Luís Miguel Cintra
Biography
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.
Known For

Villa Mauresque

My Case

A Talking Picture

The Dancer Upstairs

April Captains

The Jester

The Letter

Abraham's Valley
All Movies (96)
- Memoirs of Teatro da Cornucópia2025
- The Life of Mirrors2025
- Arrabalde2024 · as Prof. Luís
- We Are on Air2024 · as Voz
- Truth or Dare?2023 · as Self
- O Filme Feliz :)2023
- Love Lights2022
- Pathos2021
- Pathos Ethos Logos2021
- Around Rocha’s Table2021 · as Self
- A Present Light2021
- War2020 · as Cabo Mira
- Manuel Casimiro - Pintar a Ideia2018 · as Narrador
- Rage2018 · as Camacho
- Anteroom2018
- Días color naranja2016
- Correspondences2016
- The Old Man of Belem2014 · as Luís de Camões
- Illusion2014
- The New Testament of Jesus Christ According to John2013
- If I Were a Thief... I'd Steal2013 · as Vitalino
- Biette2013 · as Self
- Second Hand2013 · as Henrique Castro Lima
- The Enclosure of Time2013 · as Louis Canterel
- Gebo and the Shadow2012 · as Chamico
- Demain?2011 · as Ruben Dario
- The world that was (and that is)2011 · as Narrator
- The Strange Case of Angelica2010 · as Engenheiro
- The Sword and the Rose2010 · as Rosa 2
- Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl2009
- O Poeta Doido, o Vitral e a Santa Morta2008 · as Narrator
- Romance de Vila do Conde2008 · as Narrator
- From Now On2008 · as António
- Pas Perdus2008 · as (voice)
- Christopher Columbus, The Enigma2007 · as Diretor Museu Porto Santo
- One of Us Cannot Be Wrong2007 · as Devil
- Carlos de Oliveira: Upon the Left Side2007
- Magic Mirror2006 · as Filipe Quinta
- The Fifth Empire2004 · as Simão, Sapateiro Santo
- The Days When I Don’t Exist2003 · as L'oncle
- A Talking Picture2003 · as Himself
- The Dancer Upstairs2002 · as Calderón
- The Wolf of the West Coast2002
- The Uncertainty Principle2002 · as Daniel Roper
- Rending2001 · as professor
- Word and Utopia2000 · as Padre António Vieira (middle age)
- The Heart's Root2000 · as Catão
- Snow White2000 · as O Caçador
- Moonfish2000 · as Dr. João José
- Erros Meus2000 · as Luís de Camões
- April Captains2000 · as Brigadeiro Pais
- Os 25 Anos do Teatro da Cornucópia2000 · as Himself
- The Spousals of God1999 · as God's Messenger
- The Letter1999 · as M. da Silva
- Inquietude1998 · as Son
- Transatlantique1997 · as Aquilino
- The Convent1995 · as Baltar
- Casa de Lava1995 · as Actor convidado
- Blind Man's Bluff1994 · as Blind Man
- Two Brothers, My Sister1994 · as Friend at the Apartment
- Here on Earth1993 · as Miguel
- Abraham's Valley1993 · as Carlos de Paiva
- Zéfiro1993 · as Narrator
- Villa Mauresque1993 · as Tiago
- Poor George1993 · as Highschool Teacher Luis
- Day of Despair1992 · as Freitas Fortuna
- The Last Dive1992 · as Hyperion Extracts Reader (voice)
- Alcibíades1992 · as Voice
- The Divine Comedy1991 · as Prophet
- No, or the Vain Glory of Command1990 · as 2nd Lt. Cabrita / Viriato / King John II of Portugal
- Blood1989 · as The Uncle
- Recollections of the Yellow House1989 · as Lívio
- Where the Sun Beats1989 · as Artur (voice)
- A Propósito da Bandeira Nacional1988 · as Narrator
- The Cannibals1988 · as Viscount d'Aveleda
- Tall Stories1988 · as Dr. Fernando
- The Jester1987 · as Count of Trava
- The Mountains of the Moon1987 · as João
- The Distant Land1987
- My Case1986 · as L'Intrus
- The Satin Slipper1986 · as Don Rodrigue
- No One Twice1985 · as Carlos
- Vertiges1985 · as Herbert Ardown
- Lisboa Cultural1984
- Signals of Life1984
- Gestures and Fragments1983 · as Armando (voice)
- Island of Loves1982 · as Wenceslau de Moraes
- Silvestre1982 · as Pilgrim / Knight / D. Raimundo
- E Não se Pode Exterminá-lo?1979 · as Valentin 1
- Neither Bird Nor Fish1978
- O Outro Teatro ou As Coisas Pertencem a Quem as Torna Melhores1977
- Entremês Famoso Sobre a Pesca no Rio Minho1974
- A Pousada das Chagas1972
- Fragments of an Alms-Film1972 · as Narrator (voice)
- He Goes Long Barefoot That Waits For Dead Men's Shoes1970 · as Lívio
- A Morte do Príncipe—