Leonardo Villar

One of the most respected Brazilian thespians of all time, Leonardo Villar has a distinguished career in theatre, cinema and television. He was born on 25 July, 1924 in Piracicaba, São Paulo. His career initiated in the 1950's with several works in theatre and one special series for TV. But it was as the simple man Zé do Burro in The Given Word (1962) that his career turned around. His film debut and a leading role in one of the most important classics of Brazilian cinema, the only film to ever receive the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the very first film from Brazil to receive an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film Language category. Then, he played the title roles in Lampiao, King of the Badlands (1964) and The Hour and Turn of Augusto Matraga (1965), winning a Best Actor award at the Brazilia Festival of Brazilian Cinema. Alternating between films and TV series, Villar's career highlights were "Barriga de Aluguel" (1990), "Desejo" (1990), "Os Ossos do Barão" (1996), Ação Contra Amigos (1998), the memorable Paschoal in "Laços de Família" (2000), and most recently Chega de Saudade (2007). Villar died on 3 July, 2020, a few weeks before his 97th birthday.