INTERVIEW from Correio da Manhã

Thank you to Olivia for the translation

This country is very good to come on vacation but I don't advise anyone to invest in it. That's one of the reasons why I filed for American citizenship, I think it was about time...."

One of the most famous and internationally appreciated Portuguese actors, has already filed for American citizenship. After 28 years of living in the U.S.A, Joaquim de Almeida has decided it was time for double nationality; for his children and for his indignation against the lack of encouragement given to investors in Portugal. You see, his restaurant in Portugal has seen better days, but it was precisely at the "Churrascão do Tejo" that the actor spoke to us about what brought him to Portugal, this time: his children, his business and the promotion of "Um Tiro no Escuro" ("A shot in the dark") by Leonel Vieira; a thriller in which he plays the role of a police agent.

It is a very distinct character from the one he plays in "24", where once again he is the "bad guy". He also spoke about his projects.

INTERVIEW:

You are here in Portugal promoting "Um Tiro no Escuro", right?

I'm in Portugal to be with my children, as I do regularly, and also because I was invited to be a part of the jury at the Las Palmas Cinema Festival, in the Canary Islands and...of course to promote "Um Tiro no Escuro". I think that Leonel Vieira is someone who knows how to make movies which please the audience; you can call it commercial or whatever, because there is enough room for every kind of movie and Portugal needs it. People see American movies because they tell stories and this movie has it all: drama, mystery, cross-over stories and the best bank robbery I've ever seen in cinema. I'm interested in doing these kind of films.

In my opinion there is no Portuguese, Spanish or American cinema, there's the kind of cinema I like doing and the kind I don't like doing. What I'm mainly interested in is a good script. Yesterday I saw a tape of a Spanish movie that I did, which is not finished yet but which I'll try to have distributed here in Portugal. It's a completely different movie and it's not "commercial"; I liked the script and so I did it.

Not necessarily. Mainly because i'm already 48 and so I'm not particularly interested in running or fighting. This year I finally played other kind of roles. I'm mostly into roles that I can work emotions and "Um Tiro no Escuro" is an example of that.

I have done all those characters. It's obvious that in the U.S.A, for some time, I played villains that were a success, so they invited me more for those kind of roles. As a matter of fact, that still happens nowadays as you can see in "24", but I'm starting a new series "Wanted", in which I play the captain of an undercover police squad. I don't like being stereotyped, but being what it is and as I need to work...I'm an actor and I'd rather do stereotyped characters in the U.S.A than doing soap operas in Portugal.

In fact, your career has been done mainly in the movies...

It's what I like best, I have more time to build characters while on tv there's almost no time to memorize the scripts which can change every day. It's too much work and pressure.

Everyday. It's very consuming. In the U.S.A you do an hour of television in 8 days and it costs a million dolars. This is as much as a Portuguese film - it's a huge responsability. But in this kind of series I only ask to be given roles which allow me to make films, come to Portugal and be with my children.

Do your children ever join you in the U.S.A?

Yes, but being children from different working-mothers makes it a bit hard, but for me and for them I have already filed for American citizenship.

You're going "to be an American citizen", thinking about your children's future?

Yes, so that tomorrow they can live there. We can have double nationality and it all becomes easier.

How long does it take to "become" American?

For me, it takes about a year. I got the papers at the end of 5 years in the U.S.A but I never filed them. Now I'm finally taking care of that.

From this, I assume it will be hard for you to settle for good away from Portugal?

It's hard because I love doing movies and there is no film industry in Portugal, so it's more likely for me to stay there. Our country is very small and I see no evolution because no one tries to help such a small industry. Besides, Portugal is the only country where when politicians make mistakes, taxes rise and the ones who get hurt are middle-class families, which by the way are starting to disappear.

And what about Hollywood, how did it happen? Did you take a big risk?

Not at all. I was 16 when I left home. The Conservatório closed and I went to study abroad. I ended up in the States at the age of 19, where I studied with four great teachers. Then, step by step I made my "debut" in the film industry. It's so much better to have an intenational career; I've tried to be away from Portugal because it's difficult to live here and at the same time have an international career.

Nowadays I spend more time here, my children are Portuguese. And I also made a wrong choice in the past by living in New York when 10 years ago I had a "wave" of invitations--I should have moved to L.A., my career would have been very different.

Is it necessary to be seen?

Yes. I only sold my house in New York a year ago and moved to L.A., I now have a house in Santa Monica. At the time I thought differently because I worked in Europe, I was comfortable and I wanted to be with my children. These are very difficult choices we have to make in life and it's very hard to be away from the family.

What led you to acting?

I decided to do this at 16, I used to impersonate a lot, I would put on a character's personna and keep it for a long time. Then I went to Paris, saw some rehearsals and I found out that it was acting that I wanted to do in life.

Did your parents encourage you?

No. At first they didn't understand, I left home at the age of 16.

But did they allow you to leave? How did you live?

While studying I was working in the University's kitchen, I had a scholarship from Gulbenkian and, at the same time, I was doing figuration in the San Carlos theatre. Believe it or not, in 1974 I was making 23.000 escudos a month. At that time the minimum wage was 2.500 escudos so I was doing really well. (laugh)

And how did the restaurant come about?

I decided to invest in Portugal and also at the time my ex-wife liked having things to do so...but things didn't go that well. Some things have changed, I now have someone in charge, but since they closed the railway on the way to Cais do Sodré (Lisbon), it has been very bad and some businesses have already closed, one of them was next door. But it seems this is irrelevant to Town Hall or to REFER. In Portugal they talk about how bad it is for business because there are no investors but they don't encourage anyone to do it. This country is very good to come on vacation but I don't advise anyone to invest in it. That's one of the reasons why I filed for American citizenship, I think it was about time....

How many employees do you have?

Now there are 20 but there used to be 70.

Besides the series, do you have other projects?

I have some offers, but I still have to look up the dates. I'll be doing a movie in Spain, another one in México and two more in the U.S.A.

Most remarkable woman?

My mother.

What do you most admire in a woman?

Beauty, complicity and above all intelligence and simplicity. I have no patience for vain and self-interested women.

Joaquim de Almeida is 48 and he's a Pisces. He was born on the 15th of March, in Lisbon. He's divorced with two children from different wives; loves to read Kundera and Gabriel Garcia Marquez

By: Teresa Oliveira

The original interview can be found: Web site for the Correido da manha