Want to know why Algarve is a great place for film making? Then come to TEDxEdges and hear Joaquim de Almeida and understand why one of the most appraised Portuguese actors, well known in the world of the international cinema is backing the Algarve Film Commission.
Joaquim traveled the world working in Europe, Argentina, Mexico, United States and in Brazil in many movies and stage productions.
He left Portugal when he was 18 years old because he wanted to pursue art studies, and the Lisbon Conservatory was temporarily closed after the 1974 democratic revolution. He lived in Vienna, Austria, working in various jobs including gardening.
Won best actor award in the Cairo film festival for his performance in Retrato de Família (1992) ("Family Portrait"). Became known to the world with performance in movies such as, Good Morning, Babylon (1987), The Honorary Consul (1983) (aka "Beyond the Limit") and The Soldier (1982). He also worked in several New York City Shakespeare productions, such as, "Blood Wedding", "What Would Jeanne Moreau Do", in the "WPA Theatre" and "The Count of Mount Cristo".
In the late 1990s he started a rodízio grill restaurant named O Porcão in the docks district of Lisbon, and renamed it Xurrascão do Tejo in 2004. He lived in New York for several years, and in 2004 moved to his own house in Santa Monica, California. In 2005 he applied for American citizenship.
