Luís Miguel Cintra
Born: 1949-04-29 in Madrid, Spain
Known For: Acting
Biography
An iconic actor and stage director in Portugal, Luís Miguel Cintra was born in Madrid, in 1949. His connection to theater began in 1968, at the Faculty of Letters Theater Group, when he was studying Romance Philology at the University of Lisbon. From 1970 to 1972, he attended the Acting Technical Course, in the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, thanks to a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. When he returned to Portugal, he founded, along with Jorge Silva Melo, the Teatro da Cornucópia Company, in 1973, where he directed plays by some of the great names in theater, including Aeschylus, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Brecht, Beckett, Strindberg, and many others, almost always participating as an actor in the plays he directed. At the same time, until the 80s, he was a theater critic for O Tempo e o Modo magazine and he managed the Seara Nova Theater Collection, from Estampa publishing house, and the Theater Collection, from Ulmeiro publishing house. As a reader, Luís Miguel Cintra recorded complete readings of Viagens na Minha Terra, by Almeida Garrett and Amor de Perdição, by Camilo Castelo Branco, as well as poems by Pessoa, Sophia de Mello Breyner, Camões, Antero de Quental and Ruy Belo. In 1987, Cintra made his debut as an opera stage director, with L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, by Ravel and Dido and Aeneas, by Purcell, at the Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos. In the following years, he directed operas by Mozart, Haydn, Cherubini, among others. He worked with the Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos Choir and the Gulbenkian Choir, as a reader, in recitals by authors such as Schubert, Liszt, Sati and Poulenc. In 1984, he entered the Venice Biennial Theater Festival with his group and in 1988 he directed the show La Mort du Prince et Autres Fragments, by Fernando Pessoa, for the Avignon Festival. Later, he kept on presenting plays in Italy, France, Spain and. Belgium In addition to the theater, Luís Miguel Cintra began his career in cinema early, making his debut in a short film by João César Monteiro. From that point until now, he worked in over 70 films, with directors like the aforementioned João César Monteiro, Paulo Rocha, Manoel de Oliveira, Joaquim Pinto, João Botelho, Teresa Villaverde, Pedro Costa and the American John Malkovich. His many awards include two Bordalo da Casa da Imprensa Awards for Best Acting in Film (1995) and Best Acting in Theater (1997), two Globos de Ouro for Theater Personality of the Year (1999) and Best Theater Actor (2003), the Coimbra University Award and the Pessoa Prize, both in 2005. The LEFFEST will pay tribute to Luís Miguel Cintra’s work as an actor, through a selection of films he starred in; and as a stage director, showing recordings of some of the plays, followed by discussions with the audience and several actors he worked with.
Filmography
2024
- Arrabalde as Prof. Luís
- We Are on Air as Voz
2023
- O Filme Feliz :)
- Truth or Dare? as Self
2022
2021
2020
- War as Cabo Mira
2018
- Rage as Camacho
- Anteroom
- Manuel Casimiro - Pintar a Ideia as Narrador
2014
- Illusion
- The Old Man of Belem as Luís de Camões
2013
- Biette as Self
- If I Were a Thief... I'd Steal as Vitalino
- Second Hand as Henrique Castro Lima
- The Enclosure of Time as Louis Canterel
- The New Testament of Jesus Christ According to John
2012
- Gebo and the Shadow as Chamico
2011
- Demain? as Ruben Dario
- The world that was (and that is) as Narrator
2010
- The Strange Case of Angelica as Engenheiro
- The Sword and the Rose as Rosa 2
2008
- O Poeta Doido, o Vitral e a Santa Morta as Narrator
- Romance de Vila do Conde as Narrator
- Pas Perdus as (voice)
- From Now On as António
2007
- One of Us Cannot Be Wrong as Devil
- Christopher Columbus, The Enigma as Diretor Museu Porto Santo
- Carlos de Oliveira: Upon the Left Side
2006
- Magic Mirror as Filipe Quinta
2004
- The Fifth Empire as Simão, Sapateiro Santo
2003
- A Talking Picture as Himself
- The Days When I Don’t Exist as L'oncle
2002
- The Dancer Upstairs as Calderón
- The Uncertainty Principle as Daniel Roper
- The Wolf of the West Coast
2001
- Rending as professor
- História do Cinema Português
2000
- Word and Utopia as Padre António Vieira (middle age)
- The Heart's Root as Catão
- April Captains as Brigadeiro Pais
- Snow White as O Caçador
- Peixe-Lua as Dr. João José
- Erros Meus as Luís de Camões
1999
- The Letter as M. da Silva
- The Spousals of God as God's Messenger
1998
- Inquietude as Son
1997
- Transatlantique as Aquilino
1995
- The Convent as Baltar
- Casa de Lava as Actor convidado
1994
- Two Brothers, My Sister as Friend at the Apartment
- Blind Man's Bluff as Blind Man
1993
- Here on Earth as Miguel
- Poor George as Highschool Teacher Luis
- Villa Mauresque as Tiago
- Abraham's Valley as Carlos de Paiva
- Zéfiro as Narrator
1992
- The Last Dive as Hyperion Extracts Reader (voice)
- Day of Despair as Freitas Fortuna
- Alcibíades as Voice
1991
- The Divine Comedy as Prophet
1990
- No, or the Vain Glory of Command as 2nd Lt. Cabrita / Viriato / King John II of Portugal
1989
- Blood as The Uncle
- Recollections of the Yellow House as Lívio
- Where the Sun Beats as Artur (voice)
1988
- The Cannibals as Viscount d'Aveleda
- Tall Stories as Dr. Fernando
- A Propósito da Bandeira Nacional as Narrator
1987
- The Mountains of the Moon as João
- The Jester as Count of Trava
1986
- My Case as L'Intrus
- The Satin Slipper as Don Rodrigue
1985
- Vertiges as Herbert Ardown
- Ninguém Duas Vezes as Carlos
1983
- Gestures and Fragments as Armando (voice)
1982
- Silvestre as Pilgrim / Knight / D. Raimundo
- Island of Loves as Wenceslau de Moraes
1979
- Música Para Si ... (Production Assistant)
- E Não se Pode Exterminá-lo? as Valentin 1
1972
- A Pousada das Chagas
- Fragments of an Alms-Film as Narrator (voice)