Rafael Morais

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Rafael Morais
Rafael Morais at Berlinale.jpg
Morais in 2023
Born (1989-06-25) 25 June 1989 (age 36)
Portugal
OccupationActor
Years active2003–present

Rafael Morais (born 25 June 1989) is a Portuguese actor [1] and film director. He has worked with several globally awarded filmmakers, such as Lav Diaz, Marco Martins, Joao Canijo, and Tiago Guedes. He won the Best Actor prize at the 2023 Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in Albania's 95th Academy Awards submission, A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On , which was lauded as one of the best of the year by Variety and Screen International .

Contents

Career

Rafael Morais began acting at the age of 14. [2] He has appeared in several acclaimed films, including Marco Martins's 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); [3] João Canijo's Blood of My Blood (Portugal's official submission to the 85th Academy Awards); [4] Gentian Koçi's A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On (Albania's official submission to the 96th Academy Awards); Canijo's Bad Living (Portugal's official submission to the 96th Academy Awards); and the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, Magellan , directed by Lav Diaz.

In 2012, he made his directorial debut with the short film You Are the Blood, which he also wrote and starred in. [5]

In 2022, Morais portrayed the Portuguese painter Amadeo de Souza Cardoso in the biopic Amadeo. [6] He is also known for his work in the Netflix series White Lines , [7] Glória , [8] and Turn of the Tide .

Accolades

In 2023, Morais won the Best Actor award at the Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On. [9] His portrayal of the deaf-mute Agim earned him rave reviews, [10] and his work was lauded as "one of the best performances of the year" by Variety . [11] [12]

In 2024, he was selected for the Berlinale Talents development program, [13] and the same year, he was added to the European Film Academy. [14]

Selected filmography

Film

List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 Doomed Love Manuel Botelho
2009 How to Draw a Perfect Circle Guilherme
L'arc-en-ciel Gary
2011 Blood of My Blood Joca FialhoBest Lead Actor nomination at the 2011 Globos de Ouro
You Are the BloodDanWriter, director, actor
2012 Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean Johny
2015 Chasing Eagle Rock Raffa
2022Amadeo Amadeo de Souza Cardoso Best Lead Actor nomination, Sophia Awards [ citation needed ]
A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On GezimBest actor award, 2023 Prishtina International Film Festival; Best Lead Actor nomination, Sophia Awards[ citation needed ] and Globos de Ouro[ citation needed ]
2023 Bad Living Alex
Living Bad Alex
2025 Magellan Joao Carvalho

Television

List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
YearTitleRoleNotes
2020 White Lines Young Boxer6 episodes
2021 Glória Domingos4 episodes
2023 Turn of the Tide Morcela7 episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Arena Ensemble".
  2. ↑ "movopia.com". movopia.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ↑ "How to Draw a Perfect Circle – Ukbar Filmes". 12 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Blood of My Blood". Rotten Tomatoes .
  5. ↑ "You Are the Blood". Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Vem aí um filme biográfico sobre o pintor português Amadeo de Souza Cardoso". 26 November 2019.
  7. ↑ ""White Lines": Série da Netflix com Nuno Lopes, Paulo Pires e Rafael Morais conquista liderança no top diário da Netflix" ["White Lines": Netflix series with Nuno Lopes, Paulo Pires, and Rafael Morais takes the lead in Netflix's daily charts] (in Portuguese).
  8. ↑ "Glória (Série)".
  9. ↑ "Prifest | PriFest 15 – All the winners" . Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Ide, Wendy. "'A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On': Tallinn Review". Screen. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Kiang, Jessica (16 December 2022). "Non-English-Language Performances for Your Consideration, If Not the Academy's". variety.com. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Kiang, Jessica (16 December 2022). "'A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On' Review: An Extraordinary Bond Is Tested in a Deeply Moving Brotherhood Drama". Variety. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Portugal com três nomes no programa Berlinale Talents 2024" [Portugal has three names in the Berlinale Talents 2024 program]. europacriativa.eu (in Portuguese). 13 January 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Quatro portugueses entre os novos membros da Academia de Cinema Europeu" [Four Portuguese among the new members of the European Film Academy]. rtp.pt (in Portuguese). 9 May 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
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