Leonardo Villar

Leonardo Villar born as Leonardo Motta in Piracicaba São Paulo on July 25 1923 São Paulo July 3 2020 was a Brazilian actor He became internationally known for his performance as Zé do Burro in Anselmo Duartes O Pagador de Promessas the only Brazilian film so far awarded with a Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival He started his career at the theater but later also started acting in film and television Villar debuted at the theater on the 1950 play Os Pássaros His first film role only came in 1962 as Zé do Burro in Anselmo Duartes O Pagador de Promessas He received international exposure for the role after the film won the Palme dOr and became the first Brazilian and South American feature nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film In 1965 he debuted on television in the TV Tupi telenovela A Cor de Sua Pele which tells the story of an interracial relationship In 1972 he moved to Rede Globo where he starred in successful shows such as Escalada and Estúpido Cupido In 2001 after almost 20 years without acting in the theater he starred in the play A Moratória In 2008 after eight years without acting in a film he starred in the critically acclaimed Chega de Saudade From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia