Like mother, like daughter.
A 10-year-old Cloverdale girl recently won a prestigious Leo Award.
Samantha Alarcon de Pando won a Leo for “Best Voice Performance in an Animation Series.” Samantha voices the character Nina in the Netflix series Cocomelon Lane. (Leo Awards recognize achievement in the British Columbia Film & Television industry. Started in 1999, Leo Awards are put on by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia.)
Samantha is following in the footsteps of her famous mom, Cynthia de Pando, who won a pair of SOVAS Awards last year. The SOVAS Awards are the Oscars for voice artists. Mom Cynthia has been a professional voice artist for nearly 20 years.
Samantha said she was "pretty happy" just to be nominated for a Leo Award, but she was caught off guard at first.
“I was in my school gym when my mom picked me up and told me,” Samantha said. “She was like, ‘You got nominated!’ I’m like, ‘What?!’”
She didn’t expect to win it either, because she was competing against several adults.
When she did win, she was excited, even thought she didn't go to the awards ceremony.
"A friend of my mom's went and she took a video and sent it to us," Samantha explained. "So, basically, I got the news in the morning."
She's grateful to several people who helped her along the way, not least of which her mom, but also Adrienne Lindsay, her voice director, and both Atomic Cartoons and the Cocomelon Lane producers.
Cynthia said she was very excited when Samantha won.
“I’m very proud,” she added. “She has worked hard.”
Samantha has been working on Cocomelon Lane for two years. She’s been studying musical theatre since she was 7 and she’s also taken film and television acting courses sporadically.
Samanatha added the greatest amount of thanks is due to her mom.
“If I were to thank somebody, it would be my mom for driving me there,” she said. “It’s not the greatest thing to be doing something really fun at school and then having to go to a recording … unless it’s math class.”
Samantha was nominated for “Best Voice Performance Animation Series” along with: Cole Howard (LEGO Friends: The Next Chapter), Caitlyn Bairstow (Monster Loving Maniacs), Mackenzie Gray (Ninjago: Dragons Rising), Chris Nielsen (Psi Cops), and Ian Hanlin (Sonic Prime).
