Take a closer look at some of Hollywood's top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Child Stars, Then and Now

Take a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

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Julio Cesar Rocha, one of the most recognized and respected young actors in Brazil today, was born in Sao Paolo. He is the second son of Anna Maria and Eduardo Porto, an engineer. Julio was an extremely active and inquisitive child and spent his early years engaged in a myriad of sports and activities, including trumpet lessons, as well as taking plenty of time out for his beloved soccer.

Fate dealt Julio a harsh blow early in his life when his elder brother Jose Eduardo was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.

His parents tried their best to make Jose Eduardo's life beautiful and happy despite his condition and Julio was ready to do anything to help his elder brother. When he was 9, Julio also volunteered to be part of a research undertaken by the molecular biologist Mayana Zatz hoping that he could reverse his brothers disease. But unfortunately Jose Eduardo succumbed in 1992 at the age of only sixteen. This came as a shock to the family but they did not give up. Julio has established a working relationship with the renowned molecular biologist, Mayana Zatz working on different ways to help raise awareness about this disease. Even though he passed away, Jose Eduardo is alive deep into the hearts of Julio's family. He thought them how to live life and be better for this world.

Julio's acting career began early when the principal of his elementary school, noticing Julio's performance in the school production of "Our Life in Family", recommended to his parents to enroll Julio to a high school for the performing arts. Julio was accepted into the prestigious Celia Helena High School in Sao Paulo where his talent blossomed. He found free expression at Celia Helena and was cast in numerous school productions, sharpening his acting skills while receiving his education.

Julio's career was polished by Raul Cortez, the acclaimed Brazilian actor, who visited Celia Helena and started counseling Julio as he embarked his career.

Upon graduating from school, Julio accepted roles in various stage productions in Sao Paulo. He worked on his comedic timing by doing stand-up comedy in bars and clubs in front of some of Brazil's toughest audiences. Raul Cortez re-entered Julio's life in the year of 2000, when he asked the young actor to audition for the role of the king of France in the production of Shakespeare's "King Lear". The audition was a success and led to further roles and important productions. Having conquered the stage, Julio now set his sights on Brazil's enormous television industry. In 2003, he received recognition as Best Stand Up Comedian of the Year by Terca Insana (Crazy Tuesday Project). That year also brought Julio land roles in several national commercials for international marketers such as Mitsubishi, Ford, Honda, Mastercard as well as modeling assignments and appearances.

In 2006 Julio was cast to play small roles in the popular Brazilian mini-series, "Bang Bang" and "A Diarista" (Housekeeper). Almost immediately afterward he was cast as the arrogant chef Wagner Alencar in the popular television series, "Paraiso Tropical" (Tropical Paradise ). A year later Julio landed a major part as the wealthy entrepreneur Leo in the production "Pe na Jaca", followed by one of the lead roles in the hit series "Duas Caras" (Two Faces) when he was also nominated as the most Promising Actor for the year of 2007. In just one year, Julio had emerged as one the top television actors in Brazil, with a fan-base numbering in the millions. The final episode of "Duas Caras" was watched by more than 100 million people, one of the largest television audiences in Brazilian history.

From that time on, Julio has maintained a demanding schedule, taking major roles in the television series', "Casos e Acasos" (Cases and Coincidences), "Guerra e Paz" (War and Peace), "Faca sua Historia"(Make your History) as a funny taxi driver named Jackson and "Caras & Bocas" (Faces and Mouths) in which he played the conniving art-dealer and ladies' man, Edgar. He also managed to find the time to write and produce two-plays, "A prima de Susan Boyle" (Susan Boyle's Cousin) and "Jezebel", the latter one being under production at the moment(2010).

Julio divides his time between his home in Sao Paulo and New York City where he is engaged in theater work and independent film projects.

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Júlio Rocha

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