Edgar Morais is an actor and filmmaker. He studied theater in Lisbon, Portugal and was a student of

Ivana Chubbuck Ivana Chubbuck is an American acting coach who heads a drama school in Los Angeles and also hosts acting workshops worldwide. She is the author of the best-selling book ''The Power of the Actor'', published by a division of Penguin Books Pen ...

in LA and

Susan Batson Susan Batson (born February 27, 1943, in Roxbury, Massachusetts) is an American producer, actress, author, acting coach, and a life member of the Actors Studio. Batson graduated from Girls Latin School and Emerson College. One of three sister ...

in NYC and has worked with globally celebrated filmmakers such as

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...

Victoria Mahoney Victoria Mahoney is an American actress and filmmaker. Her debut feature was 2011’s ''Yelling to the Sky''. Career Directing career Victoria Mahoney made her feature directing debut in 2011 with the semi-autobiographical film ''Yelling to ...

, Teresa Sutherland,

Tiago Guedes Tiago Guedes (born 20 June 1971) is a Portuguese film director and editor. Guedes' film credits include ''Entre os Dedos'', ''Blood Curse (film), Blood Curse'' and ''Acordar''. His television credits include ''The Domain (film), The Domain'', '' ...

and Rodrigo Areias.

Personal life

Morais was born in Portugal, to an antique restorer mother and a contractor father. He was raised in Lisbon and graduated from EPTC, one of Portugal's oldest and most prestigious acting schools. Edgar studied acting with

at her studio in Los Angeles and with

in NYC. Morais speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. Edgar Morais divides his time between Portugal and the USA.

Theater career

Morais made his stage debut in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' at the Mirita Casimiro Theater in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

in 2006. He has appeared in many theater productions since including Moliere's ''A Rehearsal at Versailles'',

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

's '' Lovers'',

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

's '' Deathwatch'' and Arnold Wesker's '' The Kitchen''. Morais is also known for his role as Lucius in the Portuguese Golden Globe winning adaptation of

's '' The Tragedy of Julius Caesar'', directed by

Luís Miguel Cintra Luís Miguel Valle Cintra (born 29 April 1949) is a Portuguese actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1970. In 1973 Cintra founded the Teatro da Cornucópia with Jorge Silva Melo. Selected filmography * ''A Ilha dos Amores'' (1982) ...

, at the São Luiz Municipal Theater in Lisbon.

Film acting career

In 2007, while still in theater school, Morais made his acting film debut in ''

From Now On From Now On may refer to: Film * ''From Now On'' (1920 film), an American film of 1920 * ''From Now On'' (film), a 2007 Portuguese film directed by Catarina Ruivo Music Albums * ''From Now On'' (Jaki Graham album) or the title song, 1989 * ''Fro ...

'' (winner of the Audience Award at Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival), directed by

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

's alumna

Catarina Ruivo Catarina Ruivo (b. Coimbra, 1971), Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialect ...

. While in Los Angeles, Edgar was cast in the hit NBC TV show ''

CTRL In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, performs a special operation (for example, ); similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself. ...

'', directed by Robert Kirbyson starring Steve Howey and Tony Hale, and in Q'orianka Kilcher's (

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

's ''

The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

'') directional debut film, '' Saudade''. Morais also appeared in '' Chasing Eagle Rock'' directed by Erick Avari, alongside

Beth Behrs Elizabeth Ann Behrs (born December 26, 1985) is an American actress known for her starring role as Caroline Channing in the CBS comedy series ''2 Broke Girls''. The show ran for six seasons and earned Behrs praise and nominations for the Teen an ...

and Michael Welch, in ''The Monogamy Experiment'' directed by

Amy Rider Amy Rider (born 1985) is a Japanese-American actress and film director. She has played roles in several films including ''Katrina'', '' Mega Shark vs. Kolossus'', and ''Broken Links''. She appeared in the television series '' 24: Conspiracy'' an ...

alongside

Shailene Woodley Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Born in San Bernardino, California, Woodley was raised in Simi Valley, and started modeling at the age of four and began acting professionally in minor television roles. She ...

and

Renee Olstead Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Still Standing'' and on the ABC Family drama ''The Secret Life of the American Teenag ...

and in ''Oh Gallow Lay'' directed by Julian Wayser which premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

in 2015 in the Horizons section. Morais can also be seen in Rome Film Festival's Best Picture Winner '' Marfa Girls 2018 sequel ''

Marfa Girl 2 ''Marfa Girl 2'' is a 2018 drama film written and directed by Larry Clark. A sequel to his 2012 film ''Marfa Girl'', the film follows the characters of that film, set in the West Texas town of Marfa. The film has been noted for Clark‘s obsession ...

'', directed by

, and in the forthcoming ''Chalk'' directed by

alongside

Shiloh Fernandez Shiloh Thomas Fernandez (born February 26, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Jericho (2006 TV series), Jericho'' and ''United States of Tara'', and the films ''Deadgirl (2008 film), Deadgirl'', ''Red ...

and Mirrah Folks. In 2019, Edgar was as one of only 10 actors selected to take part in "Passaporte", an initiative created by the Portuguese Academy of Cinema (''Academia Portuguesa de Cinema'') to present and promote Portuguese cinema talents to some of the most influential casting directors in the world. Edgar Morais can be next seen in the upcoming films ''A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On'' directed by

Gentian Koçi Gentian Koçi (born 1979) is an Albanian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing the films '' Daybreak'' and ''A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On'', both were selected as the Albanian entry in the Best Foreign La ...

, ''Restos'' (''Remains of the Wind'') directed by

which premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

as an Official Selection, ''Lovely, Dark and Deep'' directed by Teresa Sutherland and ''The Worst Man In London'' directed by Rodrigo Areias.

Directing career

''Heatstroke'' starring Leah Pipes, Michael Welch and Paul James Jordan marks Morais' narrative directorial debut. The short film had its world premiere in the official selection at IndieLisboa International Film Festival on May 4th 2019, where it competed for the Short Film Grand Prize. ''Heatstroke'' went on to screen in competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival,

Beverly Hills Film Festival The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a film festival in the United States founded in 2001 by independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The festival is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers a ...

, FEST New Directors New Films Festival and

Method Fest Independent Film Festival The Method Fest Independent Film Festival is an independent film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festiva ...

among others. The film won a CinEuphoria Award for "Best Screenplay" and "Top Short Film of the Year" and was subsequently broadcast nationally on RTP. On June 25th 2021, ''We Won't Forget'', the short film directed by Edgar Morais and

Lucas Elliot Eberl Luke Eberl (born March 29, 1986) is an American actor and director best known for his role as Birn in the 2001 film ''Planet of the Apes'' and for his film ''Choose Connor''. In 2008, Eberl was described by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the "10 ...

, had its world premiere in competition at

Palm Springs International ShortFest The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films (a.k.a. Palm Springs International ShortFest) held annually in Palm Springs, California is the largest film festival for short films in the United States.Whitney Able, who stars in the film as a woman whose frustrations boil to the surface while hosting a party for her friends, culminating in a public freakout that turns into collective hysteria. Edgar Morais also stars in the film alongside

John Patrick Amedori John Patrick Amedori is an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Gabe Mitchell in ''Dear White People''. Amedori appeared in the film ''The Vatican Tapes'' (2015). He has also appeared in a number of television shows, including '' ...

, Paul James,

Davida Williams Davida Brittany Williams (born September 5, 1986) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Claire Miller in ''Lizzie McGuire'' and Lauren in ''Raise Your Voice''. She is the daughter of the late David ...

and

Caitlyn Folley Caitlyn Folley, also known as Caker Folley, is an American actress known for her role as Stacy in ''The FP'' (2011). Career Following small roles in ''Speak (film), Speak'', ''Happy Endings (film), Happy Endings'', ''Beautiful Loser (film), Bea ...

, among others. The film screened in competition at the Hamptons International Film Festival,

Tirana International Film Festival The Tirana International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the major annual events taking place in Tirana each year. It was the first international cinema festival in Albania. This cultural event was created in 2003 and is currently the most importan ...

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...

Rooftop Films Rooftop Films is a non-profit film organization based in Gowanus, Brooklyn. It is best known for its Rooftop Films Summer Series, a film festival that runs from May through August every year, and consists of as many as 47 outdoor screenings of new ...

and IndieLisboa International Film Festival, among others. ''We Won't Forget'' won the Grand Jury Prize, as well as the award for Best Editing at Castrovillari Film Festival and the jury's Honorable Mention at FEST New Directors New Films Festival. ''We Won't Forget'' was nominated for Best Short Film at the 2022

Sophia Awards The Sophia Awards are the Portuguese cinematographic and film awards, assigned annually, which aim to recognize the best national productions. Its name was chosen in honor of the Portuguese poet and writer Sophia de Mello Breyner Andersen and al ...

(Portuguese Academy Award). Edgar is currently in production on his feature film directorial debut, the multi-year spanning ''You Above All'', which he also wrote and stars in, co-directing with

, with a cast that includes Olivia Thirlby,

Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series ''Wings'' which aired from April 1990 to May 1997 on NBC, as Sam Blue in '' Once and Again'', and ...

, Anabela Moreira,

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory'' ...

, Rita Blanco and

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' *John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *John ...

. The USA/Portugal co-production is expected to be released in 2023.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morais, Edgar 1989 births Living people Portuguese male film actors Portuguese male television actors Portuguese male stage actors People from Coimbra