--- name: "Leandro Firmino" canonical: "https://film.one/person/leandro-firmino" fi1m_id: "leandro-firmino" imdb_id: "nm1129884" tmdb_id: 8596 wikidata_id: "Q943776" roles: ["Actor"] born: "24 June 1978" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-17T22:45:36.384077+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Leandro Firmino ## Identity Leandro Firmino - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/leandro-firmino - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** leandro-firmino - **IMDb ID:** nm1129884 - **TMDB ID:** 8596 - **Wikidata ID:** Q943776 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leandro_Firmino, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q943776, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1129884/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8596 Actor. Born 24 June 1978 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 24 June 1978, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leandro_Firmino, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q943776, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1129884/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8596 ## Coming up - *MC Estrela* (2027-10-21) ## Fi1m on Leandro Firmino > Leandro Firmino makes Zé Pequeno frightening without giving him the grandeur so often lent to screen criminals. We rate his work in *City of God* highly, and his efforts to escape typecasting deserve attention beyond that breakthrough. Zé Pequeno is frightening, and Leandro Firmino gives him none of the dignity that screen criminals so often receive. His work in *City of God* (2002) earns our high regard because the character remains recognisably human without becoming someone to admire. We were disturbed by the sense that this brutal man might have had an ordinary life. Firmino makes that possibility credible, which makes the violence harder to bear. A less convincing performance would let us dismiss him and get on with enjoying the action. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund give him valuable company. Alexandre Rodrigues supplies a human scale as Buscapé, and Phellipe Haagensen brings warmth to Bené. Their performances allow humour and tenderness into the film without making its brutality seem less severe. The contrast with Bené helps keep Zé Pequeno’s menace from becoming the only quality we remember in these people. Our reservation is that the cutting and music sometimes make violence more exciting than the suffering warrants; even acting this persuasive cannot remove that problem. Being so convincing had consequences for the parts he was offered. Firmino faced typecasting after *City of God*, then played Cirino in *Cafundó* (2005) as a deliberate test of his ability to work away from Zé Pequeno. That choice matters more to our view of his career than a simple count of further criminal roles would. Later work has taken him into both dramatic and lighter television parts, alongside a return to crime material as Gilmar in *Impuros* (2018). The risk in judging him chiefly through Zé Pequeno is that the performance can become a demand: be that frightening again. We are interested in what happens when he is allowed to be less threatening, and his move into lighter parts gives us reason to look beyond the familiar role. Our strongest recommendation remains *City of God*, despite the film’s occasional willingness to make brutality thrilling. Start there, but do not mistake it for an instruction about what he should play next. ## Biography Leandro Firmino da Hora is a Brazilian actor. He is best known for portraying Zé Pequeno (also known as Li'l Zé or Dadinho) in the 2002 film *City of God*, directed by Fernando Meirelles. Firmino was cast in the role after auditioning at the suggestion of a friend. He has since appeared in films including *Cafundó* (2005), *O Homem Que Desafiou o Diabo* (2007), *Trash* (2014), *Jules and Dolores* (2016) and *Goitaca* (2021). His television credits include the series *Impuros* (2018–) as Gilmar and *Vale Tudo* (2025). He received awards for his performance in *City of God*, including Best Actor at the Havana Film Festival. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *City of God* (2002), Fi1m 86, as Zé Pequeno / Dadinho — [page](https://film.one/film/city-of-god.md) ## Complete filmography (32) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *MC Estrela* (2027), Actor - *Verão da Lata* (2026), Actor - *Beast Race* (2026), as Medonho - *You Gotta Have Faith* (2025), as Bishop Dom Dominic - *Anything Goes* (2025), series, as Jarbas Galhardo - *Children of the Church Steps* (2024), series, as Paulinho - *La Máquina* (2024), series, as Joao Falcao Jr. - *São Gonçalo 50°C* (2024), Actor - *Noah's Ark* (2024), as Urso (voice) - *Falas Negras: Histórias (Im)possíveis* (2023), as Justino - *Silent Cargo* (2022), series, as Walder - *Stella Models* (2020), series, as Maicon - *Orphans of a Nation* (2019), series, as Detetive Tomás Gomes - *Goitaca* (2018), as Goitaca Chief - *Impure* (2018), series, as Gilmar - *Jules and Dolores* (2016), as Cecílio - *Lyrics* (2015), Actor - *Magnifica 70* (2015), series, as Carioca - *Julio Sumiu* (2014), as Tião Demônio - *Totally Innocent* (2012), as Algodão - *Agamenon: The Film* (2012), as Matador - *Corpo Presente* (2011), Actor - *No Olho da Rua* (2010), Actor - *The Man Who Challenged the Devil* (2007), as Zé Pretinho - *Opposite Lives* (2006), series, as José Ferreira / Sovaco - *Cheating in Chains* (2006), Actor - *Cafundó* (2005), as Cirino - *O Corneteiro Lopes* (2003), as Feliciano - *City of God* (2002), as Zé Pequeno / Dadinho — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/city-of-god.md) - *Palace II* (2000), as Patrão - *Brava Gente* (2000), series, as chefe do tráfico - *Minha Primeira Namorada*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Leandro Firmino](https://film.one/media/person/97548/gallery-f3415cb29b35.jpg) Leandro Firmino — Image via TMDB - ![Leandro Firmino](https://film.one/media/person/97548/gallery-0f0d003c4213.jpg) Leandro Firmino — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/leandro-firmino