Edgar Morais
Edgar Morais (born June 25, 1989) is an actor, writer and director. Morais started his acting career on stage in several productions including the Portuguese Golden Globe winning adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar directed by Luis Miguel Cintra. He made his feature film debut as an actor in Catarina Ruivo's drama From Now On.
Edgar Morais | |
|---|---|
 Morais at the 2016 AFI Fest | |
| Born | Edgar Miguel Diogo de Morais 25 June 1989 |
| Occupation | Actor, Writer, Director |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Personal life
Morais was born in Portugal, to an antique restorer mother and a contractor father. He was raised in Lisbon and attended EPTC, one of Portugal's oldest and most prestigious acting schools. Morais speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
Edgar Morais currently lives in New York City.
Theater career
Morais made his stage debut in William Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Mirita Casimiro Theater in Lisbon in 2006. He has appeared in many theater productions since including Moliere's A Rehearsal at Versailles, Brian Friel's Lovers, Jean Genet's Deathwatch and Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen.
Morais is also known for his role as Lucius in the Portuguese Golden Globe winning adaptation of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Luís Miguel Cintra, at the São Luiz Municipal Theater in Lisbon.
Film career
In 2007, while still in theater school, Morais made his acting film debut in From Now On, directed by Catarina Ruivo (winner of the Audience Award at Rio de Janeiro Film Festival).
While living in Los Angeles, Morais was cast in the Lucas Elliot Eberl-directed drama, Fault Line (2009) alongside Michael Welch, Chris Marquette, Leah Pipes and Angela Sarafyan, in the hit NBC TV show CTRL, directed by Robert Kirbyson starring Steve Howey and Tony Hale, and in Q'orianka Kilcher's (Terrence Malick's The New World) directional debut film, Saudade. Morais also appeared in Chasing Eagle Rock directed by Erick Avari, with Beth Behrs and Michael Welch, in The Monogamy Experiment directed by Amy Rider alongside Shailene Woodley and Renee Olstead and in Oh Gallow Lay directed by Julian Wayser which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2015 in the Horizons section.
Morais can also be seen in the 2018 film Marfa Girl 2 directed by Larry Clark, and in the forthcoming Chalk directed by Victoria Mahoney alongside Shiloh Fernandez and Mirrah Folks.
Heatstroke starring Leah Pipes, Michael Welch and Paul James Jordan marks Morais' narrative directorial debut. The short film had its world premiere in the official selection at IndieLisboa International Film Festival on May 4th 2019, where it competed for the Short Film Grand Prize[1]. Heatstroke was also an official selection at FEST New Directors New Films Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Method Fest Independent Film Festival among others. The film won a CinEuphoria Award for "Best Screenplay" and "Top Short Film of the Year".
In 2019, Edgar was as one of only 10 actors selected to take part in "Passaporte", an initiative created by the Portuguese Academy of Cinema (Academia Portuguesa de Cinema) to present and promote Portuguese cinema talents to some of the most influential casting directors in the world.[2]
Edgar Morais is currently in production on his feature film directorial debut, You Above All, which he also wrote, co-directing with Lucas Elliot Eberl, starring himself alongside Olivia Thirlby, Steven Weber, Richard Riehle, Rita Blanco and John Robinson.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Other notes |
| 2007 | From Now On | Catarina Ruivo | Winner of the Audience Award at Rio de Janeiro Film Festival |
| 2008 | Coach Shane | Drew Renaud | |
| 2009 | Fault Line | Lucas Elliot Eberl | |
| CTRL | Robert Kirbyson | ||
| 2010 | Greece | Sarah Deakins | |
| Saudade | Q'orianka Kilcher | ||
| Miss Nothing (music video) | Meiert Avis | Single - The Pretty Reckless | |
| 2011 | Chasing Eagle Rock | Erick Avari | |
| You Are The Blood | Rafael Morais | ||
| 2015 | The Monogamy Experiment | Amy Rider | |
| Oh Gallow Lay | Julian Wayser | Venice Film Festival Horizons section 2015 | |
| 2018 | Marfa Girl 2 | Larry Clark | |
| You See the Moon | Miguel Nunes | CPH:DOX (Next:Wave) 2019, IndieLisboa International Film Festival 2018 (in competition - Short Film Grand Prize) 2018 | |
| 2019 | Heatstroke | Edgar Morais | IndieLisboa International Film Festival 2019 (in competition - Short Film Grand Prize), FEST New Directors New Films Festival 2019 (in competition - Portuguese Grand Prix), Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Method Fest Independent Film Festival. Nominated for 5 CinEuphoria Awards, winner for "Best Screenplay" and "Top Short Film of the Year" |
| Chalk | Victoria Mahoney | Post-Production | |
| 2020 | You Above All | Edgar Morais, Lucas Elliot Eberl | Filming |
External links
- Edgar Morais on IMDb