Diogo on "Alta Definição"

Diogo was on SIC's "Alta Definição" ("High Definition") yesterday with host, Daniel Oliveira.  Once again, Dina is our hero and sent us the video and translation of this candid interview, of which Diogo himself said on Facebook: "The truth is that I don't remember what I said, what was asked, or what we talked about.  The truth is that it doesn't matter... The truth is that it was true and with an open heart.  I hope you like it..."  

Don't think there's ANY chance of not loving it, but see for yourself, below, followed by the translation.  Obrigada Dina!  

Diogo on "Alta Definição" by diogofanfriends

Daniel: Welcome, Diogo.
Diogo: Thank you.
Daniel: It's been four years.  You had just become a father and you were gonna go work in Hollywood.
Diogo: 4 years ago?

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

Diogo: (from Diogo's "Alta Definição" interview 4 years ago ) It is very nice to have the movie happen. But damnit, I had a son. It will not be as good as that. You know what I mean?
Diogo: Becoming a parent changes everything. But then, I did not go work for Hollywood. I went through there. It is an avenue. Contrary to what people think, Hollywood is not a city or a town. It is an avenue that leads to all things mythical.
Diogo: The first time I was on the Universal backlot, and I was there with a bunch of students and we came to the wall where Spider-Man tests his powers, and begins to climb. And I thought "Man, but this is ... Styrofoam. This is so much more fantastic on the screen... I have to do it in Portugal ... "
Diogo: Diogo Morgado, 33 years old, and I 'm on Alta Definição.
Daniel: The script is better than you imagined?
Diogo : It's been better than I imagined for many years. It was never love at first sight.  Never in my life wanted to be an actor.  It's like all true loves. They are the loves we discover that they cultivate, and that work. These are, in fact, the loves that endure and are the loves of our lives. It is a profound, and deeply genuine love.
Daniel: You say to not overemphasize what happens to you, what is happening to you.
Diogo: Where, somehow, we let ourselves wander and lose a little on the things that happen to us, and we forget where we come from, we lose track. And for me it is absolutely vital to realize why I do what I do, and what motivates me to do more, and sometimes better, hopefully ...  
Diogo: I think it is extremely important for us to lower our expectations, because the expectations are what spoil everything. Everyone says we should be grateful for what we have. Sure, that's obvious. But we should have no expectations of anything, but take advantage of everything that happens to us, whether I am doing "Malucos do Riso," or being "Salazar" or being on a cross for 2 days. I was happy at all times, in every second, to do whatever it was.
Daniel: You have difficulty dealing with people who quit?
Diogo: I have great difficulty in dealing with people who give up. I envision when people take things for granted and then say "man, I wasn't expecting it to be like this, I thought I was coming here and ..." Even if they don't say that, they have this attitude. And that causes me a lot of confusion. As do other people who say "man, I'm not good at this, but I do like it, I like it a lot." I have more ease in grabbing this person and saying "come on, man, have you seen this? What if we do it this way ... "
Daniel: That's what Armando Cortez did with you.
Diogo: That's what Armando Cortez did with me.
Diogo: At 15 we know nothing. We have many dreams and especially many doubts. And I always steered my life like José Régio (Portuguese poet/writer) said:  “I do not know where I'm going but I know I'm not going by that way." And Armando Cortez was the first person who shaped my thinking, he told me, "Go here. Go here, it is worth it. "
Daniel: The kid learned? Diogo: The kid is still trying to learn. Daniel: He (Armando Cortez ) believed more than you then. Diogo: I think he still believes more than I. (Armando Cortez passed away a few years ago.) Daniel: Is it that? Diogo: It is. He is there and here.
Diogo: There is another point at which I was very clear about the way and the why. When you are 15 years old you are thinking "Well, I 'm doing this, why? To earn a few bucks?" Quickly I realized that it was not for fame. And there was a time when I was doing a children's musical called "The Song of the Oceans" and I was a stuttering dolphin. And I remember once, we left and outside there where children really wanted autographs. And I wrote "A kiss, Diogo. " And the child looked at me "Diogo? Who is Diogo?" And I thought, "of course, that was stupid." I grabbed the paper, we had a lot of blue makeup on, I rub the paper over my face, try to draw a nose and wrote "Dolphin." And he picks up the paper and says "Thank you" and walks away. And I thought "Damn no matter what we are only interested in what I do or what I did during the time I gave them something."
Daniel: What Diogo do you see from the recordings of "Terra Mãe" and who took the ferry at Cais do Sodré?
Diogo: I was a kid. I was a very lost kid. It was a very hard process. More than hard, it was brutal. It was a complete unknown. At the time I knew nothing. The studio made ​​me all confused ... and the act of making something out of pure instinct, and realizing, by the reaction of the people, I was not doing a good job. And I had been filming in Alverca (city north of Lisbon) and live in Cruz de Pau (city on the South Bank on the other side of the river), every day there were many tears on that ferry. It took great effort and perseverance for me to stay with it. For better or for worse we have to take everything to the end. We may not like it, may not be run in the best way , but you have to take it to the end.
Daniel: You did you say in an interview that you were taught to live content with little.
Diogo: The way my brother and I were taught, that is. Deep down it is about being grateful for what we have. My father says to home, until pavement stones. Work and bring home. Family. The notion of protecting the family. The notion of taking care of the family. The spirit of my father's sacrifice is one thing that shaped me. I remember well that my father had to have 2 jobs to make ends meet. This is one thing that is absolutely normal for me. Not just as a child but as anyone, we learn what is good and bad, never from teachings, it is by imitating. Human beings are excellent imitators. I, as a child, and even today, I was much more sensitive to how people live, than what they say.
Daniel: What did you learn from your mother by observing?
Diogo: Any creative spirit in me came from my mother. My mother made puppets with empty rolls of toilet paper, and do plays for us. We 'd do our jokes. Any comfortableness in expressing myself maybe a little more creatively, was surely from my mother. And the ability to work. My parents, the greatest legacy they gave me was the ability to work. Daniel: They have expressed the pride they have in you? Diogo: They have obviously already expressed more than that now. Daniel: It is no longer news ... Diogo: You end up falling into the normal range. And that's what I do. Of course there are certain things that happen that are noteworthy and we talk about it. But obviously this thing at the beginning was greater. Daniel : What was the biggest scolding you took? Diogo : I've always been stupidly ... boring. (laughs.) Never climbed the fence, never did anything ... I think the most I did was play football with some new sneakers. Was as much as I did and my mom got mad and told me that those were not sneakers for playing ball. But the ball was stronger than me ... I never went out at night. So never went through that phase of "Let me go out ... " For example, one thing I don't understand is coming home drunk. Daniel: It made you the "boring" one in your group. Diogo : I've always been the boring one in my group. Still am today. But the advantage is that today I am already provided some "antics" (jokes) that let me look I have some style. But I will always be the "boring" one of the group. Daniel : It's easy for you relativize the compliments, especially this year, that emerged at dizzying speed?
Diogo: It's not easy to relativize, because part of these compliments, you know, I worked for them. So it would be hypocritical of me to say "Oh no, it's nothing." I worked hard for this specific project "The Bible. And it cost me a lot. So I'm not going to be hypocritical and say "no, let them be, it was no big deal." It was! Daniel: Received congratulations from all those you wanted to?
Diogo: No, no. I wish I had received congratulations from people who, at other times, told me that that I would never make it. Even though I know it's not a good thing, it doesn't stay mixed with bitterness. In fact I have nothing but praise for every human being who has the ability to realize he made a mistake, and was not happy at any given moment. And that to me is worth 1,000 times more than any grief or error that has happened. Diogo: Just this week I had a case of being in a certain place, and there was a guy behind me, with his group of friends, mouthing (mocking) "Dioguinho...", that thing. And also with some alcohol in the mix. And I couldn't take it. I had to get up and I had to scold that person aggressively, using language that usually don't use. The truth is that this person realized what he did, and half an hour later comes to my table to apologize. And I, at this point, I got up and gave him a big hug. And I had a good time talking with him. Maybe for other people, "the guy did nothing more than what he should have." But not for me. He did a lot more than he should have. He had to have a lot more courage to realize his mistake and even more so, his inappropriateness, because I was with members of my family. Was much more noble the fact that he turned away from his group of friends, having to swallow the "frog" (pride) and come to apologize to me, to the guy on TV. What he did is one of those moments I will keep. Maybe in 10 years I still remember him. And that, to me, is a life lesson. Daniel: And what was said by those who did not believe in you?
Diogo: They said I would never get there, would never be able to. Some said that I would never in my life be an actor, for example. People who told me through clenched teeth or more blatantly that I just came to this world through fashion. I did 6-7 months of modeling. So I walked in the door less respected at the time.
Daniel: And some that you did not expect gave you congratulations? Diogo: Yes, a lot of people. And these are the ones I cherish with fondness. Obviously these people with whom I came across a few years ago, and made ​​a point of expressing them, and even people who I do not even have a great connection with, people from competition, expressed in their respective channels, publicly revealed their pride as Portuguese for having a fellow countryman achieve something that is very difficult. That to me makes me even more proud to be Portuguese. Daniel: You, 4 years ago, when all this was just a possibility you said "nothing will be as good as becoming a father." Diogo: I, at the end of each work day, am a father. And I can say that in many of the most difficult, spinning moments, when a person asks "Will anyone notice?" "Will anyone understand what I tried to do at this particular time?" That is when being a parent makes all the difference. He will realize. He will realize as well ... or else I'll have the pleasure to explain well to him why it was done. Because nothing is guaranteed, and I am aware of that. If one day I cross a street and ... was no longer here, I'll be very proud of what I did. And I know that my son will also be. And for me there is nothing, absolutely nothing more important than that. Nothing! Daniel: How do you feel it has changed your life?
Diogo: Changed the perspective. All that I see and don't see. And you think "Let it be. Then I'll see it." You have to waste time thinking about it, because one day you have to understand, so you can explain it to him. Therefore, you might as well do it now. I've become more human, I've become more selfless. If anyone is in need of something, or in doubt ... I see my younger colleagues, in that, maybe some time ago I thought "man, no, I'm not getting involved in that boy's life. Today maybe I'm going to go, as Armando (Cortez) did for me one day, and grab his arm, and give him a hand saying "So... If you don't want to that's fine, but if you want to, believe me." And that's changed too, after being a father.
Daniel : What do you think and have you thought to look for your son when he's asleep?
Diogo: I'll be very honest. In the first 2, 3 months, I thought so "What have I gotten myself into? Will it go well? Will I be able to?" Santiago woke up every 2 hours, and the truth is that reality blends with fantasy when you 're not sleeping. You become lost. People said "So? Are you okay? " And I "Hmm, I am, I am. It's okay." "Are you happy?" And I am, "It's all great." It was tough .... 3,4,5 early months. The passion starts with the first interaction. The first time I looked at Santiago he pawed at me and I made a "cute" face at him and he looked me in the eye and gave a kind of laugh ... There is NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING that can explain it. It's an arrow sticking you from side to side and that will stay with you forever. And for that there is no explanation. When I look into the eyes of my son and my son says to me "you're a rascal" he says that to me, because I say it to him. Of course the word "rascal" will never describe what we're feeling when we say it. But the truth is it happens, it is there, and is so palpable , so real ... But was not born to be described, was born to be felt. He is better than anything I ever imagined. And then there's another thing I also learned. It's that we never know anything. And we must, once and for all, stop panicking at not knowing things and keep learning. Learning to cope. Learn to realize that the more I feel that this child is mine, he is not mine. He is the world's. And all parents who somehow think it is a kind of extension of themselves that they own, no ... they are in the world. It is up to us to have the privilege of being their guides. To say "look, there's the door" and the son "but I want to go ..." and the father, "Okay, if you want to, go through that door. I know, because I once crossed a door like this, and what happened to me was this, this, and this. Could happen, but also may not happen. So ... we go" and he's carrying each scenario of what can happen.
Daniel: You gave up doing theater because of your son?
Diogo: Yes, since he was born I have had some resistance. And the truth is that there have been several possibilities to do theater, and it did not happen because it costs too much not being with him. It has to be worth a lot, much, much, worth it. I have a mad longing to get back to doing theater. Contrary to what people think, since I started, almost every year, I do theater. And since he was born, so there are 4 years I didn't do it. Maybe in a while, when he's watching cartoons and I say "Can I see you?" And he says "Oh Dad, not now" maybe then I'll consider going do theater.
Daniel: You guys play what? What toys?
Diogo: Eh pa, we do it all. Just yesterday I was assembling a boat out of Legos.
Daniel: You turn into a kid, or the sense of responsibility is always there?
Diogo: No. What sense of responsibility? Are you crazy? Kid, straight up. Eh pa, I saw a box of Legos, and when I saw him playing with Legos, I felt like I was looking at a treat. I followed in playing Legos with him. The sense of responsibility is not for fun. Fun doesn't exist to be ruled. It is to be felt. People have to play and be silly. It's part of life. (Footage plays of Diogo "relaxing"/dancing during a break of filming The Bible.) Diogo: Nicolau Breyner, who is one of my heroes, he doesn't take it seriously, you know? In the eyes of others it may seem like it's something a little trivial or "Oh, he doesn't think about that." He thinks, he knows exactly what he's doing. He knows when not to take it seriously, but to be alert. Cause he's always learning. And hence the consistency. The consistency is in our constant need to adapt. At a time when there was the "Levanta-te e Ri" ("Get up and Laugh") in which the mood began to explode in Portugal, which left us legacies of great people who work right now in comedies. I've done "Malucos do Riso." I adapted. I got off of the shelf that I never put myself on, but where some people put me, "TV hearthrob" or whatever, I think it's pathetic that term. Got out of there and went to "Malucos do Riso" for 2 and a half years. Didn't do more because it was over.
Daniel: And you did "Revista à Portuguesa" too.
Diogo: And "Revista à Portuguesa." I think it was one of the first things I saw as a kid. I knew the fates of Marina Mota and Carlos Cunha, from back to front. I remember Fernando Mendes when he was skinny. I do not think he remembers most of the time that he was skinny . I even know the song of Marina. Do not ask me to sing...
Daniel: (laughs) No. Diogo : So when they invited me , I thought, " It's now or never. I do not care. I have no career, I have nothing, I'm learning every day ... It's what I'll do." Daniel : You didn't feel it was a step backwards? Diogo : No. That does not exist. I think it is only a step backwards when a person does things at heavy costs, thinking, "Man, I do not fee like doing this, but I will have to do it because of money" or because they feel they "have to be seen." Then, my friend, your steps are backwards. Daniel: The person always makes the function. Diogo: It is always the person who makes the function. Always. Daniel: Do you care about what others think? Diogo : No, I do not worry about anything. Because I have such a hard time convincing and pleasing myself. And when I'm the first to think good things about me, or to think not good things about me, the others become a bit secondary. I am very interested in the opinion of the people that I love. But the general public, I don't care what people think about me. About what I do, I care really, really, really, about all opinions, whether they are good or bad. And I think that we, as Portuguese, note that I am a proud Portuguese, we have this ability to sometimes not measure the scale of things. For both the good and the bad. The guy stumbles and is the biggest "beast". Does something slightly right, and is the best in the world. For no reason, for having just done my job, there were a lot of people who put me up there. And that's not true. The scale is not correct. It's not what I feel, it's not what I deserve. I just want what I deserve.
Daniel: It's easy to like you?
Diogo: I think the first impression is not positive,
because I am very closed off, very reserved. Some people interpret this as arrogance, others interpret it as being cold, but once I feel an affinity with people, and I feel comfortable with them, I set up friendships for a lifetime. And I've had several cases of people who have met me at one time or another, and have not had the best impression, and then later turn out to say "hey, I met you I was so ... a little ... and today I like you so much to the point to tell you what happened, and I'm ashamed that it happened. " So, I never take someone based on an impression of something that I find or think. I will only judge what I know. On the day that someone is rude to me, I respond in time, and say to the person. When someone is well known, everyone can comment on everything about your life. Can talk about everything. And it is indeed people who are with you, and who are your friends, who know you and know who you truly are, which become a shield. And suddenly I'm glad to have my world, and for people who love to be part of that world. Rui Unas, for example, is my friend for years and years, and not just a friend. He is a lifelong companion. When we're together, that's the world. No one is upset, and no one says "Oh man, it's been so long since I've seen you." That's what I think friendship should be, and the relationship between people.

("Bo Tem Mel" video plays.) Daniel: People liked that song with Rui Unas (laughs.) Diogo : Like. (laughs) It's silly. Diogo : It is the phenomenon of the internet, you know? It's the kind of things we have to readapt to. Diogo : I remember the first computers . The 128K Spectrum ... So many people now are thinking "Hey, I had one, I had ... " Daniel : And others are like "What is he talking about?" Diogo : Yeah, the "iPad kids" are like " What is he saying?" Diogo : Many cassettes to get a game ... and we had to wait about 15 minutes for the game to begin. So , suddenly, you're on a break with a friend, "Look, let's play a joke" (and he mimics Bo Tem Mel). One and a half million views ... Daniel : A few months ago I was in Los Angeles interviewing Daniela Ruah. We were going down Sunset Boulevard and there was a giant billboard with your face. Means what to you? Diogo: For me it's not the poster that mean a lot. I have a lot more pride in the series, that people have taken to social media to comment on, in very special and affectionate ways. That is much better than knowing that across the world there is a poster with my face. Genuinely does not tell me much. Daniel : It was easy for "Hot Jesus" not to fall into temptation? Diogo: I do not know. You have to ask him. I think it's easy for us to let ourselves be dazzled by dreams. You know, dreams of "One day when I have that ... " and then, all of a sudden we get that and "Okay, so why is it that I even wanted it?" I think this even happens in our daily lives. We want something really bad that we don't even know what it is, and after we get it "Oh ... so that's it?"
Diogo: Immediately following The Bible airing in the United States, I can tell you that I had an offer from a big producer to make a movie playing the devil. Taking the metaphor of things, it is tempting ... But the question I asked myself at the time, was "Why is he asking me? Because I'm a good actor? ... Hmmm .... I do not believe." In the background, he’s wanting the frenzy and controversy that comes from that. We decided that it would not, in fact, a good bet. It is not easy to give in to the temptations accordingly. Just as I reflect 2/3 seconds upon what I felt when I was doing the crucifixion scene, to realize quickly that this was not the way.
Daniel: You were indeed crucified, for film?
Diogo: I was indeed emotionally crucified. You know that was the moment I feared the most since I first knew that I was going to do the role, not only for the physical and emotional difficulty, but essentially what it is. How are you going to do that now? When everyone knows what will happen, in a brutally true form, and somehow bring something different? Knowledge of not just why, but to feel it is almost the first time you are viewing it ... I know it's ambitious, too, but it was there that I strived.
Daniel: How did you prepare for that scene?
Diogo: I knew I could not think or rationalize that moment. The moment I start thinking "Oh this is shaking, my left arm is hurting me, I can not feel my right leg." I'd been there many, many hours on top of a piece of wood this size (small). And I even physically prepared myself for this, so that the muscles would make a stand, to get my mind as least distracted as possible, by wind, by sunshine, rain, cold, aching muscles. So I prepared as much, and then was as available as possible.
Diogo: What I feel truly with this whole experience was that there are things that cannot be explained, only felt. The truth is that there were times from the reading I've done that what I was doing the thing in the right way at the right time. For example, that there is no wind. Suddenly the script has an analogy that the Holy Spirit is like the wind, we do not know where it comes from or where it goes, just feel it touch us and gives us his grace. And at the moment, just before speaking into the wind, a wind rises, just as it comes, goes. And there's no more wind the whole time. And this was the only take that happens, and that take is used, it's indeed extraordinary.
Daniel: You became more religious with this work?
Diogo: It made me more spiritual. It made me less rational. A person may have no religion, and have faith. With this work I had to be much more available to all, spiritually, as an actor ... And this exercise stayed with me. Stop looking and pause to see.
Daniel: And one day you are on Oprah.
Diogo: And one day I’m on Oprah (laughs.)
Diogo: I love Oprah. She uses the influence she has in the world, for positive things. And that's what we have to do here, in this world. What I like most is, basically, what I like most about you Daniel. You bring positive things. Evil is guaranteed, the woes are guaranteed, there is nothing we can do. But if we give so much importance to the good things, like we do to the bad... if we spend so much time to kill our minds trying to solve things that often have no solution, maybe if we give less time to the things we do not value, things become much easier. There is a reason to overcome things. And you do it in this program. And Oprah does it, as well, with the influence she has around the world.
Daniel: What didn’t you tell about that day?
Diogo: At the end when the interview is over, and she is already in the car to leave for the airport, she calls me over. And I go to the window of the car, she rolled down the window, we are talking, she opens the door for me to come in and we are just talking, the two of us, there in the car, about 15 - 20 minutes. She wanted very much to know, certain choices that were made in the role of Jesus, where did they come from. If they were suggested, if I had suggested something. There was indeed a demand on my part, trying to change the way we are accustomed to seeing. So there, at the scene of the last supper, I wanted it to not look as much like the last supper when it started. Seemed almost a family party, a normal dinner ... Are a few tidbits of things, I'm proud to have been able to change according to what was written. She gave me advice in the sense of having a lot of attention to what I wanted to do next, do not rush to absolutely have something. And I told her "don't worry", because I don’t rush and don’t want to do anything that is not what I feel I should do.
Daniel: And also is reaching into film, with scenes from the Bible, "Son of God".
Diogo: It's a blockbuster, for all purposes, that Twentieth Century Fox is launching, taking the life of Jesus only, as the main focus. That my work can be seen on a scale even greater than The Bible, is something that I think I'm still not very well prepared to realize the magnitude of.
Daniel: What was most difficult for you to get here?
Diogo: It is what's today still harder to me. That is staying the course, balancing me, because people should calculate that it is not easy for us to be constantly tested by our work, what we do. This is a huge pressure. To achieve a work that you provide evidence and if we do not provide evidence that it is important that the work goes well, because that is what ensures the next, and this is what guarantees the respect that people have for what you do. It's to keep ourselves, us, protected, and protect our family.
Daniel: It is a burden?.
Diogo: It was. Today it is not because you think "if things go wrong, everything will be fine and the same" because as long as I have my son, as long as I have my friends, people who I like and who are with me, all will be well.
Daniel: And how do you explain that to the kid (Diogo) that cried on the ferry?
Diogo: (emotional) Yeah ... I do not know ... If only I knew, right? I think that's it. We have no idea and we can only respond with the next step we take. And we have to be proud of it, and make it make sense of something. And not be just because we need to walk. And that's it. It was and is a wild ride. But I think I got double with every tear that fell on that ferry when I was young.  Without a doubt.
Daniel: What is that Santiago will say when asked who his father was?
Diogo: (emotional) I hope my son says that his father was someone who never stopped questioning.
Daniel: What was the most beautiful thing he's ever said to you?
Diogo: “I like you so much…”
Daniel: Are you angry with someone?
Diogo: No, no. I've never been. I get upset, sometimes, often disappointed, perhaps by my naivety. It takes me time to like, but then I like a lot ... much. And I'm very intense ... And the stabbings, when they come, that hurt the most are those you were not expecting, right? And yes, I was sad, disappointed, but angry, angry, no. And even more did not hold a grudge. But I was sad, of course.
Daniel: What do your eyes say?
Diogo: Look, they say I enjoyed being here with you. And in 2 years we can do another interview like this, which is genuine, which is a moment ... It is not easy to speak about ourselves, is it? It is very difficult. For me then it is much easier if you give me a role. I think any actor feels much more comfortable being behind a role. But I hope that my eyes say what my characters also try to say, which is the truth. Whatever they are, or say, or do, there is truth in them, and I hope that my eyes say the same thing.
Daniel: It was a pleasure.
Diogo: Give me a hug.
Daniel: Okay. Done.
Diogo: Look we are stuck (caught up in their microphone wires), but this was ... okay ... this was.

____________

Wow.  I can't even put into words how much I love this interview.  Thank you Diogo, for being so refreshingly genuine and honest.  Wow.  And thank you Dina, for making it possible for us to see this.

--Sara

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