How did one actor portray three characters in the series "Clone"?

“How did one actor embody three characters in the TV series ‘The Clone’?”

In the history of telenovelas, it is not uncommon for an actor to play twins or brothers. However, Murilo Benício's performance in Brazil's famous series "The Clone" (O Clone) demonstrated the highest level of acting mastery. This series was popular not only in South America, but all over the world, including Uzbekistan.

In a single series, he portrayed three complex characters — the quiet and thoughtful Lucas Ferraz, his energetic brother Diogo Ferraz, and the laboratory-created clone named Léo. Most interestingly, each of them was distinguished by their own unique personality, speaking style, movements, and habits, allowing viewers to tell them apart without mistake from the very first second on screen.

At the beginning of the series, viewers are introduced to the Ferraz brothers — the dreamer Lucas and his passionate brother Diogo. For Murilo Benício, this project was a true acting marathon. For each character, he had to deeply transform not only his appearance, but also his psychological state. While Lucas is more of an introvert, Diogo is an ardent person who always strives forward. Benício did not limit himself to simply changing clothes; on the set, he had to interact with himself, portraying two people who, despite being related, were completely opposite psychologically.

Diogo's tragic death in a helicopter crash became the most crucial turning point in the entire history of the series. It was this event that later prompted Doctor Albieri's decision to create the first human clone.

The scene where the character comes face-to-face with his double

The appearance of Léo was a major test for Murilo Benício. Although Léo, Lucas's clone, was biologically a younger copy of him, he also had his own character, lacked life experience, and was a bit reckless. Because he had no memories of the past, the teenage boy often fell into confusion. At that time, Benício portrayed both Lucas, who was approaching forty and had a family, and Léo, who was created in a laboratory and was only eighteen years old.

“The hardest part began later, when I started playing both Lucas and Léo. I was extremely exhausted from constant costume changes, complex makeup, altering my tone of voice, and changing my gait,” the actor recalled, reflecting on that grueling period.

For the early 2000s, "The Clone" was a technologically very advanced work. Scenes where Lucas and Léo appear in the same frame at the same time were created using computer graphics. This was the most expensive and innovative experiment for Brazilian television at that time. Benício, on the other hand, had to perform each scene in two separate takes, imagining that different people were communicating.

According to the creators of the series, it was precisely because of Murilo's deep psychological immersion into the roles that the characters turned out to be very believable and impactful.

In the finale of "The Clone," the fates of the characters intertw: a living human and his genetic copy come face-to-face. For Benício, this was the fruit of his long-term hard work.