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Maria Rueff

Actress

She is known as Zé Manel Taxi Driver, Idália, Rosete and a number of other names, all characters with which she has entered the popular imagination. Many years ago, Maria Rueff was about to embark on a career in law, but she ended up studying acting and today is one of the most famous names in comedy in Portugal. In the 90’s, Herman José recognised the talent she had when he saw her in a ‘café-theatre’ and they have never stopped working together since. She has done a little of everything, including dramatic roles, radio, films and even soap operas, in a career already distinguished with the Order of Merit, granted by Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio.
Maria Rueff
Does it bother you that there are people who see you more as a comedienne than as an actress?
It does not bother me at all. I’m proud of myself, not least because comedy is my little star, so to speak. I’m very proud of being a comedienne.

What dramatic role did you enjoy playing the most?
I really enjoyed the play I did two years ago, António e Maria, based on the work of António Lobo Antunes and with staging by Miguel Seabra, at the Teatro Meridional. Because it is a monologue in which I went through every register, essentially the tragic, which is quite the opposite of my usual register. It was the play that, in that sense, gave me the most pleasure to do.

When you go on the street, do you get confused more often with Idalia or Zé Manel Taxi Driver?
With Zé Manel Taxi Driver and I take great pleasure in having managed to create a character who I know has entered the hearts of a wide audience. This character has existed for more than 20 years and I really like this confusion. He’s almost an alter ego to me. Zé Manel is my most famous character, sometimes even more famous than I am.
«I have always had that ‘opinionated Mafaldinha’ side to me, that side of putting the finger in the wound and stiring the waters»
Why are there still few women in comedy?
I think times are changing and lately several comediennes have appeared, even Portuguese ones. We have had very good comedy actresses, such as Beatriz Costa, Maria Matos, Mirita Casimiro, Ana Bola, Marina Mota and Maria João Abreu, just to give some examples. Now, in world terms, in fact there have always been few women in the comedy, because humour is an opposition force and while power has been in the hands of men the opposition has not been in the hands of women. I also think that there was a legacy from the times of the dictatorship, because comedy is the art of the ridiculous, and there were those platitudes of polite society that said that a woman does not expose herself to ridicule,  nor does she laugh too much. It’s as if women had to always be ‘prim and proper’, and since comedy is an art that is often ‘improper’, a woman was not supposed to do that. But that does not mean there are not very good women in comedy. I am very happy to blaze a trail in Portugal and I know there are several actresses doing comedy with great pride.

This historic moment, especially in the political arena, seems to be fertile for comedians around the world. Do you feel that too?
It’s always the greatest area for comedy. Incidentally, inventive humour is one of the things I love to do the most. I started like this on Herman 98, when I made those characters that appeared halfway through; these arethe things that I like to do most. I have always had that ‘opinionated Mafaldinha’ side to me, that side of putting the finger in the wound and stiring the waters, but also to make it amusing.

T. Sérgio Gomes da Costa
P. João Bacelar
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