Me Go by Adriano Cappelleta, musical drama In Our Blood is inspired by Australia’s radical response to the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s.

It canvasses how those across politics, medicine and affected communities had to work together, in the face of moral crusaders and public panic, to stop the spread of the virus and save thousands of lives.

Leal’s Gabe is a “playful, loving and adventurous” young, gay Colombian man living in Sydney in the ’80s, and partner to Tim Draxl’s David.

Gabe has an emotional arc over the series as he deals with the reality of the HIV epidemic, with Leal hoping it will both teach younger viewers about this history and touch their hearts.

“Playing playing someone with such an emotional depth and journey was something very challenging, but it was something that I that I knew I could do my best to honour. This is something that I’ve been manifesting; to play roles that are challenging, with lots of layers and good arcs.”

Oscar Leal.

In addition to his work on screen, Leal has ambitions behind the camera and has found creative partners in Rahel Romahn and M.P. Willis, with whom he is working on two psychological horror feature scripts.

“During COVID I had lots of time to dive into creating concepts and I also found the right flow and partnerships to create stories that felt unique and tasteful.

“Acting can be very unstable. By staying busy and active, and having different outlets to express my creativity, it keeps me sane and motivated. It makes me feel like I don’t have to wait for the call, that I can create.

“Another reason [I gravitated behind the camera] is because being an actor with a diverse background, I feel a responsibility to create stories that are truthful to me and the people I represent. I really love connecting dots and finding solutions while I’m writing scripts with my friends.”

Leal has executive produced Flickerfest-selected short Blood Orange, and the upcoming short The Horn, both written and directed by Willis.

The latter, which the team are pitching to international festivals, follows an immigrant mother and her Australian-born daughter and their relationship.

The two feature scripts Willis, Romahn and Leal are working are How to See It, set in a dystopian Australia where nightmares are used as a recreational space, and Woman of Mist, about a Thai immigrant family and healing from intergenerational trauma.