Leonardo Villar


Leonardo Villar was a Brazilian actor. He became internationally known for his performance as Zé do Burro in Anselmo Duarte's O Pagador de Promessas, the only Brazilian film so far awarded a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life

Leonardo Villar was born as Leonildo Motta in Piracicaba, São Paulo, on 25 July 1923.
Villar died on 3 July 2020 at a hospital in São Paulo, of cardiac arrest, aged 96.

Career

He started his career at the theater, but later also started acting in film and television.
Villar debuted at the theater on the 1950 play Os Pássaros. His first film role only came in 1962 as Zé do Burro in Anselmo Duarte's O Pagador de Promessas. He received international exposure for the role after the film won the Palme d'Or and became the first Brazilian and South American feature nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1965 he debuted on television in the TV Tupi telenovela A Cor de Sua Pele, which tells the story of an interracial relationship. In 1972, he moved to Rede Globo, where he starred in successful shows such as Escalada and Estúpido Cupido.
In 2001, after almost 20 years without acting in the theater, he starred in the play A Moratória. In 2007, after seven years without acting in a film, he starred in the critically acclaimed The Ballroom.

Filmography

Film