The country’s first black Little Prince, actor of ‘Perfect Love’ inspires children across Brazil

The boy with blond and curly hair from ‘The Little Prince’ won a black protagonist in the theatrical version of the work by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, staged in 2022, in São Paulo. His interpreter was Levi Asaf, 9, who can now be seen in “Amor Perfeito” (Globo), as Marcelino.

He is another classic character in literature – the novel is inspired by “Marcelino Pão e Vinho”, a book by the Spaniard José María Sánchez Silva released in the early 1950s. In its film versions, Marcelino is white. Always white. Levi tried to change that and has been inspiring children across the country, who keep sending messages thanking him for being there, in that role.

“Most of them write to us saying that they feel represented by Levi’s work”, she says to F5 the boy’s mother, Rosane Luiz Eloi. One of the messages he has already received congratulated him for helping to change an old routine: that of white actors in leading roles. “He is very happy when he reads messages from other children, of course he is proud to be able to bring a little more representation to the theater and now to television. It is really very rewarding”, says Rosane, proud.

Born in Juazeiro, Bahia, at the age of five he started working as a child model and, at the end of 2022, he moved with his family from Campinas to Rio de Janeiro, to invest in his acting career. In the same year, he made appearances in the film “Esposa de Aluguel” (Netflix) and in “As Aventuras de José e Durval” (Globoplay).

On social networks, the almost 60,000 followers accompany her posts with cute moments behind the scenes of the production, alongside co-stars like Mariana Ximenes and Camila Queiroz. More than colleagues, Levi’s friends, who root for him and enjoy seeing him shine. “He is a great actor, he gives us a bath”, said Camila to gshow.