Patrícia Vasconcelos: She cast “Love Actually” and built a bridge for Portugal’s talent

Patrícia Vasconcelos is a renowned casting director and founder of Passaporte, a platform to help promote Portuguese actors abroad. She shares her fascinating journey that spans countries like Yugoslavia or Zaire and explains why the typical hustle that is characteristic of Portuguese people is the key to success. Patricia Explains how her hustle and a series of coincidences turned her into a casting director. The daughter of renowned Portuguese director António Pedro Vasconcelos, she fondly remembers growing up amongst his father’s cameras and equipment. She also shares her favourite Portuguese food and why she doesn’t like the word “export”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Augusto Fraga was born in the Azores but he always dreamed far beyond his island. His smash hit series “Turn of the Tide” turned him (and his island of S. Miguel) into global superstars. Now on its second season, the series is one of Netflix’s top hits and it shows that Portugal can complete on a global stage. The director and screenwriter, who confesses that he always operates the camera himself, guides us through the process of writing‌ “Turn of the Tide” and how that opportunity changed his life. His humble approach to awards and compliments are on the forefront of this conversation with Tony Gonçalves, as he explains that the feeling of empathy is what drove him back to Portugal, after living abroad for a while.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rui Pedro Tendinha has interviewed everyone: Oprah, Tarantino, Jack Nicholson are just a few. And he will not stop. A self-confessed cinema addict, Rui Tendinha is one of the most recognized voices in the business, not only as journalist but also as a curator. Listen to his journey amongst the stars in this episode of The Heart & Hustle of Portugal. The film critic shares a few of his adventures interviewing the likes of Julie Andrews or Quentin Tarantino (a highlight of his career), and give us some insight into his new book. He also shares his favourite films and Portuguese food, and proposes a strategy for more investment in Portugal’s film infrastructure to attract Hollywood productions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ricardo Pereira’s acting career has crossed borders. Literally. It’s extremely unusual for a Portuguese actor to work consistently in Brazil, but Ricardo has done it - for twenty years. A household figure at Globo and SIC, where he lend his skills to many telenovela characters, Ricardo Pereira will show his talent on the second season of Netflix’s series “Turn of the Tide” A believer of the art of giving small steps, Ricardo’s career is all about being humble and not being afraid to work hard. Ricardo Pereira shares his most fond culinary memories from his childhood and his favorite Portuguese trait.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pedro Gadanho is an architect and curator, responsible for Lisbon’s MAAT Museum and a former curator of MoMA. A creative, Gadanho expresses his views on architecture as narrative and sustainable urbanism, giving his insights on how to approach the housing crisis with state intervention to bring vacant buildings back to use. An insightful conversation with a creative at heart on this episode of “The Heart‌ & Hustle of Portugal”. Gadanho also speaks about his views on the current wars across the globe, that he calls resource and climate wars, and offers his views on sustainable architecture and furnishing. He also mentions his favourite Portuguese traits, food and architecture, mentioning the Portuguese resilience and modesty as our biggest assets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year’s Upwardly Global honoree Mariana Van Zeller is back and she brings another four Emmys back home. The fearless journalist that stars and produces the incredible documentary series “Trafficked” on National Geographic returns for another season of investigations in the criminal underworld and speaks with Tony Gonçalves about immigration, broken policies, journalism, empathy and… Bacalhau! Mariana Van Zeller explains how her hit show‌ “Trafficked” is made and produced with a small team and how she approaches each subject with care and dedication. No conversation on The Heart & Hustle podcast is complete without a mention of Portuguese food, and Mariana delivers yet another love letter to our national mascot, Bacalhau.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ricardo Araújo Pereira is one of the sharpest and most distinctive voices in Portugal. He’s also very funny. His Sunday prime time show attracts millions of viewers each night and he is a constant presence in the Portuguese landscape: in advertisement, writing for newspapers and magazines and even hosting a podcast with his friends. But Ricardo, who is also known a Portuguese Jon Stewart, confesses to Tony Gonçalves that what he loves the most is actually writing. Ricardo also delves into what it means to be funny and his opinion on the prison sentence for Brazilian comedian Léo Lins. As usual, our guest shares his favourite Portuguese dishes and one specific trait of the country that others might find unnerving. But he thinks it’s a great asset.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The incredible journey of singer-songwriter MARO is nothing short of amazing: from her humble roots in Lisboa to living in LA and being praised by Billie Eilish, collaborating with Eric Clapton or being on tour with Jacob Collier and Shawn Mendes. There’s nothing MARO can’t do, and, as she confides to Tony Gonçalves on this podcast, she will continue to do it until it makes sense. MARO also shares her creative process and how she got into the prestigious Berklee School of Music. Her Portuguese roots shine in every sentence, as she shares her favourite Portuguese dishes and talk us through the musical influences she inherited from her parents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sebastião Bugalho’s meteoric rise from journalism to politics is astonishing, specially considering he wasn’t even 30 years old when he gained the top seat of his political party, PSD, on the European Parliament. In an insightful conversation with host Tony Gonçalves, Sebastião discusses his visions for Portugal, Europe and also offers some insights into the rise of the far right party Chega. His father was a Jazz DJ and his mother an author, and this eclectic duality gave us a young mind with an inquisitive and hard look into the present and the future. Sitting in his office in Brussels, Sebastião Bugalho reflects not only on the political future of Europe but also muses on the importance of music and family.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lindy Reid founded Rhodo Bagels, a bagel shop in the heart of Lisbon’s downtown that features amazing bagels, cookies and coffee. Listen to this conversation originally published in June.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.