Bruno Montaleone, aged 26 and with a career spanning 7 years, is one of the rising talents in the audiovisual market. He’s on the cusp of starring pivotal roles in Disney and Netflix movies.
In the Disney production entitled “Perdida”, based on the best-selling book by Brazilian writer Carina Rissi, Montaleone will give life to the good guy Ian Clarke. The plot is one of the most anticipated releases of the year by the company and has conquered fans around the world, generating discussions in social media bookstans. Already in “O Lado Bom de Ser Traída”, from Netflix, the actor opposite Giovanna Lancellotti in a film full of suspense, romance, drama and action.
Montaleone debuted on TV Globo screens in 2015, in “Malhação: Seu Lugar no Mundo”, and continued with success in “O Tempo Não Para”. Recently, he caught the attention of viewers with his performance as Matheus Ewbank in “Verdades Secretas II”, from Globoplay, and now he returns to the network with the character of “Amor Perfeito”, in the 6 o’clock soap opera, alongside a strong cast, including Thiago Lacerda as brother and Zezé Polessa and Paulo Betti as parents.
Currently, the actor can be seen in double doses on Netflix. In “De Volta às 15”, which had its continuation confirmed, Montaleone plays the adult version of Fabrício, João Guilherme’s character. Meanwhile, in “Diários de Intercâmbio”, a film that quickly became the most watched on streaming in its opening week, he stars as Lucas Paredes, opposite Larissa Manoela. Check out the interview!
Tell us a little about what it was like for you to play a leading role in a production as important as Disney’s “Perdida”?
It’s like fulfilling a dream. My dream has always been to make movies, even more so living a protagonist, and all this being part of Disney makes everything even more special. Not to mention the fact that I love a fantasy story. I am very grateful for this chance and I hope the fans are happy with our adaptation.
You’ve had a connection with sports since you were very young, especially Surf. Was the fact that you grew up on the beach fundamental to that?
It’s true, for sure, my parents always played sports and were always part of the sports crowd. So, since I was younger, they’ve always tried to get me into everything: judo, jiu-jitsu, basketball, soccer, swimming and surfing. I confess that when we get older we make excuses and sometimes we run out of time, which is my case now. Basically what I’ve been able to do is weight training, also because of my character, but I’m looking forward to doing some fighting again, getting back into the water, because that brings me a hell of a lot of well-being.
Is there any method or practice of yours that facilitates the way of experiencing the character?
I think the pattern that fits all the characters is researching their history, their past, their present, historical moment, where they lived, all this important information to place myself. From then on, we start to deal with other facts that come in the script and we put our imagination to work. There is also the individuality of each actor, what he can bring different to a character, what another actor would do differently. The whole process I mentioned earlier actually makes my work easier because, when I’m on the scene, when it’s time to record, basically, the hardest part has already been done, so with all that information imbued in my head, all I have to do in the moment is to be.
In addition to acting, you are also very active on social media and Twitch, where you interact with your fans in a more personal way. What do you like most about the platform and what new features can your fans expect from your streams?
It’s true, I never hid that I’m a gamer and lately I’ve been doing live on Twitch in a very relaxed way, where followers can see me playing. I like the audience, I confess that it makes me a little nervous, making a bad move, but that’s part of it. The atmosphere is relaxed, people make fun of each other. I think it brings a very direct relationship with the people that accompany me and I’m happy that they’re there.
How was it for you to play the character Fabrício in Netflix’s “De volta os 15”?
Back at 15 is a lot of fun. The story itself, being a time travel, already got me a lot. You can see that I like a fantasy story, right?! And the cast is great, the atmosphere is light and Fabrício is a very nice character. I joke that Fabrício is 80% in João Guilherme’s hands and 20% in mine, because he does most of the scenes, so I’m based on the essence that he gave to the character. It was a great success “Back at 15” and what I can say about the next season for those who are looking forward to it is that it will give a good plot twist, a good plot mess.
In “Perdida”, his character Ian Clarke, is one of the protagonists of the story. How did you prepare for this role and what can fans expect from the story?
Ian Clarke was by far the character that gave me the most trouble, I knew the pressure there would be on this character because it is a saga of a book that has many, many fans throughout Brazil. So, I knew it would be a very delicate and specific job. The first thing I obviously did was read the books of the saga, seeking all possible information about Ian, who in turn is already brilliantly described by Carissa in the books, and only later, I allowed myself to put my signature, shall we say, on the Ian. He is a great horse breeder, and I wanted to get closer to that reality, so I went to a farm, to carry out different daily activities that involved this rural life. I’ve always loved animals, and horses have always had a special place in my heart. I always liked to ride too, so, I honed my skills to understand what Ian’s day to day was like. Because despite being from high society, he was the one who took care of his farm business, so it was important for me to understand how he got his hands dirty. In addition, I kept an eye on what the fans would like to see in the adaptation, what were the main points, what could not be missing… he gave his all to make it, and I hope very much that it is true to people’s imagination.
In the film, “The Good Side of Being Betrayed”, you act with Giovanna Lancellotti, a work of suspense, romance, drama and action. How did it feel to work in this type of role and what was the biggest challenge?
It was very cool! Diego Freitas, who is our director, was someone I was already looking forward to working with, and this character is very special to me. I remember that I auditioned and, when I got it, I celebrated a lot, because it was a character that, in addition to being different from the previous ones, was older, so I expected that one like him would happen to me in a few years, and Of course, I accepted the challenge. I’m very curious to see how this work will turn out, and I really want to be able to tell you more about who he is, but I’m afraid of giving away spoilers!
Both “Verdades Secretas II” and “Diários de Intercâmbio” were successful, gaining a large audience. How did you deal with the pressure of being a part of these projects and what was your experience like working on these two different projects?
“Exchange Diary” was a very pleasant film to make, it was very light, it was very cool to be able to shoot outside Brazil in the snow, speaking English and in some scenes being with Tati and Larissa. All I have are good memories of our trip, our scenes, it was really fun work. I think this spills over when we watched the film, all the feedback I received was very good and I was very happy with the repercussions, not to mention that it was my first job at Netflix, which gave me this notion that the film reverberates worldwide, not just in Brazil. “Verdade Secretas” is a completely different universe, but once again everything was new to me. One of my focuses was to establish understanding and partnership with my directors and deliver everything they needed to deliver the best Matheus, it was an extreme dedication to my body, my physique, a moment in which I became more vain. Matheus was a difficult character to mold and, honestly, I didn’t know what the repercussions would be. But when I saw the success that happened, I was very relieved, because it was a difficult process for me, I had never done anything of this nature, at the same time the return was gratifying… good job done.
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*With Regina SoaresIt is Affonso Tavares