João Costa Menezes is a London-based

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

film actor, film producer and film director. After a degree in law by the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

and three years working as a lawyer in Portugal, João decided to move to London in 1998, to follow an acting career. He got his first acting job in 1999, in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series ''

Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

'', playing ''Luis''. After that, he appeared in series such as ''

Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to: * ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake ** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series * ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books * ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...

'' and ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

''. In London, he took a film course at the

London Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London, United Kingdom, and is situated in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

and a few workshops at Raindance . His first short film as a director, actor and producer ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

'', was shot in London in 2000. It was awarded a special prize at the

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

Short Film Festival, Spain. In 2001 he directed his first feature film, ''

Akasha Akasha (Sanskrit ' ) means Aether (classical element), aether in traditional Hindu cosmology. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century CE. In many modern Indo-Aryan languages and Dravidian la ...

'', a no-budget film shot in video, distributed in Russia, nominated for the Méliès d'Argent 2001. It was premiered in the United States of America at the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Film Festival. In 2004 he directed his first music video ''Melancholic Ballad (for the Left Lovers)'', for ''The Fingertips'', which became number 1 at Sic Radical and got the Best Music Video Award at the Arouca Film Festival. João Got his Unarmed & Rapier and Dagger certification by the

British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat The British Academy Of Stage & Screen Combat (BASSC) is a British organisation for the tuition and development of safety in stage combat for theatre, television and feature film. History The British Academy Of Stage & Screen Combat (BASSC) has it ...

in June 2005. He has done stunts in '' Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)'' and played a Roman Soldier in ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

''. In 2007 he directed the short film '' Remember My Dream'', with the English model

Jakki Degg Jakki Degg (born 20 February 1978) is an English glamour model, actress and club DJ. While the bulk of her work has been done in England, she has appeared in American film and television, and has posed for posters and magazine pictorials. Earl ...

. In 2008 he directed '' Mulheres, Bah!'', premiered at the

Fantasporto Fantasporto International Film Festival (Portuguese: Festival Internacional de Cinema do Porto) is an international genre film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Screening and awarding fantasy, sci-fi and horror orient ...

Film Festival and presented at the 2008

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Short Film Corner, a short film with

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which ma ...

singer and actress

Madalena Alberto Madalena Alberto is a Portuguese actress, singer and composer who has developed her career in London's West End. Alberto received rave reviews for her role as Eva Perón in '' Evita'' in the West End (2014), where the show arrived after its UK Tou ...

. Menezes does also voice-over, having done the voice of a fly in ''

Serial Killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

'' and the 2007 Portugal campaign for

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...

. In addition to acting and filmmaking, João Costa Menezes is also a qualified tennis instructor by the United States Professional Tennis Registry.

Filmography (director/producer)

*2010 – '' Loucura'' *2009 – ''

Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

'' *2008 – '' Mulheres, Bah!'' *2007 – '' Remember my dream'' *2006 – ''

Agur Agur ben Jakeh () was a sage and a compiler of a collection of proverbs found in Proverbs 30, which is sometimes known as the ''Book of Agur'' or ''Sayings of Agur''. Biblical accounts The initial text of the chapter runs as follows ( JPS trans ...

'' *2004 – ''

'' *2001 – ''

'' *2000 – ''

Filmography (actor)

*2008 – '' Mulheres, Bah!'' (voice-over) *2005 – '' Perfect Day'' *2005 – ''Incessant'' *2004 – ''

'' *2004 – ''

Armed for Glory Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

'' *2004 – '' Quality Indigo'' *2003 – '' Somnis entre boires'' *2001 – ''

'' *2000 – ''

'' *2000 – '' Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)'' *1999 – ''

Honest Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: earnestness), along with the absence of lying, c ...

'' *1999 – ''

'' (TV) *1999 – ''

Tube Tales ''Tube Tales'' is a 1999 British anthology film of nine short films based on the true-life experiencesThe person who submitted the details of the experience to ''Time Out'' magazine being credited as 'Originator'. of London Underground passenger ...

'' *1999 – ''

'' (TV)

Filmography (crew)

*2006 – ''Dirty Bomb'' (1st AD) *2006 – ''On The Other Side'' (2d AD) *2005 – ''Charlie'' (Production Assistant) *2005 – ''The Poker Academy'' (camera assistant) *1998 – ''Waves Without Sound'' (Script Supervisor) *1998 – ''The Maddest Man'' (Sound Assistant)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menezes, Joao Costa People from Porto Portuguese male film actors Portuguese film directors Portuguese film editors Portuguese film producers Portuguese cinematographers Portuguese expatriates in the United Kingdom Portuguese screenwriters Portuguese male screenwriters Living people University of Coimbra alumni Year of birth missing (living people)