Last Sunday, Brazilian opera singer Paul Szot won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in “South Pacific.” But it was a long road to success on Broadway.

Paulo was born in 1969 in São Paulo, and grew up in Riberão Preto.  He is the son of Polish immigrants who wound up accidentally in Brazil, thinking it was Argentina. His interest in the performing arts began early, and he trained as a pianist, violinist, and ballet dancer.

As a teenager, he won a scholarship to study dance in Poland, but a knee injury prevented him from continuing his dance career. He began singing instead, and performed in a Polish chorus. Later, he made his professional opera debut in 1997 at age 28. He has performed all over the world, in thirty roles in sixty productions from Spain to New York.

But it wasn’t until 2008 that he made his Broadway debut, winning the role of Emile de Becque in the revival of “South Pacific,” which received rave reviews. During his Tony acceptance speech, he sent a birthday wish to his mother, and said he was proud to play a character who “opposes war and fights for love.”