Rafael Morais

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Rafael Morais
Rafael Morais at the 2023 Berlinale
Born	Portugal
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2003–present

Rafael Morais is an actor. He studied theater in Lisbon, Portugal and at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Los Angeles. Rafael Morais has worked with globally celebrated filmmakers such as Nick Hamm, Marco Martins, Pedro Cabeleira, Luis Prieto, João Canijo, Tiago Guedes, among others.

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 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 in Los Angeles.

Morais speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish and divides his time between Europe and the United States.^[1]

Rafael Morais had his breakout role in Marco Martins' controversial film "How to Draw a Perfect Circle" (Portugal's official submission to the 82nd Academy Awards and winner of the Best Ensemble Acting Award at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival).^[2]

Some of Rafael's notable work in film includes the critically acclaimed films "Living Bad" and "Bad Living" (Portuguese entry for the 96th Academy Awards) and winner of the Silver Bear Jury Award at the 2023´s Berlinale)"; Gentian Koçi's "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" (Albania´s entry for the 96th Academy Awards); the biopic Amadeo, where he portrays Portugal's iconic painter Amadeo de Souza Cardoso;^[3] "Blood of My Blood" (Portuguese entry for the 85th Academy Awards) by acclaimed director João Canijo. "Blood of My Blood" was the official selection of festivals such as: Toronto International Film Festival,^[4] Palm Springs International Film Festival, AFI Fest, Berlin Film Festival, and many others. The film received the FIPRESCI Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival^[5] and a Special Mention at the Miami International Film Festival; "Doomed Love" (Locarno International Film Festival's official selection) and "Joshua Tree, 1951" (Palm Springs International Film Festival; Santa Barbara International Film Festival; among others.

Rafael Morais is also known for the three hit Netflix series "Glória (2021 TV series)",^[6] "Turn of the Tide" created by Augusto Fraga and "White Lines", created by Álex Pina ("Money Heist" aka "La Casa de Papel" ).^[7]

Rafael Morais also wrote, directed and starred in "You Are The Blood" (IndieLisboa International Film Festival’s official selection and NewFilmMakers Film Festival main competition).^[8]

Recently, Rafael Morais was awarded with the Best Actor Award^[9] at the Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On (Albania's official submission to the Oscars). Rafael's portrayal of deaf-mute Agim earned him rave reviews and his performance was lauded as "one of the best performances of the year"^[10] by the international press such as Variety and Screen Daily.^[11] The film was Albania's official submission to The Oscars.

Rafael Morais is a 2024 Berlinale Talents Actor and has been nominated twice as Best Actor at the Portuguese Golden Globes for the films "Blood of My Blood" and "How to Draw a Perfect Circle" for which he was awarded the prestigious L'Oreal Rising Star Award.

In 2024, Rafael Morais was nominated as Best Main Actor at the Sophia Portuguese Academy Awards for his performance in "Amadeo" and was awarded with the Cineuphoria Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Bruno Gascon’s feature film “Homeland”.

Rafael Morais is currently the only Portuguese Actor to have been invited to become a member of the European Film Academy, presided by Juliette Binoche.^[12]

Morais has appeared in many theater productions such as Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love at the Mirita Casimiro Theater; "Music Around Circles" by Marco Martins; "The Constitution" by Mickael de Oliveira at the MiMoDa Studios in Los Angeles; Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen; "The Party", an original production of Nature Theater of Oklahoma and "Man to Man" by Manfred Karge, an Arena Ensemble Production.^[13]