Joaquim de Almeida

Joaquim de Almeida was born in Lisbon, Portugal. Son of two pharmacists and the sixth of eight kids, Joaquim showed signs at an early age that his future lay not in the family business. At the age of eighteen, after attending the theater course at the Lisbon Conservatory for two years, he left Portugal to pursue his studies after the Conservatory was temporarily closed following the 1974 democratic revolution. He lived a year in Vienna, Austria, working in various jobs from the Künstlerhaus-Theater to gardening. He moved to New York City in 1976. There, he studied with Lee Strasberg, Nicholas Ray and Stella Adler while working as a bartender. After doing some theater and small roles in Soap Operas, he finally landed his first role in a film "The Soldier" in 1981. The following year he had his first important role in "Honorary Consul", working next to Richard Gere, Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins. But it was his third film "Good Morning Babylon", directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, th