Luís Augusto Esparteiro Lopes da Costa (born April 8, 1959), known professionally as Luís Esparteiro, is a Portuguese actor. He is best known for his role as Miguel Ferreira da Fonseca, the primary antagonist of the Portuguese telenovela Ouro Verde.
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Early life and career
Luís Esparteiro was born on April 8, 1959 in Coimbra, Portugal to Mário Nuno do Canto Lopes da Costa and Maria Helena Botelho da Costa Marques Esparteiro. His maternal grandfather Joaquim Marques Esparteiro was a Portuguese naval officer and the former Governor of Macau. Growing up, he studied at the Colégio Militar in Lisbon, and later joined the University of Lisbon as a faculty member in the medical school.
Luís made his acting debut in a theatre company run by Portuguese actor Henrique Santana, where he participated in productions of the comedies O Meu Rapaz é Rapariga, Um Fantasma Chamado Isabel and Boeing-Boeing. In 1982, he made his television debut in the soap opera Vila Faia, and later participated in the programs Eu Show Nico and Euronico, produced by Nicolau Breyner.
Luís participated in further theatre productions, including Piaf alongside Bibi Ferreira, and in a performance of Quem Muda a Fralda à Menina at the Teatro Villaret. At Artistas Unidos, he was part of the cast of A queda do egoísta Johan Fatzer, written by playwright by Bertolt Brecht, and Buraco Negro e Câncer, written by Gerardjan Rijnders and directed by Isabel Muñoz Cardoso.
In 1998, Luís made his feature film debut in The Mutants, directed by Teresa Villaverde.
In 2017, Luís played the role of the central antagonist Miguel Ferreira da Fonseca in the telenovela Ouro Verde. The series was Luís' longest-running television role, and won the International Emmy Award for Best Telenovela in 2018. Luís stated that the project was a rewarding experience, and described the character of Miguel as a "deviously intelligent person".
Family
Luís Esparteiro has one older sister, Amélia Maria, and two younger siblings, Joaquim Manuel and Maria Teresa. In a February 2022 interview on the talk show Júlia, Luís revealed that his older brother, Nuno José, had died of a drug overdose at the age of 27.
Marriages and children
Luís' first marriage was to Filipa Helena Boulton Pimentel Trigo on October 1, 1987. On January 13, 1989, their first son, Guilherme Boulton Trigo Lopes da Costa, was born. Their second child, Constança Boulton Trigo Lopes da Costa, was born on May 21, 1991. The couple ultimately divorced.
On April 18, 2009, Luís married Vanda Isabel da Costa Correia in a private civil ceremony in Lisbon. The couple have a daughter, Teresa Correia Esparteiro Lopes da Costa, and a son, Luís Correia Esparteiro Lopes da Costa, both born before marriage.