'The Secret Agent's' unforgettable faces reflect the 'panorama' of Brazil

For casting manager Gabriel Domingues, putting unneurotic the ensemble of “The Secret Agent” meant materializing characters inspired by manager Kleber Mendonça Filho’s recollections.

“It’s not that helium was showing america a representation and saying, ‘They indispensable look similar this.’ They were ideas of memories that could change,” Domingues says of the Brazilian play thriller astir a begetter connected the tally during an interrogation astatine The Times newsroom. One of the nominees for this year’s inaugural Academy Award for casting, Domingues appreciates however politically charged Mendonça Filho’s films are. His narratives are often fertile crushed for an eclectic premix of performers.

And determination are nary throwaway roles successful “The Secret Agent”: “Even the tiny characters correspond ideas astir Brazilian beingness and its contradictions,” Domingues adds.

To grant his ample cast, a “panorama” of his country’s people, Mendonça Filho includes a montage astatine the extremity of the movie successful which each histrion is acknowledged individually. The manager thinks of this arsenic the cinematic equivalent of a curtain telephone oregon last bow astatine the extremity of a signifier production.

“Gabriel tries to find an absorbing premix of experienced actors and radical that we tin discover,” says shaper Emilie Lesclaux astir Domingues, with whom she’s worked connected aggregate projects. He archetypal collaborated with Mendonça Filho and Lesclaux connected “Aquarius” arsenic a casting assistant.

Domingues believes moving connected “Aquarius” was instrumental successful processing his casting method, which involves searching for the slightest evident enactment to formed the character. He prides himself connected doing the shoe-leather enactment of looking for fresh, compelling faces successful cities wherever others mightiness not deliberation to look — those without a salient arts scene, for instance.

Gabriel Leone arsenic Bobbi/Abdias  (Victor Juca)

Hermila Guedes arsenic Claudia  (Victor Juca)

Luciano Chirolli arsenic Henrique Ghirotti  (Victor Juca)

Roberio Diogenes arsenic Euclides Cavalcanti  (Victor Juca)

Tânia Maria arsenic Dona Sebastiana  (Victor Juca)

Joalisson Cunha arsenic Frentista  (Victor Juca)

Isabel Zuaa arsenic Tereza Victoria  (Victor Juca)

Kaiony Venancio arsenic Vilmar  (Victor Juca)

That’s not to accidental the full formed was discovered. Mendonça Filho had pb Wagner Moura successful caput from the outset, portion others sprung to caput arsenic helium wrote the screenplay: Maria Fernanda Cândido, a celebrated soap opera actor, arsenic a important state to Moura’s character; and the precocious Udo Kier, who had antecedently appeared successful the director’s blood-soaked movie “Bacurau,” arsenic a German Jewish migrant who lived done World War II.

The filmmaker admits that envisioning parts with a circumstantial idiosyncratic successful caput is “dangerous.” “I tin constitute a quality reasoning of you, but I ne'er cognize if you volition privation to marque the film,” says Mendonça Filho. “And I turn attached to the image.”

Among the different supporting roles, the astir challenging to cast, the squad agrees, was that of Euclides, the sleazy constabulary chief. Though the quality is “repulsive,” it besides required an borderline of charisma to marque him much emotionally layered. Eventually, they came crossed histrion Robério Diógenes. “Robério has studied the clown creation successful the theater, and he’s a precise comic guy, truthful helium adds a constituent of ridiculousness to this character,” Domingues says.

For Vilmar, an impoverished antheral hired arsenic a subcontractor for a murder, Mendonça Filho had successful caput a real-life declaration slayer he’d seen successful a 1970s TV program. The histrion had to convey a definite ambiguity not often afforded to radical of a little societal class. There’s nary uncertainty Vilmar is acting retired of necessity, but helium is not wholly without bureau since helium negotiates his payment. Domingues recovered the perfect embodiment of this analyzable quality successful Kaiony Venâncio, an histrion from the metropolis of Natal who had mostly worked successful abbreviated films.

Then there’s the scene-stealing Tânia Maria, who plays the endearing, chain-smoking Dona Sebastiana. The 79-year-old endowment archetypal appeared successful “Bacurau” arsenic an extra. “I conscionable could not assistance reasoning of her,” says Mendonça Filho astir casting her successful his latest film. “I adjacent pre-ad-libbed galore of her lines knowing what she mightiness say.”

Before uncovering her mode onto the screen, Tânia Maria has agelong made a surviving arsenic an artisan handcrafting rugs. “I ne'er thought astir being an actress. I lone thought astir sewing,” she says with an endearing smile. “All of this came arsenic a surprise.”

Igor de Araujo arsenic Sergio  (Victor Juca)

Joao Vitor Silva arsenic Haroldo  (Victor Juca)

Robson Andrade arsenic Clovis  (Victor Juca)

Maria Fernanda Candido arsenic Elza/Sara Gerber  (Victor Juca)

Alice Carvalho arsenic Fatima  (Victor Juca)

Thomas Aquino arsenic Valdemar  (Victor Juca)

Licinio Januario arsenic Antonio  (Victor Juca)

Udo Kier arsenic Hans  (Victor Juca)

And though she’s inactive sewing, her acting prospects look bright. She’s already appeared successful different film, “Yellow Cake,” premiering astatine the Berlin International Film Festival this month. That Tânia Maria besides precocious starred successful humorous section commercials for Burger King and Heineken is impervious of her existent presumption successful Brazilian popular civilization — arsenic are the Dona Sebastiana costumes that person go fashionable during this year’s Carnival.

“I can’t spell retired connected the thoroughfare without radical stopping me. They inquire maine for autographs, for photos, they privation to speech to me, they inquire maine questions,” she says successful Portuguese via an interpreter portion connected a video telephone from her home. “I marque clip for everyone, and I’m enjoying each of it.”

Undaunted by what she calls the astir challenging facet of acting — memorizing the lines — Tânia Maria is anxious to proceed exploring this unexpected caller facet. “I don’t privation to halt due to the fact that I’m not old! I’m waiting for much invitations to determination guardant successful acting,” she says.

The occurrence galore of the actors person recovered acknowledgment to “The Secret Agent” precise overmuch pleases the filmmakers, but it besides has a large downside.

“That’s each that we privation for the radical that we enactment with, that the movie is bully for them and their career,” says Lesclaux. “But for us, it besides makes things much analyzable for the adjacent movie due to the fact that we volition privation to enactment with them, and they mightiness not beryllium available.”