He began his acting career when Argentine producers found him, at the age of eleven, playing soccer on one of Copacabana's sidewalks. He was invited to join the cast of Tercer Mundo (1962), a Brazilian-Argentine co-production shot on Rio's hill slums, only released in 1973. Right after this role, he was invited to act in Luigi Pirandello's play "O Homem Besta e a Virtude", for which he received several theatrical revelation awards in 1962. This play led to several successful appearances as a child-actor on Grande Teatro Tupi (1951) over the next two years, launching his 55-year career on TV.

in 1965, he made his debut on Globo TV, Brazil's largest TV production company, in the telenovela Rua da Matriz (1965), the network's first serial drama production. Over the next few decades, among his most popular interpretations are 'Tavico' on Estúpido Cupido (1976) and 'Toninho Jiló' on Roque Santeiro (1985), the latter, perhaps his most memorable character.

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João Carlos Barroso

Actor