Carloto Cotta

Carloto Cotta is one of the most distinctive actors in contemporary Portuguese cinema. After training at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in Lisbon, he quickly established himself as a fixture in European arthouse cinema. His career is marked by collaborations with renowned directors and his versatility between experimental arthouse and classic drama. In THE PORTUGUESE NUN (2009) by Eugène Green, Cotta played the mysterious character of D. Sebastião—a role that underscores his penchant for complex and symbolically charged characters. The film was shown at several international festivals and is considered an important contribution to the work of Green, who is known for his precise visual language and spiritual depth. Cotta had previously appeared in Arena (2009) by João Salaviza, which won the Palme d'Or for best short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Carloto Cotta became known to a wider audience through his collaboration with Miguel Gomes. In Tabu (2012), he played the role of the young Ventura in one of the most acclaimed Portuguese films of the decade. In 2018, he played the lead role in the surreal soccer fairy tale Diamantino, which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes International Film Festival's Semaine de la Critique. Other notable works include Frankie (2019) by Ira Sachs, in which he appeared alongside Isabelle Huppert, as well as series projects such as Glória (2021), the first Portuguese Netflix production.