I’m a quiet person because I don’t trust human beings, says Eduardo Sterblitch

Eduardo Sterblitch is saying goodbye to the Rio de Janeiro season “Beetlejuice the Musical”. After a brief break, it will re-open at the beginning of 2024 in São Paulo. These are the last days of the production that earned him praise and closed a good professional year.

Thanks to the show and his performance in the series “Os Others”, on Globoplay, he was elevated to Globo’s star cast and will soon be in charge of two new projects at the network, still kept secret — he is one of those who doesn’t like advance news. “I prefer to work with surprise,” he says.

On a free morning (he missed the analyst’s time), he talked for almost an hour with the F5. He found it funny to be called “intelligent” by several colleagues behind the scenes and said that he is a shy person. Many don’t believe it. “Actually, I’m afraid of people. I expose myself, I’m very transparent and I answer any question, but I’m afraid of others.”

He says that his humor is the humor of error and he considers himself a clown. Eduardo denies rejecting the past when talking about his relationship with “Pânico na TV!” and points out former members, who don’t like him, as responsible for this story of bad relations with their former work. “The program was a phenomenon in my life. It made me become a popular person and understand that I was funny.”

The version Brazilian version of the Broadway musical ‘Beetlejuice’ has been a success and you, the protagonist, have been praised. Many people remember that Alexandre Nero had been invited to play the role and imagine how he would be leading the production… Alexandre Nero would do great, just as João Telles (alternating) acts brilliantly. He’s a very good character and, of course, there are people who will bleed more to do it, others will bleed less. It’s my artistic style to bleed more.

Is it a cliché or do you believe that the character chooses an actor? I don’t have that and I believe that it is the artist who chooses which works he wants to do or not. The actor is always in charge and when the character starts to command, something becomes a little dangerous.

Musical is a controversial topic in Brazil, a bit ‘love it or hate it’. Have you always liked it? No. I’ve never been a big fan of musicals. In fact, I hate it when I go to watch something when I already know more or less what’s going to happen, you know? Be it a musical or a film, or a series… The production has surprised me. It’s proposing, it’s trying to do something different. It’s about being alternative pop.

But ‘Beetlejuice’, inspired by the Tim Burton film, was a play you tried to buy. I wanted to bring it to Brazil. True and, thank God, I couldn’t buy it because I didn’t have the money for it. I would go into debt, I would get really screwed to do that. So, God knows what he does.

Did you audition for the character?

I was writing a play when director Rafael Quiroga told me about the auditions. I stopped everything and the universe conspired in my favor. Things have to happen and you don’t have much control. Just be available and prepared for war.

I was writing a piece about what? The play is called ‘Freddy Mercury for Theater’. It’s about my character and I’m going to tell the dilemma and personal tragedy of this popular character. He’s the clown I have. It’s my Beetlejuice, not Tim Burton’s.

Other actors praise you quite behind the scenes… I didn’t know (laughs).

They call you brilliant, intelligent, and quick-witted. Maybe I’m smart because I’m aware of my ignorance. There are a lot of people who think they’re a lot and stuff like that. In fact, anyone who knows a lot is desperate, right? I don’t know anything and I question everything. Like: Why are the colors of traffic signs green, red and yellow? Why is a chair called a chair? I don’t get used to things and this impression that I’m intelligent is because I know my ignorance.

What have you been reading? I read a lot of theater books. I like reading dramaturgy.

Do you have hobbies, what do you like to do when you have free time? I’m a creative person. I create things for myself, for Louise (D’Tuani, to whom he has been married since 2015) and for my son (Caetano, eight months old), like a game or an object and so on. I like inviting friends and making food. A lot of food. I love snacks and beer. I like staying at home and also going to steakhouses. By the way, if a steakhouse owner reads this interview, please give me a voucher.

You once said that people don’t believe, but that you are shy. Yes I am. In fact, I’m afraid of people. I expose myself, I am very transparent and answer any question, but I am afraid of others. I’m really scared of people.

Afraid of people? Huh… Just see what people are doing to others all over the world. People who don’t understand each other, we have to deal with envy, anger, frustration, a lot of bad feelings… The series “The Others” (he records the second season) exposes all of this, and then I prefer to keep to myself. I’m a quiet person because I don’t trust human beings.

Which humor shelf would you be on? I think my humor is the humor of error. I’m a clown and I studied for it. So I have physical humor. My humor is pantomime humor. It’s what I know how to do best and I want to be able to work with it more in the future. Beetlejuice helps me a lot with clown and mask fundamentals. I’m seeing my happy child on stage.

Was there anything unresolved with “Pânico na TV”? Zero. I have great friends in ‘Pânico’ and I certainly know that some members, or rather, ex-members, don’t like me and then these people got into trouble with me for life reasons… I don’t know… What happens is that they come back and These stories often come up ‘Edu spoke badly about Pânico, Edu spat on the plate’… There’s nothing like that. The program was a phenomenon in my life. It made me become a popular person and understand that I was funny. I never wanted to do television and ‘Pânico’ brought me that. But what made me an artist was the theater. It’s good to make that clear.

And Eduardo Sr.? How it is? Everything is great for me and I hope it’s good for him too. It’s very difficult to have good fathers, but the cool thing is that men are waking up and realizing that it’s not an obligation, but natural, to be friends and be there. I love my son very much and I want him to always count on me in his life. I do my best, I will always do my best.