This is Portugal-Brazil year. Themed “Now”, the aim is to strengthen the ties between two nations united by five centuries of history and a shared language. It is a year for breaking down the barriers of distance created by the ocean that separates the two countries. In this spirit we are delighted to present Portuguese actor Ricardo Pereira, who several years ago chose to live in Brazil, as a symbol of this mutual rediscovery and to show that art and talent have no borders.

He was born in Lisbon 34 years ago, but nowadays actor Ricardo Pereira’s country is the world. Though known to the public at large for his role in soaps like ‘Perfeito Coração’ (‘Perfect Heart’) and ‘Laços de Sangue’ (‘Blood Ties’), or films like ‘Crime do Padre Amaro’ (‘The Crime of Father Amaro’) and ‘Mistérios de Lisboa’ (‘Mysteries of Lisbon’), some of the many  dramas to which he has lent his talent, it was in the theatre that he made his debut. In 2000 Ricardo joined the cast of Real Caçada ao Sol (‘The Royal Hunt of the Sun’), which Carlos Avillez directed at the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (D. Maria II National Theatre) in Lisbon.

This was his first step in a successful career in television, the theatre, films and advertising. He made his home between Portugal and Brazil, the country which welcomed the Portuguese actor and where he settled. Brazil is the base (as he himself says) from which he leaves for everywhere his profession calls him.

For six years he commuted between Portugal and Brazil, until he decided to establish his roots on the other side of the Atlantic. Not that he was tired of the shuttle, but because he had the unmissable chance to work for the international Brazilian television giant: “TV Globo at the time was the third largest television station in the world and as soon as I had the opportunity to belong to this group of actors it was very gratifying. Obviously it was a development in my career, a consequence of everything I did in Brazil, in both television and films”. It was also, of course, a chance to communicate to 200 million people, the population of Brazil, and to the 90 countries in the world to which TV Globo sells its soaps and series.

Ricardo Pereira undoubtedly made his mark in Brazilian television: in 2004 he became the first foreigner to play the lead role in a TV Globo soap, which had never happened in 40 years. “Obviously this made me really proud. I also had the responsibility to fulfil my professional obligations to the best of my ability. But it all becomes easier when you’re doing what you like”.

Ricardo was Daniel, hero of ‘Como uma onda’ (‘Like a Wave’), an unprecedented achievement that was repeated first with ‘Insensato coração’ (‘Irrational Heart’) and now with ‘Aquele beijo’ (‘That Kiss’). In his “debut” he was a young Portuguese teacher from the Azores, but in the more recent soaps he speaks with a Brazilian accent – intentionally! The actor explains: “In my latest roles I worked with a speech trainer in order to speak with a Brazilian accent. This was so successful that I started being stopped in the street by people asking me if I was really a Portuguese actor or if in the previous roles I had put on a Portuguese accent. That’s the best praise you can have and a sign that my Portuguese is the same as that of a Brazilian”.