José Pereira de Abreu Júnior (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒoˈzɛ dʒi aˈbɾɛw]; born 24 May 1946) is a Brazilian actor.

José de Abreu
Abreu in 2004
Born (1946-05-24) 24 May 1946 (age 78)
OccupationActor
Years active1967–present
Known forAvenida Brasil[1]
Spouses
Nara Keiserman
(m. 1974; div. 1990)
Priscila Petit
(m. 2015; div. 2016)
Children5 (1 deceased)[2]
RelativesMaria Bopp (great-niece)[3]

Biography

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Born in the city of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, in the state of São Paulo, at the age of fourteen he moved to the state's capital, São Paulo 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.

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, 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 movement during that time, in contrast with his militaristic actions.

Forced into exile in Europe in 1968, he returned in 1974 to live in Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, his wife's homeland. They both taught at the federal university in that city, but soon moved to Porto Alegre, 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'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;[1] in 2013, the character Ernest in Joia Rara; and in 2015 the villain Gibson Stewart in A Regra do Jogo.

Personal life

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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.[2] In early 2013, he declared he is bisexual,[4] then in a few days later he tweeted he is not bi but poly instead.[5]

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.[6][7]

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 Bruna Surfistinha.[3]

Career

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Abreu performed in over 24 movies and 47 television shows, of which most are soap operas.

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Note
1981 Sítio do Picapau Amarelo Rapunzel's Father Episode: "Rapunzel"
1984 Sítio do Picapau Amarelo Barba Azul Episode: "Barba Azul, o Cara de Coruja"
2012 Avenida Brasil Nilo Oliveira

References

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  1. ^ a b EXTRA (7 March 2012). "Vera Holtz e José de Abreu representam a bondade e maldade no lixão de 'Avenida Brasil'" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b EXTRA (11 August 2012). "Pai de cinco filhos, José de Abreu fala da morte do primogênito Rodrigo: 'Não é normal enterrar filho'" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Os famosos que são da mesma família e você nem imagina". NSC Total (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  4. ^ "Aos 68 anos, ator José de Abreu revela que é bissexual" (in Portuguese). São Paulo: F5. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  5. ^ "F5 - Celebridades - "Eu não sou bi, sou poli", diz José de Abreu sobre sexualidade - 11/01/2013". F5 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  6. ^ "Brazilian actor Jose de Abreu, who jokingly declared himself Brazil's President..." Reuters Pictures. 8 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Zé de Abreu é aclamado presidente do Brasil e sai carregado pelo povo do Galeão". Revista Fórum (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
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