Moving to Europe made me switch a lot of things. It moulded me to become a proper professional player

[Public education] gave me a broader exposure to people and that, I hope, makes me a better judge.

I believe the benefits of two civilizations – a European education followed by the freedom and opportunities of this country – have been essential to whatever contributions I have been able to make to science.

It is education that has altered my life. Carried me far.

Over time, I came to see reaching out to people as a way to make a difference in people’s lives as well as a way to explore and learn and enrich my own; it became the conscious construction of my life’s path.

The more life you live, the more experiences you have, and they do shape and inform you in really important ways. What you do for a career is one part of who you are, but it’s not all of who you are

Being able to open up teaches you so many fundamental values about yourself and also increases your confidence in looking out to the world, facing them and strengthening yourself.

… I think maybe the rural influence in my life helped me in a sense, of knowing how to get close to people and talk to them and get my work done. That might have helped some...to try and get to know people and get to know all kinds of people better and investigate their ills and their prejudices and their goods and their evil…

When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You're able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently.

You know my philosophy is that the world is a big place so if you get the chance to live abroad lessons in life it gives you are like no other. I moved to Cascais when I was one and a half. I do feel very fortunate that I grew up in a Latin culture and learnt another language. When I approach a character or a script I can approach it from different points of view, with maybe a more international perspective.

I saw the world as vast and magical with so many cultures and people. It opened me up and made me very adaptable to change. It also meant that I was not afraid to be in strange places, to experience and to learn.

I like the idea of an international career, it appeals to me on a personal level. Absorbing different cultures make you a better actor. It makes you very ambiguous, which is how I describe myself.

I’m open to where life leads me.

The way he saw it, living taught you that you didn’t have to live the way you’d been taught to live. You came from one place but more important was where you decided to go.