Joaquim de Almeida
Encyclopedia
Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida (ʒuɐˈkĩ dɨ aɫˈmɐjdɐ; born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film
The Soldier
, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film
Good Morning, Babylon. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Félix Cortez in the 1995 thriller Clear and Present Danger
, Bucho in the 1995 action thriller Desperado
, Hernan Reyes in 2011 street racing
film Fast Five
, and Ramon Salazar on the Fox
thriller drama series 24
.
Being fluent in several languages, Almeida has worked in several countries in Europe
and America
, in many film and stage productions, winning some international awards in films like Retrato de Família, Adão e Eva and O Xangô de Baker Street. His other well known films include The Honorary Consul
(1983), Only You
(1994), The Mask of Zorro
(1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), The Death and Life of Bobby Z
(2007), Che: Part Two
(2008) and The Burning Plain
(2008).
, on 15 March 1957, son of João Baptista de Almeida and Maria Sara Portugal. At the age of eighteen, after attending the theater course at the Lisbon Conservatory (School of Theatre and Cinema
) for two years, he left Portugal to continue his studies after the Conservatory was temporarily closed following the 1974 democratic revolution
. He spent a year in Vienna
, moving again, in 1976, to New York City where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
, a school for the performing arts frequented by famous actors such as Robert De Niro
, Al Pacino
and Angelina Jolie
.
. His first significant role came in a 1983 film, The Honorary Consul
, where he starred alongside Michael Caine
, Richard Gere
and Bob Hoskins
, being his first appearance in an American film. Despite cameo appearances is TV series such as Miami Vice
, it was some years later that he made huge impact in his career, appearing in the Good Morning, Babylon, a film, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
, that opened the Cannes Film Festival
in 1987. Being fluent in six languages, he continued his acting career in several countries such as Portugal, England, Spain, France, Italy, Brasil, Argentina and Germany, working in numerous films.
's thriller Clear and Present Danger
, co-starring Harrison Ford
, Willem Dafoe
and Anne Archer
. The film debuted at number one in the box office, earning a reported $20.5 million in the United States. Clear and Present Danger was a great success and was nominated for two Academy Awards. Later in 1994, Almeida starred alongside Robert Downey, Jr., Marisa Tomei
and Bonnie Hunt
in the romantic comedy Only You
, in which he plays a suave Italian businessman named Giovanni. According The New York Times
, the film director and producer Norman Jewison
said: "I interviewed many actors for the role" (...) "There was one Italian actor, fairly prominent, that I met in L.A. and again in New York and in Rome. And I wanted to meet several other Italian actors in Italy". When the production moved from Pittsburgh to Italy last fall, however, none of the country's actors seemed right for what Mr. Jewison called "the cliched Italian gigolo, the guy that women from the Midwest always meet". After the interview with Joaquim de Almeida, Mr. Jewison recalls: "Howard Feuer, the casting director, said, 'Joaquim's not that tall. He's not that handsome. He's no Rossano Brazzi here.' I said, 'But listen to his voice.' There's a machoness. Especially when he lowers it, whispers, leans across the table and pours you another glass of wine. He can be extremely intimate with his voice' ", so Almeida took the place.
In 1995, Almeida co-starred with Antonio Banderas
and Salma Hayek
in the Robert Rodriguez
's action
thriller Desperado
. This film is the sequel
to Rodriguez's independent film El Mariachi
and the second entry in the Mexico Trilogy
. Joaquim de Almeida portrays the main villain, an wealthy but casually bloodthirsty drug kingpin, named Bucho, who rules a seedy Mexican border town. Desperado was screened out of competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
. He won an Portuguese Golden Globe for Best Actor in his next film, the 1995 Portuguese drama
Adão e Eva (Adam and Eve), where he played the main female character career rival Francisco.
In 1997, he starred in the Luís Galvão Teles' drama Elles (Women). The film is a sensuous but overstuffed soap opera about women, named Linda, of a certain age confronting the usual insecurities, offers one solution to the problem of how to cram five personal dramas into the same film. Almeida played Linda's husband Gigi. Next year, he co-starred with Eric Roberts
in the 1998 Jack Perez's thriller La Cucaracha
. The plot follows a New Jersey
office worker Walter, who quits his job and heads to Santiago, Mexico, to become a writer but instead is thrust into the role of hitman by Almeida's character Jose Guerra. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival
where it won the Feature Film Award.
In 2001, Joaquim de Almeida starred in the Brazilian comedy O Xangô de Baker Street, where he plays the legendary British detective Sherlock Holmes
. The film is based in a book written in 1995 by the Brazilian author Jô Soares
about a case involving Sherlock Holmes and is his loyal friend Doctor Watson, who are called by the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II
, to find the thief of a priceless Stradivarius owned by his lover. At the same time, a sanguinary killer terrorizes the population and the city’s Police Department asks Holmes help to find him. Due Almeida's good performance in the film, he won another Portuguese Golden Globe for best actor, his third, and was nominated for Cinema Brazil Grand Prize award for best actor. Also in 2001 Almeida had a great supporting role in Behind Enemy Lines as Admiral Juan Miguel Piquet, the commander of NATO's naval forces, starring alongside Owen Wilson
and Gene Hackman
. The film, based on the Mrkonjić Grad incident
, is centered on the story of an American naval flight officer who was shot down over Bosnia, who ends up uncovering a massacre during the Bosnian conflict
.
In 2004, he starred with Daryl Hannah
and Denise Richards
in Yo Puta
(Whore), a gritty docu-style prostitution tale, based on a bestselling book by Spaniard Isabel Pisano
, that tracks the slow descent of a girl, into the sex business, which is interspersed with interviews with real-life prostitutes. In 2007, Joaquim de Almeida limns a brutal foreman named Baxter, in the Antonio Cuadri's El corazón de la tierra (The Heart of the Earth), a heady romance with a social conscience. Later in 2007, he turned his attention towards romantic
drama
La Cucina
, a film about several mostly separated storylines in which couples, friends and associates meet for a night of cooking and befriending, where Almeida portrays a Spanish born photo journalist named Michael. Next year, he starred in the Che: Part Two
, a biographical film
about an Argentine doctor-turned-international revolutionary named Ernesto Guevara. Almeida played President René Barrientos
, a former Bolivian politician who served as his country's Vice President
in 1964 and as its President
from 1964 to 1969. In the same year he also appeared in the drama film The Burning Plain
as local man named Nick Martinez, starring alongside Charlize Theron
and Kim Basinger
.
action film
Fast Five
directed by Justin Lin
and co-starring Vin Diesel
, Paul Walker
and Dwayne Johnson. Hernan Reyes is a corrupt businessman and ruthless Brazilian drug lord who provides resources to the favelas in Rio to gain control over them. The film took $3.8 million in receipts during launch midnight showings marking the best ever opening for a Universal
title and The Fast and The Furious
franchise. Fast Five become the highest grossing film of 2011 for 15 days before being replaced on May 30, 2011.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
The Soldier
The Soldier (film)
The Soldier is a 1982 action film directed by James Glickenhaus and starring Ken Wahl. The film also features Klaus Kinski, Alberta Watson and a cameo by country music superstar George Strait.-Cast:...
, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
Good Morning, Babylon. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Félix Cortez in the 1995 thriller Clear and Present Danger
Clear and Present Danger (film)
Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a subsequent release to the 1992 film Patriot Games, which in itself is a subsequent release to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October.It is the last film to feature Harrison...
, Bucho in the 1995 action thriller Desperado
Desperado (film)
Desperado is a 1995 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas as the former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover....
, Hernan Reyes in 2011 street racing
Street racing
Street racing is a form of unsanctioned and illegal motor racing which takes place on public roads. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well coordinated races are planned in advance and often have people communicating via 2-way radio/citizens' band radio and...
film Fast Five
Fast Five (film)
Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011...
, and Ramon Salazar on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
thriller drama series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
.
Being fluent in several languages, Almeida has worked in several countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, in many film and stage productions, winning some international awards in films like Retrato de Família, Adão e Eva and O Xangô de Baker Street. His other well known films include The Honorary Consul
The Honorary Consul (film)
The Honorary Consul is a 1983 British drama film directed by John Mackenzie and starring Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins and Elpidia Carrillo. It is based on the novel The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene...
(1983), Only You
Only You (1994 film)
Only You is a 1994 romantic comedy film written by Diane Drake and directed and coproduced by Norman Jewison. It stars Marisa Tomei as a young woman who searches for a man whom she believes is her soulmate and Robert Downey Jr. as a young man she meets along the way...
(1994), The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson...
(1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), The Death and Life of Bobby Z
The Death and Life of Bobby Z
The Death and Life of Bobby Z, also known as Bobby Z and Let's kill Bobby Z, is a 2007 American action film, directed by John Herzfeld, and stars Paul Walker, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Wilde and Joaquim de Almeida...
(2007), Che: Part Two
Che (film)
Che is a two-part 2008 biopic about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro. Rather than follow a standard chronological order, the films offer an oblique series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline...
(2008) and The Burning Plain
The Burning Plain
The Burning Plain is a 2008 drama film directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter of Amores perros , 21 Grams , and Babel . The film stars Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Basinger and Joaquim de Almeida...
(2008).
Early life
Joaquim de Almeida was born in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, on 15 March 1957, son of João Baptista de Almeida and Maria Sara Portugal. At the age of eighteen, after attending the theater course at the Lisbon Conservatory (School of Theatre and Cinema
School of Theatre and Cinema
Located in Amadora, Portugal, the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema, or ESTC , sometimes still referred to by its former designation Conservatório Nacional, is a public institution of higher education designed to function as the Portuguese National School of Theatre and Cinema.-History:ESTC was...
) for two years, he left Portugal to continue his studies after the Conservatory was temporarily closed following the 1974 democratic revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. He spent a year in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, moving again, in 1976, to New York City where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
, a school for the performing arts frequented by famous actors such as Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
.
Early work
After doing some theater, Almeida started his film career in 1982 appearing in The SoldierThe Soldier (film)
The Soldier is a 1982 action film directed by James Glickenhaus and starring Ken Wahl. The film also features Klaus Kinski, Alberta Watson and a cameo by country music superstar George Strait.-Cast:...
. His first significant role came in a 1983 film, The Honorary Consul
The Honorary Consul
The Honorary Consul is a British thriller novel by Graham Greene, published in 1973. It was one of the author's favourite works.- Plot summary :...
, where he starred alongside Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
, being his first appearance in an American film. Despite cameo appearances is TV series such as Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, it was some years later that he made huge impact in his career, appearing in the Good Morning, Babylon, a film, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani are noted Italian film directors and screenwriters...
, that opened the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1987. Being fluent in six languages, he continued his acting career in several countries such as Portugal, England, Spain, France, Italy, Brasil, Argentina and Germany, working in numerous films.
1990s and 2000s
In 1994, Joaquim de Almeida played Félix Cortez, a former colonel of Cuban military intelligence in the Phillip NoycePhillip Noyce
Phillip Noyce is an Australian film director.-Life and career:Noyce was born in Griffith, New South Wales, attended Barker College, Sydney, and began making short films at the age of 18, starting with Better to Reign in Hell, using his friends as the cast...
's thriller Clear and Present Danger
Clear and Present Danger (film)
Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a subsequent release to the 1992 film Patriot Games, which in itself is a subsequent release to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October.It is the last film to feature Harrison...
, co-starring Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
. The film debuted at number one in the box office, earning a reported $20.5 million in the United States. Clear and Present Danger was a great success and was nominated for two Academy Awards. Later in 1994, Almeida starred alongside Robert Downey, Jr., Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
and Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...
in the romantic comedy Only You
Only You (1994 film)
Only You is a 1994 romantic comedy film written by Diane Drake and directed and coproduced by Norman Jewison. It stars Marisa Tomei as a young woman who searches for a man whom she believes is her soulmate and Robert Downey Jr. as a young man she meets along the way...
, in which he plays a suave Italian businessman named Giovanni. According The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the film director and producer Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
said: "I interviewed many actors for the role" (...) "There was one Italian actor, fairly prominent, that I met in L.A. and again in New York and in Rome. And I wanted to meet several other Italian actors in Italy". When the production moved from Pittsburgh to Italy last fall, however, none of the country's actors seemed right for what Mr. Jewison called "the cliched Italian gigolo, the guy that women from the Midwest always meet". After the interview with Joaquim de Almeida, Mr. Jewison recalls: "Howard Feuer, the casting director, said, 'Joaquim's not that tall. He's not that handsome. He's no Rossano Brazzi here.' I said, 'But listen to his voice.' There's a machoness. Especially when he lowers it, whispers, leans across the table and pours you another glass of wine. He can be extremely intimate with his voice' ", so Almeida took the place.
In 1995, Almeida co-starred with Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
and Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
in the Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
's action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
thriller Desperado
Desperado (film)
Desperado is a 1995 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas as the former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover....
. This film is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Rodriguez's independent film El Mariachi
El Mariachi
El Mariachi is a 1992 Mexican-American action film that is the debut of writer/director Robert Rodriguez. The Spanish language film was shot in the northern Mexican bordertown of Ciudad Acuña with a mainly amateur cast...
and the second entry in the Mexico Trilogy
Mexico Trilogy
The Mexico Trilogy or Mariachi Trilogy is a series of films— El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico—all written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez, beginning in 1992 and ending in 2003, and distributed by Columbia Tristar...
. Joaquim de Almeida portrays the main villain, an wealthy but casually bloodthirsty drug kingpin, named Bucho, who rules a seedy Mexican border town. Desperado was screened out of competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
. He won an Portuguese Golden Globe for Best Actor in his next film, the 1995 Portuguese drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
Adão e Eva (Adam and Eve), where he played the main female character career rival Francisco.
In 1997, he starred in the Luís Galvão Teles' drama Elles (Women). The film is a sensuous but overstuffed soap opera about women, named Linda, of a certain age confronting the usual insecurities, offers one solution to the problem of how to cram five personal dramas into the same film. Almeida played Linda's husband Gigi. Next year, he co-starred with Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
in the 1998 Jack Perez's thriller La Cucaracha
La Cucaracha (1998 film)
La Cucaracha is a 1998 American film directed by Jack Perez and starring Eric Roberts and Joaquim de Almeida. The film follows the story of Walter Pool , a down on his luck wannabe novelist, who receives an offer of $100,000 to kill an alleged child killer...
. The plot follows a New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
office worker Walter, who quits his job and heads to Santiago, Mexico, to become a writer but instead is thrust into the role of hitman by Almeida's character Jose Guerra. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
where it won the Feature Film Award.
In 2001, Joaquim de Almeida starred in the Brazilian comedy O Xangô de Baker Street, where he plays the legendary British detective Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
. The film is based in a book written in 1995 by the Brazilian author Jô Soares
Jô Soares
José Eugênio Soares, best known as Jô Soares is a Brazilian comedian, talk show host, author, theatrical producer, director, actor, painter and musician. Soares was born in Rio de Janeiro...
about a case involving Sherlock Holmes and is his loyal friend Doctor Watson, who are called by the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
, to find the thief of a priceless Stradivarius owned by his lover. At the same time, a sanguinary killer terrorizes the population and the city’s Police Department asks Holmes help to find him. Due Almeida's good performance in the film, he won another Portuguese Golden Globe for best actor, his third, and was nominated for Cinema Brazil Grand Prize award for best actor. Also in 2001 Almeida had a great supporting role in Behind Enemy Lines as Admiral Juan Miguel Piquet, the commander of NATO's naval forces, starring alongside Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
. The film, based on the Mrkonjić Grad incident
Mrkonjic Grad incident
The Mrkonjić Grad incident was the shooting down of a United States Air Force F-16C by a Bosnian Serb Army SA-6 surface-to-air missile near Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on June 2, 1995...
, is centered on the story of an American naval flight officer who was shot down over Bosnia, who ends up uncovering a massacre during the Bosnian conflict
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
.
In 2004, he starred with Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
and Denise Richards
Denise Richards
Denise Lee Richards is an American actress and former fashion model of Croatian and Welsh descent. She has appeared in films including Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World Is Not Enough...
in Yo Puta
Whore (2004 film)
Whore a.k.a. The Life is a 2004 film directed by María Lidón. It is based on the book Yo puta by Isabel Pisano.-Main cast:*Daryl Hannah – Adriana*Denise Richards – Rebecca...
(Whore), a gritty docu-style prostitution tale, based on a bestselling book by Spaniard Isabel Pisano
Isabel Pisano
Isabel Pisano , Uruguayan actress and journalist that has lived in several countries.She has worked with several film directors from Argentina, Spain and Italy ....
, that tracks the slow descent of a girl, into the sex business, which is interspersed with interviews with real-life prostitutes. In 2007, Joaquim de Almeida limns a brutal foreman named Baxter, in the Antonio Cuadri's El corazón de la tierra (The Heart of the Earth), a heady romance with a social conscience. Later in 2007, he turned his attention towards romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
La Cucina
La Cucina (film)
La Cucina is a 2007 romantic drama written by A. W. Gryphon. The film stars Christina Hendricks, Joaquim de Almeida, Leisha Hailey, & Rachel Hunter. It was directed by first time directors Allison Hebble & Zed B. Starkovich. The film was scored by Ian Ball from the band Gomez...
, a film about several mostly separated storylines in which couples, friends and associates meet for a night of cooking and befriending, where Almeida portrays a Spanish born photo journalist named Michael. Next year, he starred in the Che: Part Two
Che (film)
Che is a two-part 2008 biopic about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro. Rather than follow a standard chronological order, the films offer an oblique series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline...
, a biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about an Argentine doctor-turned-international revolutionary named Ernesto Guevara. Almeida played President René Barrientos
René Barrientos
René Barrientos Ortuño was a Bolivian politician who served as his country's Vice President in 1964 and as its President from 1964 to 1969....
, a former Bolivian politician who served as his country's Vice President
Vice President of Bolivia
This is a list of Vice Presidents of Bolivia, the second highest political position in Bolivia. There are several gaps in the list, caused by intermittent political turmoil. The names of Vice Presidents who also were President at one time or another are given in bold text...
in 1964 and as its President
President of Bolivia
The President of Bolivia is head of state and head of government of Bolivia. According to the current Constitution, the president is elected by popular vote to a five year term, renewable once...
from 1964 to 1969. In the same year he also appeared in the drama film The Burning Plain
The Burning Plain
The Burning Plain is a 2008 drama film directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter of Amores perros , 21 Grams , and Babel . The film stars Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Basinger and Joaquim de Almeida...
as local man named Nick Martinez, starring alongside Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
and Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
.
2010s
On July 16, 2010, Joaquim de Almeida was confirmed to be taking on the role of antagonist Hernan Reyes in the 20112011 in film
The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
Fast Five
Fast Five (film)
Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011...
directed by Justin Lin
Justin Lin
Justin Lin is a Taiwanese American film director, best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious franchise and the television show, Community.-Life and career:...
and co-starring Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...
, Paul Walker
Paul Walker
Paul William Walker IV is an American actor. He became well known in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues. He is also known for starring in the surprise summer hit The Fast and the Furious. His other films include Joy Ride, Running Scared, Into the Blue and Eight Below...
and Dwayne Johnson. Hernan Reyes is a corrupt businessman and ruthless Brazilian drug lord who provides resources to the favelas in Rio to gain control over them. The film took $3.8 million in receipts during launch midnight showings marking the best ever opening for a Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
title and The Fast and The Furious
The Fast and the Furious (film series)
The Fast and the Furious is a series of action films that focuses on street racing and heists. Produced by Universal Studios, the series was established in 2001 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by four sequels, and two short films that tie into the series...
franchise. Fast Five become the highest grossing film of 2011 for 15 days before being replaced on May 30, 2011.
Notable films
| Year | Title | Role | USA Gross ($) | Worldwide Gross ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Honorary Consul The Honorary Consul (film) The Honorary Consul is a 1983 British drama film directed by John Mackenzie and starring Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins and Elpidia Carrillo. It is based on the novel The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene... |
Leon | 5,997,566 | - | Movie nominated for two BAFTA Film Awards British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square... . |
| 1987 | Good Morning, Babylon | Andrea Bonanno | 183,700 | - | Movie presented in 1997 Cannes Film Festival 1997 Cannes Film Festival -Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:... . |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger Clear and Present Danger (film) Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a subsequent release to the 1992 film Patriot Games, which in itself is a subsequent release to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October.It is the last film to feature Harrison... |
Col. Felix Cortez | 122,187,717 | 215,887,717 | Movie nominated for two Academy Awards. |
| 1995 | Desperado Desperado (film) Desperado is a 1995 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas as the former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover.... |
Bucho (Cesar) | 25,532,388 | - | Movie presented in 1995 Cannes Film Festival 1995 Cannes Film Festival -Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters... . |
| 2001 | Behind Enemy Lines | Admiral Piquet | 58,856,790 | 91,753,202 | - |
| 2011 | Fast Five Fast Five (film) Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011... |
Hernan Reyes | 209,837,675 | 616,137,675 | - |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Film/TV Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cairo International Film Festival Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the first international film festival held in the Arab world... |
Cairo International Film Festival Award for Best Actor | Retrato de Família | |
| 1995 | Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | Adão e Eva | |
| 1997 | Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | Sostiene Pereira Sostiene Pereira Sostiene Pereira is a 1996 Italian drama film directed by Roberto Faenza. It is based on Antonio Tabucchi's novel of the same title.Marcello Mastroianni won the David di Donatello as Best Actor.-Plot:... |
|
| 1998 | Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | Tentação | |
| 2000 | Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | Inferno | |
| 2002 | Cinema Brazil Grand Prize | Cinema Brazil Grand Prize for Best Actor | O Xangô de Baker Street | |
| Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | |||
| 2004 | Festival Cinema de Badajoz | Career Award | – | |
| 2005 | Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"... |
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | 24 24 (TV series) 24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration... |
|
| 2006 | Portuguese Golden Globes | Golden Globe for Best Actor | Um Tiro no Escuro | |
| 2008 | Avanca Film Festival | Avanca Film Festival Award for Best Actor | Óscar. Una pasión surrealista | |
| 2009 | Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva The Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva is a film festival, celebrated since 1974 in Huelva, Spain) dedicated to promoting Latin American cinema in Europe. The festival is chiefly publicly funded. The grand prize is the Colón de Oro for best feature... |
Prize of the City of Huelva | – |