Have you guys seen The Secret Agent yet? The Brazilian film, starring and produced by Wagner Moura, has already made Oscar history. Moura is the first Brazilian actor to get nominated for Best Actor, and The Secret Agent also picked up Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best International Picture and Best Casting. I watched it and it kind of messed me up. It’s really moving and beautiful, and I’m not trying to do huge spoilers, but the mood went from “Coen Brothers-esque absurdist violence” to one of the most depressing shots in film. I would not be mad at all if Wagner ended up winning Best Actor, btw. He’s phenomenal in it. Wagner recently chatted with Vanity Fair about the film and about his life in America nowadays. Some highlights:

His exciting moment during the awards season: “Sometimes I get very shy with things, but I had the chance to have dinner with Al Pacino, and that was a highlight in my life. It was wonderful, and he’s wonderful. That was really something for me that meant a lot—how warm he was. It’s very exciting to be around people that you admire… He was just so wonderful.”

The Secret Agent focuses on normal people living in a fascist country: “This is a very different project for me, because Kleber and I developed it together. And it came from a very personal thing that we both shared, which was what it was to live in Brazil under a fascist government—and being vocal against it and suffering the consequences of it. I knew that that character had a lot to do with myself and with Kleber.

On Brazil: “I think it’s more about the logic of Brazil—that’s not exclusively the logic of the dictatorship. It’s something that persists. It’s still there. Even under [President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva], who is for me, one of the greatest leaders that Brazil has ever had, it’s a logic that still persists in the country. We’re talking about the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery. [Jair] Bolsonaro is not a character that emerged from nothing. He didn’t come from Mars—he is deeply grounded in the history of that country. It’s full of beauty, but it’s also deeply grounded in violence, authoritarianism, and lots of social inequity.”

Living in the US: “What scares me most with the world, not just the US, is that the idea of truth is kind of over. That facts, they don’t matter anymore. That is the biggest issue, because when facts don’t matter—when people start to live in different mental worlds, in different realities—then how can you build a bridge?

Whether actors & artists have a responsibility to talk about politics: “I never bought the pressure on celebrities to speak up, because I don’t think that’s even fair. People should speak up if they feel in their bones that they have to. Because in order to do that, you have to be aware that there will be consequences. This conversation that I’m having with you right now—I have no doubt that, especially given how polarized this world is, some people are gonna go, “Oh, that’s interesting. I kind of agree with what he’s saying.” And many people are gonna go ballistic in Brazil. I’m an actor that divides opinions. I decided that I was going to stick with what I believe—I’m not going to be quiet because this is how I feel. I wouldn’t sleep well if I was quiet, but there are other people that are not ready to talk. And they’re not ready to receive the backlash. So I don’t think that they should be pressured to do what they don’t feel.”

What would he rather have, another World Cup title for Brazil or the Oscar? “I don’t know—it’s a very tough one. We’ve won five World Cups. Listen: I think it would be great for Brazilians to have an Oscar too.”

[From Vanity Fair]

He also gave a spoilery answer to a question about the second role he plays in The Secret Agent, but I left it out because it’s better for you to watch the film and judge for yourself. What was especially amazing about Moura playing a second role is that everything about him was different. The way he stood, his posture, how he gestured, how he spoke. He just built a whole-ass character from scratch in one day of filming. Anyway, as I said, I would be more than happy to see him win the Oscar. It might even happen, you never know!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.