Fábio de Luca45, celebrates his soap opera debut in “It’s a Better World!“. In the shoes of the clumsy detective You knewwhich helps to search for the son of Candinho (Sergio Guizé), the actor has stood out in the 6 o’clock soap opera. In an exclusive interview with CNNhe talks about the composition of the character, his openly gay sexuality and what he has faced because of his body.
“Sabiá is that guy who thinks he’s the greatest detective in the world, but he’s a walking disaster. I was very inspired by Inspector Clouseau from Peter Sellers [nos filmes de ‘A Pantera Cor de Rosa’]no Leslie Nielsen in ‘Run, the Police Are Coming’ and in[[Hercule]Poirot and Agatha Christienot because of his competence, which he doesn’t have, but because of his vanity, his ‘somewhat cocky’ charm and even his classic mustache. And I also added a real-life flavor: people who speak with the greatest confidence about things they don’t understand. Everyone knows one like that,” he says.
Playing alongside names like Elizabeth Savalla e Ary Fontoura leaves you incredulous at times. “It’s been a mix of ‘I’m making a dream come true’ and ‘I can’t believe this is happening’. I come from a time when family, friends, nobody took you very seriously when you said you were an actor and you hadn’t done a soap opera. So, despite not seeing it as a ‘condition’ for being respected as an actor, for me, it’s quite an achievement”, he celebrates.
Known for his Porta dos Fundos sketches, Fábio meets again in the plot written by Mauro Wilson an old colleague, Evelyn Castro, who plays Zenaide, with whom Sabiá falls in love. Humor has always been present in his life.
“Since I was a kid, I realized that making others laugh was a great free pass to fit in. It was my social survival tool. When I entered the theater, comedy already kind of imposed itself. And then life kept pulling me in that direction, until, in 2018, I joined Porta. From then on, it was a delicious rollercoaster.”
Prejudices about the body
“I think the body is just another tool. What bothers me is when the humor comes just from the joke about appearance and not from a situation or intelligent comic construction. But, if the gag makes sense for the story and isn’t gratuitous, let’s go! The important thing is to be aware of where the fun is coming from and if it isn’t reinforcing silly prejudice”, he analyzes.
Like all overweight children, he did not escape becoming a target at school. “I don’t know if bullying was exactly, I think it was more the naturalized prejudice of the time, really. Because it happened much more at home than on the street, or at school. And, yes, it brought trauma, of course. But we are not a finished work, we are, as far as possible, rebuilding ourselves, repairing ourselves, strengthening ourselves.”
Sexuality and acceptance
Unlike many actors, Fábio does not hide the fact that he is gay. “I’ve never made it a secret and, when the opportunity arises, I speak naturally. It’s not a topic that I’m active in 24 hours a day, but it’s part of who I am. And the more naturally we treat it, the more natural it becomes for those who listen.”
Self-acceptance came with time. “It was a long path, of many years, mistakes and successes. We grow up in a world that tells you all the time how you ‘should’ be. It takes a while to understand that there is nothing wrong with being exactly who you are. I think maturity helps a lot in this process.”
Within the LGBTQIAPN+ community, he claims to have felt pressured to believe that he needed to have a certain body type to be desired. “Today, I understand that this is a social construction, fed by the media, applications and even by ourselves. I try not to measure myself by this ruler, but it’s not easy, it’s a daily exercise. I was once much more critical and cruel to myself. Today, I’m in the process of taking better care of my health, of liking what I see in the mirror more. There are days when I think I’m a cat, there are days when I think I’m a troll, and that’s okay. The thing is not to lose the look of affection on itself, nor contact with who we really are.”
