José Pereira de Abreu Júnior (; born 24 May 1946) is a Brazilian actor.
Biography
Born in the city of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, in the state of
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, at the age of fourteen he moved to the state's capital,
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
city, working as a lab assistant and office-boy for a law firm.
In 1967, while studying law at the
Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, he began his theatrical career at the
Teatro da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, with the play ''
Morte e Vida Severina'' by
João Cabral de Melo Neto and
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...
.
A year later, he was starring in movies, but his career came to a quick halt because of his political activism. Abreu was arrested during a meeting of the
União Nacional dos Estudantes
The National Union of Students (''União Nacional dos Estudantes'' or UNE) is a student organization in Brazil. Founded on 11 August 1937, it represents more than 5 million students of higher education, and is headquartered in São Paulo, with bra ...
, belonged to the Ação Popular and gave logistical support to the
Vanguarda Armada Revolucionária Palmares, a leftist group that fought against the military regime. He also joined the
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
movement during that time, in contrast with his militaristic actions.
Forced into exile in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 1968, he returned in 1974 to live in
Pelotas
Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and Municipalities of Brazil, municipality (''município''), the fourth Largest cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population, most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, after Porto Alegre, Caxias do Su ...
, state of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, his wife's homeland. They both taught at the federal university in that city, but soon moved to
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, where he produced musicals and starred in children's plays. With his wife, he produced the first staging of the musical ''Os Saltimbancos'' in that state.
Then, after the success of the movie ''
A Intrusa'' (The Intruder) (1979), filmed in
Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, he started work as an actor in
TV Globo
TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...
's soap-operas.
In 2006 he partnered with director Luiz Arthur Nunes to create ''Fala, Zé!'', a theatrical monologue in which he critically reflects on his generation, crossing biography and fiction.
In 2011 he played Milton in the soap-opera ''
Insensato Coração''; in 2012, the character Nilo in ''
Avenida Brasil'';
in 2013, the character Ernest in ''
Joia Rara''; and in 2015 the villain Gibson Stewart in ''
A Regra do Jogo
''A Regra do Jogo'' (English title: ''Rules of The Game'') is a Brazilian primetime telenovela, created by João Emanuel Carneiro for TV Globo from August 31, 2015 to 11 March, 2016.
Written by João Emanuel Carneiro, and directed by Amora Maut ...
''.
Personal life
He has five children, with three different partners. His first child, Rodrigo, died in an accident in 1992, at age 21. He also has four grandchildren.
In early 2013, he declared he is
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, then in a few days later he tweeted he is not bi but
poly
Poly, from the Greek πολύς meaning "many" or "much", may refer to:
Businesses
* China Poly Group Corporation, a Chinese business group, and its subsidiaries:
** Poly Property, a Hong Kong incorporated Chinese property developer
** Poly R ...
instead.
On March 8, 2019, he was jokingly proclaimed as "president" of the Federative Republic of Brazil in an act of protest at
Galeao Airport near Rio.
He is the
great-uncle of actress and screenwriter Maria Bopp, known for being the protagonist of the
Fox Premium's TV series ''
Me Chama de Bruna'', where she plays the role of famous real-life
sex worker
A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...
Bruna Surfistinha.
Career
Abreu performed in over 24 movies and 47 television shows, of which most are soap operas.
Filmography
Television
Film
References
External links
*
José de Abreu - blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Jose de
1946 births
Brazilian bisexual male actors
Brazilian male actors
Brazilian Marxists
Living people
People from Santa Rita do Passa Quatro