Acting · Madrid, Spain · Born April 29, 1949
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.
MovieAuto da Casa
2026
MovieMemoirs of Teatro da Cornucópia
2025
MovieThe Life of Mirrors
2025
MovieArrabalde
2024
as Prof. Luís
MovieWe Are on Air
2024
as Voz
MovieTruth or Dare?
2023
as Self
MovieO Filme Feliz :)
2023
MovieLove Lights
2022
MoviePathos
2021
MoviePathos Ethos Logos
2021
MovieAround Rocha’s Table
2021
as Self
MovieA Present Light
2021
MovieWar
2020
as Cabo Mira
MovieManuel Casimiro - Pintar a Ideia
2018
as Narrador
MovieRage
2018
as Camacho
Anteroom
2018
Días color naranja
2016
MovieCorrespondences
2016
MovieThe Old Man of Belem
2014
as Luís de Camões
MovieIllusion
2014
MovieThe New Testament of Jesus Christ According to John
2013
MovieIf I Were a Thief... I'd Steal
2013
as Vitalino
MovieBiette
2013
as Self
MovieSecond Hand
2013
as Henrique Castro Lima
The Enclosure of Time
2013
as Louis Canterel
MovieGebo and the Shadow
2012
as Chamico
MovieDemain?
2011
as Ruben Dario
MovieThe world that was (and that is)
2011
as Narrator
MovieThe Strange Case of Angelica
2010
as Engenheiro
MovieThe Sword and the Rose
2010
as Rosa 2
MovieEccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl
2009
O Poeta Doido, o Vitral e a Santa Morta
2008
as Narrator
MovieRomance de Vila do Conde
2008
as Narrator
MovieFrom Now On
2008
as António
Pas Perdus
2008
as (voice)
MovieChristopher Columbus, The Enigma
2007
as Diretor Museu Porto Santo
One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
2007
as Devil
Carlos de Oliveira: Upon the Left Side
2007
MovieMagic Mirror
2006
as Filipe Quinta
MovieThe Fifth Empire
2004
as Simão, Sapateiro Santo
MovieThe Days When I Don’t Exist
2003
as L'oncle
MovieA Talking Picture
2003
as Himself
MovieThe Dancer Upstairs
2002
as Calderón
MovieThe Wolf of the West Coast
2002
MovieThe Uncertainty Principle
2002
as Daniel Roper
MovieRending
2001
as professor
TVHistória do Cinema Português
2001
MovieWord and Utopia
2000
as Padre António Vieira (middle age)
MovieThe Heart's Root
2000
as Catão
MovieSnow White
2000
as O Caçador
MovieMoonfish
2000
as Dr. João José
Erros Meus
2000
as Luís de Camões
MovieApril Captains
2000
as Brigadeiro Pais
Os 25 Anos do Teatro da Cornucópia
2000
as Himself
MovieThe Spousals of God
1999
as God's Messenger
MovieThe Letter
1999
as M. da Silva
MovieInquietude
1998
as Son
MovieTransatlantique
1997
as Aquilino
MovieThe Convent
1995
as Baltar
MovieCasa de Lava
1995
as Actor convidado
MovieBlind Man's Bluff
1994
as Blind Man
MovieTwo Brothers, My Sister
1994
as Friend at the Apartment
MovieHere on Earth
1993
as Miguel
MovieAbraham's Valley
1993
as Carlos de Paiva
MovieZéfiro
1993
as Narrator
MovieVilla Mauresque
1993
as Tiago
MoviePoor George
1993
as Highschool Teacher Luis
MovieDay of Despair
1992
as Freitas Fortuna
MovieThe Last Dive
1992
as Hyperion Extracts Reader (voice)
Alcibíades
1992
as Voice
MovieThe Divine Comedy
1991
as Prophet
MovieNo, or the Vain Glory of Command
1990
as 2nd Lt. Cabrita / Viriato / King John II of Portugal
MovieBlood
1989
as The Uncle
MovieRecollections of the Yellow House
1989
as Lívio
MovieWhere the Sun Beats
1989
as Artur (voice)
A Propósito da Bandeira Nacional
1988
as Narrator
MovieThe Cannibals
1988
as Viscount d'Aveleda
MovieTall Stories
1988
as Dr. Fernando
MovieThe Jester
1987
as Count of Trava
MovieThe Mountains of the Moon
1987
as João
MovieThe Distant Land
1987
MovieMy Case
1986
as L'Intrus
MovieThe Satin Slipper
1986
as Don Rodrigue
MovieNo One Twice
1985
as Carlos
Vertiges
1985
as Herbert Ardown
MovieLisboa Cultural
1984
MovieSignals of Life
1984
MovieGestures and Fragments
1983
as Armando (voice)
MovieIsland of Loves
1982
as Wenceslau de Moraes
MovieSilvestre
1982
as Pilgrim / Knight / D. Raimundo
MovieE Não se Pode Exterminá-lo?
1979
as Valentin 1
Neither Bird Nor Fish
1978
MovieO Outro Teatro ou As Coisas Pertencem a Quem as Torna Melhores
1977
MovieEntremês Famoso Sobre a Pesca no Rio Minho
1974
MovieA Pousada das Chagas
1972
MovieFragments of an Alms-Film
1972
as Narrator (voice)
MovieHe Goes Long Barefoot That Waits For Dead Men's Shoes
1970
as Lívio
A Morte do Príncipe
