Brazil's Wagner Moura wins lead actor Golden Globe for 'The Secret Agent'

Wagner Moura won the Golden Globe for pb histrion successful a question representation play connected Sunday nighttime for the governmental thriller “The Secret Agent,” becoming the 2nd Brazilian to instrumentality location a Globes acting prize, aft Fernanda Torres’ triumph past twelvemonth for “I’m Still Here.”

“ ‘The Secret Agent’ is simply a movie astir representation — oregon the deficiency of representation — and generational trauma,” Moura said successful his acceptance speech. “I deliberation if trauma tin beryllium passed on generations, values tin too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values successful hard moments.”

The triumph marks a large milestone successful a banner awards play for the 49-year-old Moura. In “The Secret Agent,” directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, helium plays Armando, a erstwhile prof forced into hiding portion trying to support his young lad during Brazil’s subject dictatorship of the 1970s. The relation earned Moura the histrion prize astatine past year’s Cannes Film Festival, making him the archetypal Brazilian performer to triumph that honor.

For galore American viewers, Moura is champion known for his star-making crook arsenic Colombian cause lord Pablo Escobar successful Netflix’s “Narcos,” which ran from 2015 to 2017 and earned him a Golden Globe information successful 2016. He has since been progressive successful a scope of high-profile English-language projects, including the 2020 biographical play “Sergio,” the 2022 animated sequel “Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish,” successful which helium voiced the villainous Wolf, and Alex Garland’s 2024 dystopian thriller “Civil War,” playing a Reuters warfare correspondent.

“The Secret Agent,” which earlier successful the evening earned the Globes grant for non-English connection film, marked a homecoming for Moura aft much than a decennary of not starring successful a Brazilian production, pursuing years spent moving overseas and navigating governmental turmoil successful his location state arsenic good arsenic pandemic disruptions.

Though helium failed to people a information from the Screen Actors Guild earlier this month, Moura present heads powerfully into Oscar nominations, which volition beryllium announced Jan. 22. “The Secret Agent” is Brazil’s authoritative submission for planetary diagnostic and has been 1 of the astir honored films of the season, keeping Moura firmly successful the awards conversation. Last month, helium became the archetypal Latino performer to triumph champion histrion from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Even arsenic his vocation has been shaped by politically charged projects, Moura has been cautious not to fto that specify him. “I don’t privation to beryllium the Che Guevara of film,” helium told The Times past month. “I gravitate towards things that are political, but I similar being an histrion much than thing else.”