Diogo in "Publico"

(photo courtesy of Publico)

Diogo was featured in the June 2nd issue of "Publico."  Liliana, Google translate, and I joined forces again to translate the interview, which can be found below the article.

(article courtesy of Publico)

DIOGO MORGADO

The kid who played football in Fogueteiro went to Oprah

And at age 32, Diogo Morgado was Jesus. A hot Jesus seen by 100 million people (no one was expecting it, not him, nor the producers.) He was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, ate a hot dog with her (as everyone knows). What do you get when you are there? It is all a matter of money. And we cannot forget the place where we come from.

(Interview by Anabela Mota Ribeiro, photos by Bruno Simões Castanheira)

(Click the "Read More" link below to read the rest....)

It is a few minutes past eleven in the morning when I get this message from Diogo Morgado. He is slightly delayed and is sorry for that. “No problem,” I answered. “Yes it is,” he replied.  In the States people don’t arrive late. The interview was arranged through an agent and I didn't know if he was going to come the American way, with agent, assistant, staff. But he came the Portuguese way, alone, relaxed, no make-up.  The opposite of what was the promoting marathon for “The Bible,” whose success led to this interview.

Diogo Morgado couldn't say to Oprah that he has been doing his thing for some years, now. It took a couple of years to get where he is. Which is where? What does it correspond to? What do we need to do to get there?  And the machine, after a close look, how is it? These were some of the bottom line questions. When we said goodbye, he wanted to pay for my cappuccino. I insisted, “This is work.” He was polite.

Anabela Mota Ribeiro/AR: I have a provocative question, to start.

DM: An entrance to feet together!

AR: “An entrance to feet together?”

DM: It’s a soccer expression for a red card. When the guys go after the ball and come with their feet together, it could cause a red card. 

AR: I hope it doesn't come near to a yellow one. The provocative question. To act in a series that is seen by 100 million people can make you rich?

DM: No, it can’t. The American market distinguishes itself into classes and subclasses. The most privileged class is the union one, the SAG [Screen Actors Guild]. That one, yes, for most actors, whether they are slightly known or known – the very well known are from another league - requires a scale of pay. And it does not waiver from there. Then there are the non-union-projects, and that is a mess!  This specific project: the producer was English, lives in the US, where he has a company; but the company they started to do this series is headquartered in London and the series was filmed in Morocco. One of the realities of this project is that the actors could not belong to any American union – that was my case. For that reason, not getting into details, [the answer is]: far from being rich.

AR: Not even after the success?

DM: This was not a money project for 80% of the people involved, the producers included. It started as a docudrama for History Channel. The expectations of financial return was not that big. Suddenly, it became a phenomenon, and then, for the producer, that resulted in other money, not for me.

AR: When we look at series like "Mad Men," "The Sopranos," "West Wing," for the audiences that do not know about the unions, and different leagues, we look at those glamorous series, to represent Hollywood life. Did you imagine that it would be like that before you went to the US and realized how things are? 

DM: I didn’t expect that, really. I force myself to be realistic and not to stay pessimistic. I never emphasize much what is happening to me. After I started the series, I didn't think about the rebound; and when I finished there was so much to digest inside of me, which I was not expecting, that I didn’t think about the media repercussion.  I arrive at the US [to do promotion], the series hadn't aired yet, and there’s a great boom towards it, towards me. The joke about hot Jesus began because my image got out even before the Jesus figure did. The comments that came up where not about my work… 

AR: …. But about the fact of being hot.

DM: Yes. It was a surprise to me, too.

AR: Was it a surprise?

DM: It was! I gave so much of myself, it was such a hard and painful journey, so much life and death almost, the last thing I expected was that the first comment was about my looks, I never lived through that before. 

AR: Let’s talk about looks, even if you do not give them too much importance. If you were 1.60m and were a dwarf, you wouldn't get the role.

DM: Why not? Dustin Hoffman works and he is not handsome, Danny DeVito works. They have lots of work because they are good. Most of the unlikely things I have done had to do with a kind of combat of bringing more out of pre-determined character.

AR: Unlikely things? Are you thinking of independent movies?

DM: No. Teatro de Revista. I was for two years at Teatro Maria Vitória, almost no one knows, but I did two Revistas there. I don’t need to qualify. I did "Malucos do Riso" for two years – that does not exactly give sex appeal. I did a year and a half of a child's play where I was a stuttering dolphin. 

AR: When did you realize that you were hot and that that quality was important?

DM: I started at 15 years old. I was tall, kinda good looking, had no experience as an actor. But I did an audition with 30 or 40 that were better looking than me.

AR: An audition for the role of Jesus?

DM: No, for my first job, "Terra Mãe." I was for five or six years testing myself. Trying to figure what I could bring new. Only at 21 did I decide to study Theater. 

AR: In the world you move, image is a demand. It is more severe for women, but it is expected that an actor be careful with food, be fit, fit some kind of stereotype.

DM: I don’t agree. In a series like "Downtown Abbey," none of those skills are necessary. There’s another market, a more commercial one, that exchanges much more money, where those kind of skills are needed. But they are not everything. Big blockbusters like "Thor," Captain America:" Marvel’s audience is one that loves the character and does not allow a stupid kid to play it. If the actor doesn't have something else… Robert Downey, Jr. went through a hard process of drugs, alcohol, now has a career rebirth with none of those skills. He is a good looking guy, but not stunning. He is highly charismatic and damn good.

AR: Then you have to have something that distinguishes you from the others. 

DM: Yes. Does not have to be more or less, but something genuine, distinctive. 

AR: When you went to the US, did you already know your element of distinction? 

DM: I never “went” to the US. I am Portuguese and I work in Portugal. Whenever I was in the US I was working.  Auditions are videos made here and then if some interest comes about (like they are undecided on 3 actors), a personal meeting is required. I didn't "go” like many did. I have nothing against it. I just can’t do it, go without much thought.

AR: Why did you never do it?

DM: I am 32 years old. Everything I am as a person and as an actor came from here. There is much in our market that I can do. I like to think that my presence here will be more profitable than there. There I will be just a guy trying his luck at certain castings. Not much I can do. I cannot create a play, hardly can make (direct) a movie.

AR: Not even success, the implosion "The Bible" was, made you bet that possibility?

DM: No, no. I cannot explain, maybe I am stubborn or silly. It’s like choosing not to live in Lisbon. When I lived in Lisbon, for 4 months, my dynamic changed, I was no longer the same person, I no longer had my timings, my own nature. And that took my strength away. I will not touch something that works. I will always be the kid from the south bank, no matter how much money I have, whatever I do. I will always be the kid that grew up at Fogueteiro who has much respect for what he does and much respect from those who have much respect for what they do. It's so easy for another to pat us on the back… Not easy to look at us when we are nothing and say: “I think that there is something there.” There were 3 or 4 people in my life who did that, and those are the ones who made it possible for me to be talking to you now. When "The Bible" aired – and there were many compliments on my portrayal – I made an acknowledgment on Facebook, I named all of them. One of them is no longer among us, but I will thank him while I am alive.

AR: Who is?
DM: Armando Cortez. When I was 15, he grabbed my arm, pulled me backstage, as only a gentleman can do, not in front of anyone, and told me: "Tell me the text. Stop, breathe. This is one thing that is something else. Again. Why are you doing everything expected?" And in the end, he told me: "Do not be annoyed with my question. If I'm doing this, it's because I think you are worth it."

AR: Someone said: “You are worth it.” Was that what moved you?

DM: It was not “someone”: he did. He gave me a goal. He made me look at him and say: “When I grow up, I want to be like this.” I want to have this generosity, I want to have an eye to distinguish people, and not judge them by their looks, for what they do or have done. This is so hard. From the moment we are born we are already in condemnation, in deprivation. We are sons of Adam and Eve. If we go by the Christian way, and if we don't, it's the same. Even forgetting the moral side and go only by the physiological, it’s a struggle for survival.

AR: I used the expression “when you went to the US” and you explained you didn't go to the US. Let’s finish that. Let’s go back to what you have that makes a difference in such a competitive market like the US. What distinguishes you?

DM: I don’t know. Hardly anyone gets that, knows that. Each time I have to follow what is expected, I become the ordinary. The few times – and this has happened in the last 4, 5 years - that I think: “I really have to fight for this, I really believe this is the way,” later the reward comes and I feel that was the distinction.  For the casting for Jesus, not for one second did I think I could get it. I thought it was so unachievable. And even if I got it, it would be such a hard work, because it's been done so many other times. I went to the audition, reading the Bible and asking myself: “What’s the message?” That was my bet, I would not say bet… It was my small will. Most of the decisions made concerning my character were things I brought, they were not on paper, they were not suggested by the producer.

AR: Come on, tell the story from the beginning. Your agent called to say you had an audition for Jesus Christ?

DM:  That was it. I have an agent in the United States.

AR:How did you get that agent?

DM: Through a film I did in Porto called "Star Crossed" [2009]. It was the story of "Romeo and Juliet" but with soccer, instead of having two rival families, it was two rival soccer teams. The producer took to it to film festivals.  At these festivals, an agent asked who I was.  We got in contact, and he said he'd like to work with me. "But I'm not going to the United States." "Alright then, let's come up with a plan." The plan was to start doing what they call pre-castings, on video (even in the United States, it's like that.)

AR:When the American agent called, did you remember the Portuguese saying, “Quando a esmola é grande,o pobre desconfia”? (loosely translated "When the charity is great/large, the poor suspect"):

DM: I thought they would take my kidney.  The project was "Mary, Mother of Christ." I did the video audition. Four days later, they called me, "they want to meet you. This film has Al Pacino, Peter O'Toole and they want you to have the main role. "  I remember talking with my family: "This is a move, for sure. They go to countries where people are more out to attract guys so they can keep their organs." [laughs].

AR: You've been watching too much science fiction.  Or "CSI."

DM: At the time there was talk of trafficking human organs. "You have to come to the United States" and "Who is paying for the trip?" "You have to since you are being hired as an American actor." "Then I will not go, so sorry." The agent was floored. After 15 or 20 days, he called me again. "If in Morocco can you go? The director will be scouting the locations to film - and he remembers you. Since it is closer to Portugal he asks if you can go there. They will pay for the hotel." I go to the net, I see the price of tickets. "I'll risk it."

AR: You are exaggerating.... did you think it could be a trap?

DM: Was not convinced it was true. Only when I met the director, James Foley, that I rested. Oh, this is totally serious! And I got the part.  The audition is a funny story. The hotel lobby was huge. Had a glass table. I started doing a scene completely improvised. There is a part in which an angel appears, I do so [gestures, like one gives a blow] and the table broke into a thousand pieces. And I continued! The audition was four pages, I was on the second one, was I ever going to stop? James Foley tells this story on "Biography." Still has the tape recording. I think it was a determining factor to stay: I broke everything and I continued.

AR:  And the movie?
DM: The project has been on hold for four years now.  It may be made sometime this year.

AR: "Mary Mother of Christ" ... After Jesus.

DM: That is another reason I probably won't be in the film, if it does get made. There are things that I cannot do. I've been offered the role of the devil, however.

AR: Refused?

DM: Yes.

AR: I imagine it is difficult to refuse big projects.

DM: For me, it is hard to refuse when they seem to be good. When they seem to be ridiculous, it costs nothing. At this time of crisis there is the money factor.  It costs a little bit ... But I never got into this for money.

AR: I know you did not get rich with "The Bible," but you continue to do the math?

DM: I do my accounts every day, of course yes, because I'm still the kid playing with ball in Fogueteiro.

AR: Now I understand the reference to the "feet together" and the red card. Follow soccer?

DM: I have no team, do not follow.  But there is something there - companionship, thing of the street, and I was playing in the street - that touches me. The sun was setting and my mother shouted from the window: "Diogooo!" While she did not say my full name, I knew it was peaceful.

AR: What is important in your biography?

DM: My mother was a hairdresser. My father worked for years in the fish market. Hence, several things come to mind. I remember my father having two jobs. My mother has problems with her back, from many hours standing. They always were great examples of work and respect by the clients for whom they worked, sometimes beyond their strength.

AR: It did not go unnoticed that you said "good morning" to a lady in a uniform (perhaps a kitchen maid or housekeeping) who passed us. [The

interview was done in a hotel bar.]

DM: Always. I was reprimanded for saying "Good morning" to the bosses and not saying "Good morning" to those who are not.

AR: It is a tribute to your parents.

DM: It is a tribute to those who deserve it. It has nothing to do with politics, but I do not like power, or people with too much power. And I feel very good, very comfortable ... In the United States, I felt good in the Mexican neighborhood, one of the poorest in Los Angeles.

AR: You refer to when you were there to promote "the Bible?"

DM: Yes, and when I was there filming.

AR: The place where you feel good is a place of poor people, simple people?

DM: Simple people. Work dignifies people and gives them nobility. I tend to complicate things. Think too much, about things.   Whenever I'm surrounded by these people I simplify and enjoy more.

AR: We were discussing your history. You were educated for what?

DM: To take a course, whatever. At 15 years old, when I started "pursue" this side, it was a surprise for my parents. I believe it was even disappointing.  That resistance, that any parent would have, that I today, knowing what I know, [would], if my son said he wanted to be an actor ... If I may say so, I will be afraid.

AR: Afraid of what?

DM: It is very complicated to live day by day being tested.  Our life depends on how we do on a test. Even when we no longer need to audition, the next job is still a test. We are as good as the last thing we did. If this test does not go well, we lose points.  And we have to manage to pay bills, handle responsibilities, and one side that is artistic and will not change based on numbers. This daily balancing act, is brutal.

AR: There is one key thing in this living under a test, which is to learn to deal with rejection and frustration. It is a common thing in the United States, where actors have 100 auditions and hopefully get two roles. In Portugal, things have a different scale and rejection is experienced ...

DM: The rejection is stronger.  I started getting work when I stopped caring whether I was rejected or not. This allowed me to enjoy the moment. In doing the audition for Jesus, the fact that I thought I'd never get [the role] was crucial.

AR: How does a person learn to be rejected, to hear "no" and "no", without feeling worthless?

DM: It is about starting to realize the delicacy that is being an actor ... That's why I would not want this for a child — because it is not easy.

AR: Still not easy?

DM: For me, it is easier.

AR: You have been acting for 17 years, starting so early. You were studying theater at 21 years old. Where?

DM: I started with Art Studies at the University in Lisbon. The course was too theoretical, and I did not want to go to the Conservatory [of Lisbon], so I went to Tai [Escuela Universitaria de Artes y Espectáculos] in Madrid.

AR: Who are your mentors, who do you watch?

DM: I love the films of Tom Hanks. He is the actor

I would like to be. He has had some of the brightest performances in film history. "Philadelphia," "Saving Private Ryan," "Forrest Gump," that is on top of the films and on top of the performances.

AR: You have not said what it was at 15 years old, that made ​​you want to be an actor.

DM: Nothing. Just wanted to be an actor at 21.

AR: So what happened at 15?

DM: At 15 I was noticed. I did an audition to earn some money. Then I was with an agency, working

as a model.

AR: At the time, did you have the figure you have today?  

DM: The figure I do not know, was very skinny, but I was tall, 1.90 m. I did an audition for the NBP.  Virgílio Castelo gave me a [script] and told me: "You're on a terrace. Hot girls are passing. This is the environment. You're talking to your best friend to give him support. Action." A given time... [whistles]. "What is it, man?"  "Sorry, it was a pretty girl who passed." I was cast.

AR: What role was that?

DM: A role that could be quickly discarded, in the first novela in Portugal by Rui Vilhena, "Terra Mae." I was the nephew of Lidia Franco, grandson of Armando Cortez, and Patricia Tavares' boyfriend. I was an orphan, my parents had died. If you did wrong, you were let go after three times. Made it to end. That first novela was brutal. I was not used to it, I often came out of there crying. They left me in Cais do Sodré, I crossed on the boat, then caught a bus at times in the early hours. The next morning, I went to school.

AR: You did theatre, another novela, and the SIC telefilm, "Amo-te, Teresa" by 18 years old.

DM: With "Amo-te, Teresa" everything changed. Everyone knew my name. It was a boom, but there was no second "Amo-te, Teresa." I did three telefilms for SIC, I was a "mistake casting" for many things.  

AR: How did you learn to speak English that allows you to work in the Anglo-Saxon market?

DM: Language is not only knowing the words, it is mastering the musicality, the forms of expression. I decided to invest in English long before any possibility of working abroad. It was my thing, like planting a tree or writing a book. I want to express exactly what I mean in another language and feel comfortable with it.

AR: Had an American or English girlfriend to teach you...?

DM: No, never did. Learned in school and the films. Seeing films without subtitles is a great exercise. I had about five years of English in life, in public school. The rest is all "de la calle" (Spanish -- "of the street"). (Am also fluent in Spanish, I will make a third movie in Spain, in that I'm Spanish.)  

AR: For "The Bible" you took lessons?

DM: I had an accent coach, to neutralize my American accent. We worked together before starting filming, via Skype.

AR: Who pays for these things?

DM: This was the production. My accent is more American and the cast was all British. "I arranged an accent that is neutral because Jesus is not English or American. I wanted to find an accent that was not distracting or identifying." I was very happy because there were many critics writing in the American press about it.

AR: Tell me about the promotion for the series in the United States.

DM: It was for three, four months. The country is huge and we went to many States. Where you see/feel the machine, organized in detail.  We finished shooting in September 2012 and the series debuted around Easter. I went there a month and a half before [the premiere] and was there a month and a half more after the series ended. There is a staff who walks with us everywhere. Six people, at least.  Two publicists, a production person "grooming..."

AR: Who is it that does the "grooming?"

DM: Most days, there are more than one interview per day. The grooming is a person walking behind with clothes so as not to be in the same clothes for different interviews on the same day.

AR: The outfits were yours?

DM: It was clothes they arranged for me. We meet with the publicist for what type of clothing I like to wear and how I present myself, and choose within that style. For one program some would be more formal, another less.

AR: Could be how many interviews per day?

DM: In Miami I did 12 interviews in Spanish, on the same day, within six hours. We rode the run from Studio to Studio, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, webtv. The producer of the project says: "About this he won't talk because we do not want to touch on this subject. " Try to realize if there are inappropriate words. For example, I love the word "energy," which on one hand is concerned more with the scientific than spiritual; on certain programs the word "energy" can unpleasant. So I say "a sensation,""a feeling."

AR: It is stressful, I imagine.

DM: Very, very, very. The travel, the time differences.  

AR: You work seven days a week?

DM: Yes. When not filming, to travel somewhere.

AR: Normal planes?

DM: Very normal.

AR: First?

DM: First. It's for work. And allows for rest. I even have to sleep on the flight. Los Angeles to New York, a six hour trip.

AR: Had someone in your family with you?

DM: Had my son and my partner. Just not for filming because I cannot be worried in any way. Doing

promotion is different, and they have not always traveled with me. They were in Los Angeles.

AR: Having family around is one thing granted to an actor who is a at certain level?

DM: It has to do with common sense, goodwill and taste. If it is an extended period of time, I have a three year old son. Producers know it. It would be a bit insensitive of them if they did not help. The trips [for my family] are paid.

AR: That is, the actor must be emotionally stable and for this, they need to have family close by. That is how it is regarded?

DM: It is regarded that I will be much more willing, much more open, if not missing anyone.

AR: The epitome of the machine at work is the machine that involves Oprah?

DM: It is.

AR: What is there that is different from other machines?

DM: A group of 30 people, arriving three days prior to assemble everything, to see every inch, the hue of light for a given skin type. Her team goes to the site, speaks a little with me, collects information not published, does a kind of pre-interview. Oprah arrives, does her thing, and leaves.

AR: Did she ask you anything that surprised you?

DM: No. Many of the questions - and the interview that airs is not the entire interview, it is edited - were about the project itself, about what I felt and the impact it may have on me. She was friendly, was very soft.  The machine: it has to do only with money. Instead of having one person to handle three things, it's three people dealing with one. And if there are three people to deal with a light, it is good that this light is good - if not heads will roll. We feel we are less qualified (very Portuguese on our part to feel this). We are more qualified because we do more with less. They do less with more over there.

AR: The only thing that I did not quite catch this entire interview: why after this success do you truly not want to make an international career?

DM: Because it does not bring anything that I do not have.

AR: Can bring recognition internationally.

DM: This is for what?

AR: Allows access to certain work, films, things that you do not have access to the same way if you're here.

DM: What is it? More money, is it? If the question is: "do I covet it?" "No." If the question is:"would I like?" the answer is "Yes." If it comes, I'll go with full force.

AR: Why is your son called Santiago, a biblical name?

DM: Because the mother liked and I liked too. And because the Mother and I narrowed our relationship as I was in a novela where I was called Santiago.

AR: Your partner is a public figure, someone people know?

DM: No, thank God, no. They are not to blame for what I do and they do not have to be exposed.

AR: Ensures that?

DM: Completely. There is not a single photograph of

my son anywhere. In personal matters, I am like this: I like the kind of woman who is not the most blatantly overly-dramatic or more. From the moment I became an actor, not just any woman can handle it. The most interesting tend to move away. Do not want to be like the other: "Have you seen the one surrounded by women?"  Without doing anything, I am attractive to the public who is dazzled, not by me, but by the figure. The figure who appears on television, magazines, the one who is known. It is a bit secondary to the one who is in fact. Right there, I am deprived of being the real me. It becomes double or triple harder to know someone I might be interested in and who might be interested in me.  Know what I mean?

________

Obrigada to my partner in crime, Liliana, for her part of the translation and then for filling in the gaps of my and Google translate's work!

And thank you to Diogo, for yet another outstanding interview.  The honesty and depth in his answers blow me away every time, even in the rare instances when I personally "disagree" a bit with a couple of his answers.  :)  Seriously, it's refreshing to admire someone offscreen as much as you admire their talent onscreen.  

--Sara

Tweet