Raphael grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where, as a child, he had leading roles on three major soap operas.
As a teen, Raphael decided to come to New York to further pursue his love of actng. He immediately enrolled in the "American Academy of Dramatic Arts" where he studied acting, theater and on-camera production.
But greater exposure to the performing arts helped
Raphael quickly realize his love and aptitude for musical theatre.
Raphael's musical theatre debut was at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in New York where he appeared as Rocky in "Damn Yankees" and as Judah in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" to name a few.
Raphael has gone on to do a number of Broadway national tours including "West Side Story", "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and "Jesus Christ Super Star" with Ted Neely and Carl Anderson.
Raphael's latest project is the American and Brazilian co-production feature film "A Fronteira" depicting the life of Brazilians trying to immigrate to the United States. This movie is set to premiere in the late fall of 2003.
Other opportunities have included television and radio commercials and voice-overs for both the United States and Brazil.
Raphael has gone on to study dance, voice, photography, film editing and production, and he's currently working on "Nova York Underground"; an insider's look at the NYC way of life the acclaimed short movie "Medusa", and the documentaries "Parintins" and "I'm still here".
