Milton Gonçalves (Brazilian Portuguese: 9 December 1933 – 30 May 2022) was a Brazilian actor and television director, who was one of the most famous black actors in Brazil, having collaborated twice with acclaimed director Héctor Babenco.

One notable role with Babenco was that alongside William Hurt and Raul Julia as a police chief in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

He worked in many telenovelas, including A Cabana do Pai Tomás, Irmãos Coragem, O Bem-Amado, Pecado Capital, Baila Comigo, Partido Alto, Mandala, Felicidade, A Favorita, and Lado a Lado. He also worked as director in O Bem-Amado and Escrava Isaura.

Career

Gonçalves began his career in São Paulo, in an amateur group. As he moved to a professional group, he met Augusto Boal, who was looking for an actor to play an old black man. Joining Boal's Teatro de Arena, Milton Gonçalves found an open environment for political, philosophical, and artistic discussion, where he was not discriminated against on the baseless basis of his race.

Gonçalves wrote four plays, one of which was staged by the Teatro Experimental do Negro and directed by Dalmo Ferreira. He said of this engagement "There I learnt everything I know about Theater. It was fundamental for my comprehension of the world."

A Black Movement activist, Milton Gonçalves tried a political career, in the 1990s, as a candidate to Rio de Janeiro state governorship.

Father of actor Maurício Gonçalves, he was married to Oda Gonçalves from 1966 until her death in 2013.

Death

Gonçalves died in Rio de Janeiro on 30 May 2022, at the age of 88, from complications of a stroke he had suffered two years earlier.

Selected filmography

• 1958 - O Grande Momento
• 1960 - Cidade Ameaçada
• 1968 - O Bravo Guerreiro
• 1972 - Vila Sésamo
• 1973 - O Bem-Amado
• 1974 - A Rainha Diaba
• 1976 - Carioca tigre
• 1977 - Lucio Flavio
• 1984 - Quilombo
• 1985 - Kiss of the Spider Woman
• 1986 - Sinhá Moça
• 1987 - Subway to the Stars
• 1988 - Moon over Parador
• 1989 - Wild Orchid
• 1992 - Kickboxer 3
• 1995 - Irmãos Coragem
• 1996 - O Rei do Gado
• 1997 - Por Amor
• 1997 - Four Days in September
• 1999 - Orfeu
• 2002 - Esperança
• 2003 - Carandiru
• 2005 - América
• 2006 - Cobras & Lagartos - Jair
• 2008 - A Favorita
• 2009 - Força-Tarefa
• 2011 - Insensato Coração
• 2011 - Assalto ao Banco Central
• 2011 - Fina Estampa
• 2011 - Zorra Total
• 2011 - The Silver Cliff
• 2012 - Lado a Lado