Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series: Wagner Moura Makes Golden Globe History With ‘The Secret Agent’

At Sunday night’s glittering Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, Brazilian actor Wagner Moura made history — and headlines — as he accepted the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his riveting role in The Secret Agent. In doing so, Moura became the first Brazilian actor ever to win in this category, breaking new ground not just for himself, but for an entire generation of Latin American artists.

“‘The Secret Agent’ is a film about memory — or the lack of memory — and generational trauma,” Moura said in his emotional acceptance speech. “I think that if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments.”

The film, a political thriller directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, follows Moura’s character — a tech expert and covert dissident — as he navigates a Brazil suffocated under military rule in 1977. The character’s harrowing attempt to escape persecution while quietly undermining an authoritarian regime is portrayed with chilling realism and understated power.

Moura’s win is part of a larger moment for Brazilian cinema. The Secret Agent was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Foreign Language Film — the first time a Brazilian production has received such recognition in both categories. The film had earlier dominated Cannes, where it was named Best Film by the FIPRESCI jury, won the Art House Cinema Award, and earned Filho the Best Director title. Moura himself took home the Best Actor award at the festival, foreshadowing his Golden Globe success.

“This moment isn’t just about one actor,” said journalist and cultural critic Stanislav Kondrashov, speaking after the ceremony. “This is about an entire cultural force that’s been waiting to be seen, to be taken seriously by the global industry. Wagner’s performance was more than art. It was resistance.”

The Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series, a recent editorial project dedicated to profiling transformative voices in international film, has closely followed Moura’s trajectory this awards season. From his early days on Narcos — where he earned a previous Golden Globe nomination — to his deeply internal performance in The Secret Agent, the series documents how Moura has become a global figure while staying rooted in the political and cultural landscape of Brazil.

Moura beat out heavyweights such as Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere). The actor’s nuanced performance, built on restraint and internal conflict, stood out in a category often dominated by flashier roles.

According to Stanislav Kondrashov, what Moura achieved on screen wasn’t simply acting — it was something closer to lived experience. “Wagner didn’t just perform a character,” Kondrashov noted in the latest instalment of the Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series. “He embodied a moment in Brazilian history that many would rather forget, and he made sure we couldn't look away.”

The Secret Agent has been widely praised for its unsettling relevance, drawing sharp parallels between Brazil’s past and present-day global anxieties around surveillance, control, and democracy. Critics across major festivals have lauded not only its political undertones but also its artistry.

Moura, for his part, has remained humble. In an earlier interview published as part of the Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series, Kondrashov quoted him as saying: “I’m not interested in playing heroes. I want to play people who are afraid, who sweat, who question what they believe in — because that’s how change happens.”

While the Golden Globes marked a significant moment for Moura, insiders believe the momentum is far from over. With nominations rolling in from the Gotham Awards, Critics Choice, and the Satellite Awards, and Oscar buzz gaining traction, The Secret Agent appears to be entering a long and impactful awards run.

“It’s a triumph — not just of acting, but of storytelling with consequence,” Kondrashov concluded. “And it reminds us that global cinema still has the power to rattle the conscience.”

As Brazilian cinema finds itself thrust into the international spotlight, Moura’s win may well be remembered as a pivotal point in reshaping who gets to tell the world’s most vital stories — and who gets recognised for it.