“Testimonials: Reflecting a Community in Transition (5 Decades Later)” was the final panel of Narrating the Portuguese Diaspora: Identity and Culture Across Borders colloquium organized by Irene Maria F. Blayer, José Carlos Teixeira, and David Pereira in conjunction with DRC Regional Government of the Azores, and the University of the Azores, which took place at the university of Toronto on March 30, 2010 (http://www.rtp.pt/icmblogs/rtp/comunidades/?m=03&y=2010&d=25).
Three Azoreans from the diaspora focused their talk on their Canadian journey, intertwined with their Azorean background: Cidalia Faria, an Assistant Crown Attorney for the Government of Ontario – Canada; Paulino Nunes, Actor, Toronto – Canada; and Elvino Sousa, Full Professor; Jeff Skoll Chair in Computer Networks and Innovation, Univ. of Toronto – Canada.
The gathering was a great success, the presentations were extremely well received, and the testimonials by our three colleagues attracted a lot of interest and attention. Today, we proudly introduce to our readers one of our presenters.
Paulino Cabral Mendonça Nunes was born on Faial island in the Azores. In 1969 Paulino moved with his family to Toronto, where he lives with his wife Francesca & their cat Ela.
Paulino Nunes has established himself as a versatile and talented actor over the past 15 years appearing in film, television and stage productions in over 100 different roles. While his early career saw a great deal of theatrical work, his focus has been on screen projects of late. He has worked with a diverse array of directors such as Jim Sheridan, John McTiernan, Peter Bogdanovich, Mario Azzopardi, David Wellington, Joe Carnahan, Ken Finkleman and Uwe Boll while sharing the screen with such talented actors as Susan Sarandon, Jason Isaacs, Forest Whitaker, Michael Madsen, Ving Rhames and Ally Sheedy among many, many others. Paulino’s versatility has earned him a reputation as one of the busiest and most dependable actors in the country, displaying tenacity and intelligence while playing the requisite ‘cops and lawyers’ but also revealing a tender, gentle nature in less conventional roles. What’s more, his ability to find the contradictions in each of those characters keeps his services in high demand. Most recently, Paulino appeared onscreen in the popular and critically acclaimed BBC miniseries ‘State Within’ directed by Daniel Percival. Upcoming projects include co-starring in Norstar’s new 4 hour miniseries ‘Would Be Kings’ directed by David Wellington and Uwe Boll’s feature film ‘Postal’, an outrageous satire in the tradition of ‘Team America: World Police’. Paulino is currently shooting ‘ZOS: Zone of Separation’ marking his second project with Whizbang films, his first being a cameo role opposite Tom Skerrit’s U.S. President in the upcoming miniseries ‘H2O: The Trojan Horse’.
Although media work has occupied most of his time lately, Paulino first distinguished himself in live theatre and has found enough time to step on stage in the past few years and win rave reviews for a diverse selection of roles from Shakespeare to Kenneth Lonergan. His flexibility has always been evident in the wide array of styles he has essayed; classical to naturalistic to movement-based to clown (http://www.paulinonunes.com/paulinonunes.com/bio.html)
Some recent movies with Paulino Nunes: 
The Shrine
Actors: Cindy Sampson, Ben Lewis, Paulino Nunes, Jasmin Geljo, Stefen Hayes, Laura DeCarteret, Meghan Heffern
Director: Jon Knautz
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Storyline: After a young American backpacker goes missing in Europe, a group of journalists link his disappearance to a remote village in Poland called Alwainia. Upon further investigation, the journalists discover that Alwainia has a history of bizarre cult activity revolving around human sacrifice. Hell bent on discovering the truth, they travel to the small village, but quickly find themselves pursued by a mysterious group set on killing them. Forced into the gruesome reality of true survival horror, the journalists soon discover that Alwainia hides a much darker secret than they could ever imagine
A Nanny’s Secret
Actors: Allison Graham, Sophie Gendron, Eric Johnson, Tyrone Benskin, Paulino Nunes, Jessica Steen, Haylie Duff
Director: Douglas Jackson
Year: 2009
Country: USA
Storyline: When a family with a young son is robbed during a home invasion, their nanny (Haylie Duff) becomes worried that her estranged brother may be responsible…
Further information:
http://ortiga.org/actor-Paulino-Nunes-11984.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0637992/
