Dudu Camargo, presenter, actor and radio host, began his career in a surprising way as a child catwalk model. At the age of 9, he won a parade and took a theater course, which was fundamental for his entry into the artistic world. In his career, he initially stood out as an actor on several broadcasters, including Rede Família, NGT and TV Um, but it was on SBT that he consolidated his name, especially with the character Homem do Saco on the program Fofocando. This role not only guaranteed him a contract with the broadcaster, but also solidified his image in the artistic world.
Dudu’s entry into Primeiro Impacto, at the age of 18, was a milestone in Brazilian television, breaking taboos by becoming the youngest anchor on a national television news program. The name change from Primeiro Impacto to SBT Notícias was brief and did not change the format and time of the news. Camargo, who registered professionally as a journalist without a diploma, highlights that practice and continuous work were his main learnings, overcoming the need for a formal course.
In addition to TV, Dudu experimented with radio, working at Super Rádio, where he faced challenges due to outdated audience research, revealing the complexities of this medium. Outside of journalism, Dudu stood out in reality shows, such as Bake Off Brasil, where he surprised people with his cooking skills, reaching the final stage.
How did your career start as a presenter and actor? What were the challenges he faced during this period?
My career began as a child catwalk model. I participated in a parade without any pretensions and, to my surprise, I ended up winning first place, beating second place by just one vote. This result surprised me a lot at the time and brought me several benefits. I got agency cards and a theater course, which helped me lose my shyness and start my first artistic work.
On television, I started as an actor when I was still very young. My mother always accompanied me since I was 9 years old, in 2007. At that time, I hadn’t yet decided that I would pursue an artistic career, but I was having my first contact with this world.
You became known for playing the character Homem do Saco on the program Fofocando. How did this opportunity come about and what was the experience of playing this role like?
The character Homem do Saco was very important to me, because through him I won my first contract as an actor on SBT, since at the time I had the DRT as an actor. In 2016, this character combined my acting work with my knowledge in the area of celebrities and social columnism, which were the themes covered by the program. Before playing Homem do Saco, I had already worked on channels such as Rede Família, NGT and TV Um (affiliated with Rede Minas) with social columnism and coverage of news about television and celebrities.
His entry as anchor of the television news program Primeiro Impacto caused a lot of repercussion, mainly due to his young age and lack of journalistic experience. How did you deal with the criticism and challenges of this moment?
This repercussion at the time caused broadcasters to look at television news differently and overcome the prejudice of giving opportunities to younger anchors. I’m very happy when I’m stopped on the street or when someone sends me a message saying that I’m an inspiration in journalism, especially because I was the first to be in charge of a national newspaper at the age of 18.
The newspaper’s good results, both in terms of revenue, visibility and audience, contributed to the fact that professionals were not limited by age, but by talent, competence and professionalism. Television is a company like any other that needs results. Of course, because I was the first, I faced a lot of criticism from the press for being new, but today I see young people leading news programs, like Nilson Clava at GloboNews, among others.
After the cancellation of Primeiro Impacto, you were transferred to SBT Notícias. What was that transition like and how did you adapt to this new position?
In fact, little changed at that time. The transition from Primeiro Impacto to SBT Notícias was just a name change; the time and format remained the same. At the time, the title was changed because Silvio Santos wanted to standardize journalism with the same titles, graphics and scenarios. Months later, Silvio returned with the title Primeiro Impacto, which was strong and resonated very well, but maintained the standardization of vignettes, trails and graphics for all the newspapers in the house, as happens in news channels abroad.
At the time of the name change, it was also thought that SBT Notícias was a late-night newspaper, which changed presenter every hour. So, why, when 6:00 am arrives, change the name of the news program, if it could remain the same at dawn?
You registered professionally as a journalist even without having training in the field. How did this decision come about and how do you see the importance of academic training for journalistic practice?
By law, since 2010, journalists can work without a college degree. What he needs, I have: registration with the Ministry of Labor as a journalist, through MTB, for work done since I was 14 years old. The authorities understand that a diploma is not necessary. I believe I learned a lot in practice. Not that college isn’t important, but I believe that the more you practice your profession, the more you are able to perform that role, and that’s exactly what I did during my career.
Then, you had the opportunity to present a program on Super Rádio. What was this experience like and what were the main lessons learned from this period?
This wasn’t my first opportunity in radio. Before Super Rádio in São Paulo, I was, at 16 years old, at Líder FM, a radio station in the city of Ubá, in Minas Gerais. I worked in a communication group that this radio was part of. At the time, I worked on FM radio, and I was very happy with this opportunity, as radio is also a form of communication.
You mentioned that you were fired from Super Rádio due to low ratings. What do you believe contributed to this result and what did you learn from this experience?
Radio audience research is very outdated. For those who are following our interview to have an idea, the person from Ibope radio asks a person on the street: “What radio did you listen to yesterday?” If this person answers “I listen to Dudu’s program”, this answer is disregarded in the research, because they would need to say “I listen to Super Rádio from Monday to Friday, from 8 pm to 10 pm”. This is different from the method used for TV audience research.
In the TV audience survey, if you are watching, it will automatically be counted in Ibope. Radio audience research doesn’t work like that. The time I came on the radio was broadcast after a program called “Hora do Brasil”. This program is mandatory, and the radio stations showed it as if it were election time. This, unfortunately, left the radio audience much lower than normal. So, when my program started, the first few minutes of the audience were a little difficult.
On TV, in the morning, I was guaranteeing second place in time for SBT, with twice the audience of our competitor. It was a time when SBT was sometimes in fourth place for a few minutes. On the radio, at night, the outdated research did not show the reality of the moment.
You participated in reality programs. What was your experience on reality shows like and what do you highlight as most memorable about each of them?
The only cooking reality show I participated in was Bake Off Brasil, when I was already presenting the newspaper on SBT. Bake Off Brasil is a cake reality show, MasterChef style, but with cakes and sweets, from SBT, where I did very well. I even passed the stage and, in addition, it was Bake Off Brasil Celebrities, an edition with a cast of celebrities, of which I was one of the participants. It was only shown in two editions, a special that reached 12 peak points, an absolute success and absolute runner-up on SBT’s Saturday nights.
What are your future career plans and projects? Is there anything specific you would like to accomplish or explore?
I always worried about the next person. It’s no surprise that, when I did the police service provision and popular news on morning TV, it was precisely to show what is happening, including the problems, to try to alert the authorities and change these issues. But I saw that it’s not enough to just talk on television. I’ve been speaking on TV for over 8 years, and other journalism colleagues have been speaking on television for so many years and nothing’s getting better. Therefore, I intend, in practice, to help more and more people. I’m not much of a person who talks about the help I’ve already done on a personal and social level because I believe that what one hand does, the other doesn’t need to know, but I intend, in an executive way, to make something happen for these people who, like me, pay taxes. and we rarely see our money being well represented in services for the population. Enough complaining; I intend to go into practice and see what I can contribute to, helping as many people as possible.
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