João Guilherme (yes, Bruna Marquezine) plays a 15-year-old hacker in a biopic

Star of films and series aimed at teens, João Guilherme Ávila is preparing to take a step forward in his career. Currently in the spotlight because of his relationship with Bruna Marquezine —another TV muse on his list of conquests—, he will be the protagonist of “The King of the Internet”.

This is the biopic of Daniel Lofrano Nascimento, known as the first Brazilian hacker.

In 1999, when “The Matrix” premiered in the cinema, João Guilherme, 22, was not yet born. Daniel, inspired by the protagonist Neo (Keanu Reeves) —and a horde of similar characters that multiplied at the turn of the millennium—, invaded systems and carried out million-dollar scams before turning 15 years old. Real life.

“I’ve always found these internet mysteries incredible”, says João to F5. He says he is especially impressed by the flaws that can be detected within systems “and how these people who can find them have so much power in their hands.”

During filming, João Guilherme entered a kind of trance with the computer, which he began to consider a supporting actor. “It’s interesting to act with the machine. There are a lot of scenes with it, interacting, traveling”, says the actor, who, in his first biographical role, did his research (the so-called “laboratory”) with the subject himself. “We exchanged some ideas, I got references,” he recalls.

DOT COM

Born in Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo, Daniel Nascimento was a key player in a series of crimes committed by a gang of fraudsters in the first half of the 2000s. The group carried out banking scams based on weaknesses in the still incipient internet banking systems. in Brazil. The leader of the criminal organization, Fábio, is played by Marcelo Serrado in the film.

The gang was arrested in December 2005, in the federal police’s “Dot Com” operation. More than 280 police officers from Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná were mobilized to carry out 45 arrest warrants and the apprehension of a minor, Daniel. The only underage member of the group, he was apprehended and released within a few months. Now 35 years old, Daniel works as an information security consultant.

SCAM

Fabrício Bittar, director of the film, says that he was looking for a real story when he came across, six years ago, Daniel’s biography, “DNpontocom”. “I’ve always been interested in this type of story”, says the director to F5. “Brazilians love this, everyone has a friend who has been a victim of a scam.”

“Daniel’s story brought together most of the genres I like: biography, action, drama, detective and teenage universe”, he says. After years of trying to get the project off the ground, Bittar obtained financing and began filming in early 2024, ending in April.

Bittar states that he ended up basing the film less on the book and more on the hours of interviews and conversations he had with Daniel, both over the phone and live. “I needed to understand his vision,” says the filmmaker. In the post-production phase, the film is scheduled for release in the first half of 2025.