Rafael Morais is an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He studied theater in Lisbon, Portugal and at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles. Rafael Morais has worked with globally celebrated filmmakers such as

Nick Hamm Nick Hamm is a film, television, and theater director and producer born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He won a BAFTA for his drama ''The Harmfulness of Tobacco'' starring Edward Fox. Hamm's most recent films, ''The Journey'' starring Timothy S ...

Marco Martins Marco Martins (born 1972) is a Portuguese Film and Theatre director, best known for his 2005 film ''Alice'', which premiered at Cannes and won the Best Picture Award at the Directors' Fortnight. Biography In 1994 Marco Martins graduated from L ...

, Luis Prieto,

João Canijo João Canijo (born 1957) is a Portuguese film director. His film '' Get a Life'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. His 2011 film ''Blood of My Blood'' was selected as the Portuguese entry for the Bes ...

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'', '' ...

, among others.

Personal life

Morais was born in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

to an antique restorer mother and a contractor father. He was raised 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 ...

and graduated from EPTC, one of the most prestigious acting schools in Portugal, followed by a scholarship by the Actors Guild to study at the renowned

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

in Los Angeles. Morais speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. Morais divides his time between

and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Theater career

Morais has appeared in many theater productions such as

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

Phaedra's Love ''Phaedra's Love'' is a play by British playwright Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1996 at London's Gate Theatre, directed by the author. The play is a modern adaptation of Seneca's ''Phaedra''. The play explores the brutal nature of love, ...

at the Mirita Casimiro Theather; "Music Around Circles" by

; "The Constitution" by Mickael de Oliveira at the MiMoDa Studios in Los Angeles;

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

's ''

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...

''; "The Party", an original production of Nature Theater of Oklahoma and "Man to Man" by Manfred Karge, an Arena Ensemble Production.

Film career

Rafael Morais had his breakout role in

' controversial film "

How to Draw a Perfect Circle ''How to Draw a Perfect Circle'' (Portuguese: ''Como Desenhar um Círculo Perfeito'') is a 2009 Portuguese drama film directed by Marco Martins and starring Rafael Morais, Daniel Duval, Joana de Verona, Beatriz Batarda, and Albano Jeronimo. Its ...

" (Portugal's official submission to the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

and winner of the Best Ensemble Acting Award at the

Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival The Festival do Rio is an international film festival in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-mo ...

). Some of Rafael's other notable work includes the critically acclaimed film "

Blood of My Blood "Blood of My Blood" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 56th overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Jack Bender. Bran Stark and Meera Reed are rescu ...

" (Portuguese entry for the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2012 in film, films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...

) by acclaimed director Joao Canijo. "

" was the official selection for festivals such as:

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fun ...

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

, and many others. The film received the FIPRESCI Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and a Special Mention at the

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...

; "

Doomed Love ''Doomed Love'' is a Point-and-click adventure game, point-and-click visual novel released on Itch.io on June 11, 2021, that serves as an unofficial adaptation of the 1993 video game Doom (1993 video game), ''Doom'' (created by John Carmack, Joh ...

" (

Locarno International 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, sh ...

's official selection); "Joshua Tree, 1951" (

;

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

; the two hit

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series "

Glória (2021 TV series) ''Glória'' is a Portuguese historical thriller drama television series. It was released on 5 November 2021 and is the first Netflix production originating in Portugal. It tells the story of a young spy operating in Cold-War Portugal, amid the i ...

" and " White Lines", created by

Álex Pina Alejandro "Álex" Pina Calafi (born 22 June 1967) is a Spanish television producer, writer, and director, known for the crime drama '' Money Heist''. Previous shows include '' Vis a vis'', ''El embarcadero'', and ''Los hombres de Paco''. His new ...

Money Heist ''Money Heist'' ( es, La casa de papel, link=no, , ) is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina. The series traces two long-prepared heists led by the Professor (Álvaro Morte), one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and ...

"). In 2013, Rafael Morais wrote, directed and starred in "You Are The Blood" (IndieLisboa International Film Festival’s official selection and NewFilmMakers Film Festival main competition). Still this year, Rafael will be seen portraying the iconic painter

Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (14 November 1887 – 25 October 1918) was a Portugal, Portuguese painter. Belonging to the first generation of Portuguese modernist painters, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso stands out among all of them for the exceptional qu ...

in Vicente Alves do Ó's highly anticipated biopic "Amadeo" and also starring in

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 ...

's "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" as well as Joao Canijo's "Mal Viver". In 2023, Rafael Morais will be seen starring in Sebastião Salgado's "Fateful Dawn"; Bruno Gascon's "Homeland", and the upcoming

series "Fishtail"; among others. Rafael Morais has been nominated twice as Best Actor at the Portuguese Golden Globes and was awarded the L'Oreal Rising Star Award at the LEFFEST International Film Festival.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morais, Rafael Living people Portuguese male film actors People from Coimbra Portuguese expatriates in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)