(image courtesy of Hora VIP)
Diogo Morgado graces the cover and is featured in the March 20th issue of "Hora VIP" magazine, which is on newsstands in Portugal now. Below is the article and interview in its entirety followed by the English translation of the interview.
NEW: English translation of the above interview, thanks to our AMAZING friend, Dina! Obrigada, Dina!
Interviewer/Fábio Belo (FB): Who is Diogo?
Diogo Morgado (DM): I find that to be the most unpleasant question possible, ask us to describe ourselves. But the way I see myself is as a very pragmatic person of humble origins who lives constantly questioning the essence of things, absolutely fascinated by the human nature and its characteristics, from the most banal and mundane to the most complex and profound.
FB: Since childhood your dream was to become an actor?
DM: No. I never dared to even think it might be a possibility. As a kid, though fascinated, I always saw it as something impassable and unreachable.
FB: What fascinated you in the world of representation?
DM: Actually, what fascinates me in representation is the interpretation of the codes of communication that are common to all of us, over time. Just as a smile is a code that communicates joy and crying sadness, it is in the mix and challenge to the conventional of these codes that lies the true fascination for the actor. To be able to pass a feeling or to portray a moment without even using the word. To give definition and meaning to the silences that are so common to us and with this to give the public a sense that we are all made of the same. The same fears, the same desires, the same anxieties and needs.
FB: What fascinated you about the world of acting?
DM: Actually, what fascinates me about acting is the interpretation of the modes of communication that are common to all of us, over time. Just as a smile is a way that communicates joy and sadness, it is a mix and in the challenge to convey these traditional ways of communication lies the true fascination for the actor. To be able to express a feeling or to portray a moment without even saying a word. To give definition and meaning to the silences that are so common to us and with this to give the public a sense that we are all alike. The same fears, the same desires, the same anxieties and needs.
FB: It was in adolescence that you made your debut as an actor. How was that experience? That's when you saw that this was what you were going to do for the rest of your life?
DM: No. For many years, when I was already working as an actor, I thought it was going to be a temporary thing. When I first started, I thought I wouldn't have much to offer as an actor. Only much later, and perhaps when I began to stop looking for approval from others, did I begin to embrace the act of passion that is telling a story.
FB: Diogo you’re an actor of great relevance in Portugal. After playing Jesus in the American series "The Bible" you became known as an international star. Had you ever thought of becoming a movie star and being recognized internationally?
DM: I never thought I could ever achieve it in Portugal. This is because we only begin to evolve in fact, when we exercise the profession with no other purpose than to love what we are doing and to want to honor every story that is told, however different that story may seem. One must always have goals, but one cannot confuse goals with expectations. Moreover, another thing one must have is the notion that the scale of things is only in our head or in our ego. In the end, "Hollywood" or "Idanha-a-Nova's amateur theater" is doing exactly the same, telling stories. The real difference is that there are stories that Hollywood money can make happen and the others, without that money, don't happen.
FB: What was it like play Jesus Christ?
DM: It was a unique experience. This, because it was the first time that whatever I did would have a tremendous impact on the personal and spiritual lives of millions of people around the world. That's a responsibility I could never accept lightly. For that reason I had to plunge deep into myself and everything I believe in and project what I feel is the absolute truth in every frame I filmed.
FB: Was it a character that required a lot of preparation?
DM: It’s not a character. It is a living entity for millions worldwide. It's a living truth to me. So this preparation, it was an internal preparation, a preparation of truth and message.
FB: Playing Jesus Christ was your biggest role?
DM: No. But it was the greatest experience that my professional life has given me.
FB: You played Christ with great humility and delicacy. Do you know that?
DM: I did what I believed and believe is the only universal message. A message of compassion and selflessness with our neighbor.
FB: Diogo was the first Portuguese actor to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. How did that feel?
DM: In truth, I feel like it had more impact on the public than on me. For me, what was extraordinary was to meet a person who I admire so much. But luckily I have known many people who I admire and who have taught me a lot.
FB: Between theater and the cinema, which one do you prefer?
DM: Theatre, TV and cinema, all have their peculiarities and features that make them fascinating and unique. The theatre is the art of the whole, of the physical and direct energy of communication, without filters with the public and the art of the body as expression. Television is the art of the immediate, the resistance, the arc elongated in time, in the exercise of the best in the shortest time possible, and this is also fascinating. Cinema is the art of minutiae, detail, photography, composition, the middle and end principle. All forms of art are absolutely fascinating to me. I can't choose a favorite, but I can relate to a lot of movies.
FB: Are there many superstitions in the acting world? What’s yours?
DM: I'm not superstitious.
FB: Is it easy to be a public figure?
DM: No. There are more and more people who only work as actors so they can be public figures, it's not their fault but the fault of those who hire them. Then there are the actors who are public figures only because their work is known by the general public. But it's a world of difference.
FB: Are you happy with what you do?
DM: I'm only happy because I do what I do.
FB: What makes you say "I had a good day?"
DM: When I can fulfill my purpose.
FB: What do you like to do in your spare time?
DM: Be with family, think of new projects, work (I know, weird, isn't it?) And watch movies.
FB: Are you passionate about Portugal?
DM: The more I know the world the more I love Portugal no doubt. But at the same time, the more conflict I have with the Portuguese being. I feel that we do not value what we should and that we give extreme value to unimportant things. I see people involved fiercely because of football but unaffected and asleep to many things we should invest ourselves in and into others who deserve to be valued and yet also to others that should be despised.
FB: March is the month of the woman. How do you define the role of women in society?
DM: Women’s role in society has been ALWAYS incredibly crucial and always devalued by a society dominated by sexism. I think now finally the role of women is beginning to be recognized for its true value.
FB: What would you like all women to have?
DM: I would like women to actually have equal rights and the same opportunities as men. Not just on paper but above all in the consciousness of society and in its attitude.
FB: Do you think that women have the right amount of respect for the role they play in society?
DM: I do not think so.
FB: What does it mean to you to be a woman?
DM: For me to be a woman these days means the pressure by society to achieve an incredible balance of energy and time between both their famililes and their professional lives. It's an image-obsessed society that once again puts pressure on the woman of having to look the most beautiful. Deep down, everything a woman today is pushed to do and be, does not give them freedom to be what is real.
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