Rafael Morais

Rafael Morais is an actor. He studied theater in Lisbon, Portugal and at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Los Angeles. Rafael Morais has worked with globally celebrated filmmakers such as Nick Hamm, Marco Martins, Pedro Cabeleira, Luis Prieto, João Canijo, Tiago Guedes, among others.

Personal life
Morais was born in Portugal to an antique restorer mother and a contractor father. He was raised in Lisbon and graduated from EPTC, one of the most prestigious acting schools in Portugal, followed by a scholarship by the Actors Guild to study at the renowned Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Los Angeles.

Morais speaks fluent English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish and divides his time between Europe and the United States.

Film career
Rafael Morais had his breakout role in Marco Martins' controversial film "How to Draw a Perfect Circle" (Portugal's official submission to the 82nd Academy Awards and winner of the Best Ensemble Acting Award at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival).

Some of Rafael's notable work in film includes the critically acclaimed films "Living Bad" and "Bad Living" (Portuguese entry for the 96th Academy Awards) and winner of the Silver Bear Jury Award at the 2023´s Berlinale)"; Gentian Koçi's "A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On" (Albania´s entry for the 96th Academy Awards); the biopic Amadeo, where he portrays Portugal's iconic painter Amadeo de Souza Cardoso; "Blood of My Blood" (Portuguese entry for the 85th Academy Awards) by acclaimed director João Canijo. "Blood of My Blood" was the official selection of festivals such as: Toronto International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, AFI Fest, Berlin Film Festival, and many others. The film received the FIPRESCI Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and a Special Mention at the Miami International Film Festival; "Doomed Love" (Locarno International Film Festival's official selection) and "Joshua Tree, 1951" (Palm Springs International Film Festival; Santa Barbara International Film Festival; among others.

Rafael Morais is also known for the three hit Netflix series "Glória (2021 TV series)", "Turn of the Tide" created by Augusto Fraga and "White Lines", created by Álex Pina ("Money Heist" aka "La Casa de Papel" ).

Rafael Morais also wrote, directed and starred in "You Are The Blood" (IndieLisboa International Film Festival’s official selection and NewFilmMakers Film Festival main competition).

Accolades
Rafael Morais was awarded with the Best Actor Award at the Prishtina International Film Festival for his performance in A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On (Albania's official submission to the Oscars. Rafael's portrayal of deaf-mute Agim earned him rave reviews and his performance was lauded as one of the best of the year by the international press such as Variety and Screen Daily as "one of the best performances of the year". The film was Albania's official submission to The Oscars.

Rafael Morais was nominated as Best Actor at the Portuguese Golden Globes two consecutive years for the films Blood of My Blood" and "How to Draw a Perfect Circle" for which he also received the L'Oreal Rising Star Award at the LEFFEST "Lisbon International Film Festival"

In 2024, Rafael Morais was one of the only ten actors invited to be part of the prestigious Berlinale Talents and was distinguished with the Cineuphoria Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Bruno Gascon’s feature film “Homeland”.

Theater career
Morais has appeared in many theater productions such as Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love at the Mirita Casimiro Theater; "Music Around Circles" by Marco Martins; "The Constitution" by Mickael de Oliveira at the MiMoDa Studios in Los Angeles; Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen; "The Party", an original production of Nature Theater of Oklahoma and "Man to Man" by Manfred Karge, an Arena Ensemble Production.