‘I don’t waste time with them’, says Julio Andrade, from ‘Sob Pressure’, about Bolsonaristas

The fifth season is already guaranteed and even announced as the last, but, internally, the “Under Pressure” team believes in the possibility of continuity. Julio Andrade, 45, one of the protagonists, hopes that this will happen, even with the next job closed.

The actor will be Herbert de Souza, aka Betinho (1935-1997), in the series (still no premiere date on Globoplay), which will tell the trajectory of the sociologist and activist in the fight against hunger and in defense of human rights in the country. Andrade also directs some of its episodes.

Involved with the promotion of the new season of “Under Pressure”, which premiered last Thursday (2), he gets excited to talk about his character, doctor Evandro. Professional of the Unified Health System (SUS), Evandro just needs to perform miracles to attend (and save the lives) of patients who arrive at the public hospital without resources and without basic supplies where he works. The face of Brazil.

“It’s a huge responsibility,” he says. “Making entertainment is one thing. Now, doing entertainment as representation is different. ‘Under Pressure’ talks about almost invisible people and the role of dramaturgy must also be to show reality and generate discussions”, she says.

The actor goes further and ardently defends the realism and rawness of the series, defined by him as “a state of mind, and all the time connected with the ills of our country”. Easy scenes? Glamorous moments? There isn’t, he guarantees. “There are no breakfast scenes and no one wakes up in bed with makeup and hair done. I’ve never put a concealer on my face and the dark circles are real.”

Julio admits that he doesn’t like to draw a parallel between his characters, but he believes that playing the doctor in the award-winning series has changed his life and the way he faces Brazil’s problems. “Today I am a more attentive and concerned person for my country than I was five years ago,” he says.

Andrade, however, recognizes that he has avoided getting into debates about the current government. He prefers action to rhetoric. “We do politics all the time, even more in the last two years. Brazil has taken many steps backwards and there were not few, but I don’t get into arguments with anyone. What I try to do is use my ability as an actor to transform “, he says, who soon cuts the subject when the course of prose moves towards Bolsonaro’s supporters among the famous.

“These people don’t interest me and I don’t waste time with them. I prefer to talk about things that add, like ‘Under Pressure’, and in the hope of a better country”. Back to the subject then, the actor tells a curiosity that is more a testament to his talent as an actor.

He’s terrified of blood and doesn’t understand anything about medicine. He would barely know how to do a first-aid call. “People ask me for consultations. The other day Márcio Maranhão, who is a thoracic surgeon and consultant for the series, talked about a procedure in the pancreas and I asked where it was”.

After four seasons on open TV, the series has just debuted on streaming and, for now, will be exclusive to Globoplay. The production should only air on Globo next year. The return of Evandro’s absent father, Vera’s (Drica Moraes) addiction to alcohol and Carolina’s (Marjorie Estiano) discovery of breast cancer are among the topics covered throughout the 12 new episodes.