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A portrait of Wagner Moura. Photo by stk_001936.

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Wagner Moura

Wagner Maniçoba de Moura is a Brazilian actor, director, filmmaker, musician, and journalist. Aside from being a well-known and acclaimed actor in Brazil, he has achieved international acclaim for his roles as:

• Spider in Elite Squad (2007),
• Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010), and
• Elysium (2013).

He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pablo Escobar in the first two seasons of the Netflix series Narcos (2015–2016).

Moura was born in the city of Salvadore in the Brazilian state of Bahia, which is located in the country’s northeast. He did, however, spend much of his childhood in Rodelas, a municipality in Bahia best known for encompassing some of the Raso da Catarina Ecological Station, which exists to protect native species such as the cougar, the Lear’s macaw, and the three-banded armadillo. His father was an Air Force sergeant, and his mother was a housewife. Moura’s family did not return to Salvadore until he was 13 years old.

1. Moura is lead singer of the Brazilian band Sua M£e

Legião Urbana performing a tribute show with Wagner Moura as lead vocalist. Photo by Larissa Barreto.

Aside from acting, Moura is best known as the lead singer of the Brazilian band Sua M£e, which translates to “Your Mother.” He also contributes to the band by writing the lyrics but not the melodies for some of their songs, which is why he is credited as a lyricist.

Having said that, it is worth noting that Moura has also performed as a guest vocalist with the surviving members of a well-known Brazilian rock band called Legi£o Urbana, which is also his favorite band.

2. Wagner Moura is multilingual 

It should come as no surprise to those who have seen Narcos that Moura can speak more than one language. It may interest them to know, however, that while Moura has been fluent in both his native Portuguese and English for some time, his Spanish is a much more recent acquisition. In fact, he had to return to college to learn Spanish for his role on Narcos.

3. He is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador

Wagner Moura. Photo by Senado Federal.

Moura is also an outspoken opponent of child labor and modern slavery, earning him the title of Goodwill Ambassador in 2015. “I believe that modern slavery is the most heinous assault on an individual’s rights,” Moura stated in an International Labor Organization press release announcing his new position.

“It has a special meaning for me because I grew up in rural Brazil and saw firsthand how poverty forced people to work in harsh, exploitative conditions.” That is why I have been working with parliamentarians and activists for years to push for legislation to combat forced labor.”

4. Moura broke someone’s nose while practicing for a role

Moura and some of his cast mates had to undergo special training from a former captain of the BOPE when preparing to play members of the special police unit known as the BOPE in Elite Squad.

Repeated sessions of psychological abuse were used to cultivate the actor’s sense of aggression as part of the process. However, the former captain went too far when he made a fictitious threat to Moura’s newborn child, causing the actor to fracture his nose with a punch. To his credit, the former captain bore no grudge and instead saw it as the birth of Moura’s character!

5. Wagner Moura gained 40 pounds for his role in Narcos

Wagner Moura. Photo by Ilya Mauter.

Moura’s lithe physique didn’t look like the overweight drug lord, so he bulked up to play Pablo Escobar. In an interview with NPR, he stated that a vegan diet helped him lose weight.

6. Moura studied Spanish in order to sound more like a native speaker

Before he even got the part, the native Portuguese-speaker moved to Colombia and began studying Spanish. He told NPR, “I was in a classroom with German businessmen and Japanese teenagers.” “It was fascinating.”

He also relocated his family to Colombia, exposing his children to a different part of Latin America. Learning the language was an exercise in accuracy for Moura, which he believes Hollywood can benefit from.

7. Moura was reluctant to return to his homeland

Moura was reportedly “hesitant” to return to Brazil after touring in Australia in 2019 due to political unrest in his home country. He has stated that, for the first time, he felt his life was in danger as a result of what he described as a “culture war” caused by the nation’s right-wing president. He also stated that at the time, his new film “Marighella” was considered a “threat” to the current administration because it closely mirrored the political unrest that was raging in Brazil.

As a result of President Bolsonaro’s harsh criticism, the film was not released in Brazil. It was, however, shown at the Sydney Film Festival.

8. Wagner Moura shot to fame in less than a year

Moura became a household name in his home country due to three separate successes between 2007 and 2008. First, there was his lead role in Elite Squad as Captain Nascimento. Second, he played the villainous Olavo in the Brazilian soap opera Tropical Paradise. Third, he appeared in a stage production of Hamlet, which most people should recognize as one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

9. Wagner Moura, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu purple belt

Two men playing Jiu Jitsu. Photo by Jonathan Borba.

Moura holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This isn’t surprising given his Brazilian heritage, but it’s still surprising. Moura has been training BJJ for years and has held the rank of purple belt since at least 2016.

Unlike some other celebrities, Moura is known for training with everyone rather than opting for privates or flow rolls. After all, he is Brazilian! Moura doesn’t appear to be doing much BJJ training these days. Given his hectic schedule, this isn’t surprising, but hopefully he’ll return to the mats one day!

10. He practices transcendental meditation

A man meditating. Photo by Sander Sammy.

Wagner Moura was raised as a Catholic and appears to believe only in Jesus and no other Christian Gods. He was also a transcendental meditation practitioner.