Rafael Morais

Portuguese actor

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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.

## Personal life

[edit]

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]

## Film career

[edit]

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); 2025's Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection "Magellan" directed by Lav Diaz; Pedro Cabeleira's "Night Passengers" that World premiered in the ACID section at the 2025's Cannes Film Festival; 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]

## Accolades

[edit]

In 2023, 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.

As of May 2024,[update] Rafael Morais is the only Portuguese actor to have been invited to become a member of the European Film Academy.[12]

In 2025, Rafael Morais was nominated as Best Main actor at the Sophia Portuguese Academy Awards for his performance in "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On".

## Theater career

[edit]

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]

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director/Production

|
|

2008  | Doomed Love | Mário Barroso
2009  | How to Draw a Perfect Circle | Marco Martins
Gone | David Brooks
L'arc-en-Ciel | David Bonneville
2011  | Blood of My Blood | João Canijo
You Are the Blood | Rafael Morais
Actor's Work | João Canijo
2012  | Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean | Matthew Mishory
2015  | Chasing Eagle Rock | Erick Avari
Oh Gallow Lay | Julia Wayser
2019  | Silence | Francisco Froes
2020  | White Lines | NETFLIX
2021  | We Won't Forget | Luke Eberl/Edgar Morais
2021 | Glória | Tiago Guedes
2022  | Amadeo | Vicente Alves do Ó
A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On | Gentian Koçi
2023  | Bad Living | João Canijo
Living Bad | João Canijo
Homeland | Bruno Gascon
Lugar 54 | RTP
Turn of the Tide | NETFLIX
2024  | Malcriado | Vicente Alves do Ó
Irreversible | Bruno Gascon
Hotel do Rio | João Canijo
Fateful Dawn | Sebastião Salgado
Fastio | Rodrigo Rebello de Andrade
Lesser Evils | Dragos Bucaturu
Damn, I'm Wasted | Jonathan Velasquez
Entroncamento (Night Passengers)  | Pedro Cabeleira
Last Night | Tiago Santos
Magellan | Lav Diaz

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "movopia.com". movopia.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
2. ^ "How to Draw a Perfect Circle – Ukbar Filmes".
3. ^ "Vem aí um filme biográfico sobre o pintor português Amadeo de Souza Cardoso". 26 November 2019.
4. ^ "Blood of My Blood". Rotten Tomatoes.
5. ^ "Joao Canijo".
6. ^ "Glória (Série)".
7. ^ ""White Lines": Série da Netflix com Nuno Lopes, Paulo Pires e Rafael Morais conquista liderança no top diário da Netflix".
8. ^ "You Are the Blood". Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
9. ^ "Prifest | PriFest 15 – All the winners". Retrieved 2023-12-20.
10. ^ Kiang, Jessica (2022-12-16). "'A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On' Review: An Extraordinary Bond Is Tested in a Deeply Moving Brotherhood Drama". Variety. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
11. ^ Ide2022-11-25T10:15:00+00:00, Wendy. "'A Cup Of Coffee And New Shoes On': Tallinn Review". Screen. Retrieved 2023-12-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. ^ https://cinemax.rtp.pt/artigos/quatro-portugueses-entre-os-novos-membros-da-academia-de-cinema-europeu/
13. ^ "Arena Ensemble".

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International|

* VIAF
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National|

* United States