Butthead of the Month

ESTÉFANO IN SÃO PAULO
Interview and Photography by Gianfranco Briceño

Estéfano and his stuffed animal collection are driving his mother bananas!

 24-year-old actor Estéfano lives with his mom in the Higienópolis neighborhood of São Paulo. He recently graduated from the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo, but finds working life as an actor in Brazil challenging. You have to get on TV or go for really commercial musicals and plays — not really his thing. Estéfano’s favorite food is cold rice with ketchup, by the way, and he has a collection of exactly one hundred little stuffed animals he won from those claw crane games you find in seaside arcades.

Gianfranco: Are you a natural when it comes to acting?

Estéfano: Not exactly. I want to work in dance theater, a field that combines the two disciplines.

Is that like mime?

No. It’s more like Pina Bausch.

What sort of roles have you had in the past?

I’ve been a tree in Noah’s Ark. Of course, I wanted to be Noah and was really frustrated.

When did you start collecting stuffed animals?

When I was about 9-years-old I went to the beach at Guarujá with my dad, and I saw this machine filled with little fury creatures. It was love at first sight. I’m really competitive, so every time I went there, I couldn't leave without the special one I wanted.

What is your favorite color?

Purple.

You've recently stopped collecting stuffed animals, no?

Yes, I stopped collecting stuffed animals because it got on my mom’s nerves. I’d leave them all around the apartment, and she couldn't take it anymore. She made me stop, actually. I couldn't do it myself.

What did your mother do to make you stop?

She promised to stop smoking.

And did she?

No…

Besides claw machines, how else does your competitive nature rear its ugly head?

I’m always trying to get ahead of the old ladies when I take the bus. I love playing table games, video games, card games… All games! And I always play to win. I’m especially good at dodge ball, Catan and licking my elbow.

You can lick your own elbow?

Yes I can.

And when it comes to sex?

When it comes to sex, I’m the playful kind of guy. I mean, I really like little sex games and trying different positions and having sex in unconventional places like playgrounds and behind curtains in public rooms.

What do you see in this inkblot?

Two cyclops-rabbits playing on a seesaw.

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