The son of an exile and nephew of a former Racing player who seeks to succeed in Brazilian soap operas

Gabriel Godoy sits before the six Latin American journalists, among them the Télam agency, who exclusively visited the sets of soap operas with which Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will try to create a new format and in its first sentence you can see the Buenos Aires accent with the classic “che”.

Godoy was born 39 years ago in Brazil, but he feels a little Argentine and from the River Plate. He speaks Spanish perfectly and plans to go live in Spain or Buenos Aires for three months to gain the accent and, thus, open doors in other audiovisual markets. Meanwhile, he continues in search of success in Brazilian productions.

“My father, Daniel, came to Brazil in the 70s, exiled by the dictatorship. Here he met my mother. He is from Avellaneda and is a Racing fan, like part of my family. My uncle is ‘El Chango’ Horacio Godoy, former Academy player in the 70s and 80s. And today he directs the eighth division,” he told Télam Godoy in the hallways of the Barra da Tijuca film studios, in Rio de Janeiro.

Godoy’s career in Brazil

Godoy plays Honorato in “Dona Beja”, one of WBD’s major investments in soap operas for the coming months. In the production set in the early 19th century, Honorato is a young drunk who seems invisible to the rest of the city, but who, from that place, hears and sees everything that happens in society.

“I have been acting professionally for 20 years. I did many things for Latin America. One was ‘The Business’ (four-season HBO series). Here I worked with Michel Noher. Our characters competed for the same girl,” he recalled.

Godoy also worked in “Call me Bruna” (Star+), as well as productions for Amazon Prime Video. “I have made movies, series and novels. I like everything and it is very different,” said Godoy.

With a perfect command of Spanish, the actor, a fan of Corinthians from São Paulo, acknowledged that in the beginning, like his uncle, he wanted to be a soccer player. Something that his family has in their blood. “My grandmother is a member and fan of Independiente,” he highlighted.

With the family in Lanús, Godoy usually comes to Argentina twice a year. He almost always stayed in the southern suburbs, but for some time now, he prefers to rent something in the center to take advantage of the theaters, cinemas and cultural life of Buenos Aires. During his visits, he knew how to go to the fields of Boca, River and, above all, with his father to the Magic Cilindro of Avellaneda.

“I loved going to Racing with my dad, it seemed incredible to me. When I was a kid I went to see Racing a lot”held.

With that soccer streak, Godoy was another of the many Brazilians who supported Argentina in the World Cup due to the presence of Lionel Messi in the national squad. “I loved – he said – that Argentina became world champion. I don’t really like the Brazilian team, there are players with very irresponsible attitudes. I feel a lack of commitment. They earn a lot of money in a country with people with little money. Argentina had Messi “and here because of him there were many fans of Argentina. And here, with Neymar… it is not a good example.”

In football, family unity is unequivocal. The “sting” with her father happens on the other hand.

“I love San Pablo,” he says, “it’s a metropolis where you have things to do 24 hours a day. I really like the beach in Rio. I travel a lot between Rio and San Pablo, but during the pandemic I lived in Montevideo for four months to work for Amazon. I love Montevideo and my dad tells me: ‘You’re Argentine, you have to like Buenos Aires more (laughs).'”

Anyway, His immediate future is between Buenos Aires and Madrid: “I didn’t decide whether to go to Spain or Argentina. I think the Spanish accent has more demand for work and the Argentine market is small. But going to study in Spain is 15 times more expensive. I love speaking in Buenos Aires, anyway. “I already did it with English. I left my acting career and went to study the language.”