Last week we put the upcoming Brazilian film The First Fallen (original title: Os Primeiros Soldados) on your radar, and now we’ve got another reason to get excited for the feature: Its gorgeous star recently came out as gay—and he and his boyfriend are adorable.
From director Rodrigo de Oliveira, The First Fallen is a moving drama about the first year of the AIDS epidemic in Brazil, focusing on some of the first queer people to contract the disease in the coastal town of Vitoría. Among them is a young biology student named Suzano, played by actor Johnny Massaro.
Best known for his Brazilian television roles—including a villainous turn in the soap Beyond Illusion—The First Fallen represents a major breakthrough for Massaro, delivering a stunning lead performance that anchors the emotional drama.
As Suzano, the 30-year-old has received some of the best reviews of his career. But that’s not the only way The First Fallen has changed his life.
Last fall, when the feature made its world debut Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, Massaro made the decision to publicly come out as gay.
“I couldn’t talk about this film if I couldn’t speak publicly about my sexuality,” Massaro shared with Brazil’s POPline. The actor said it “it wouldn’t make sense” for him to play a gay character and promote The First Fallen while hiding his true self.
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Thankfully, Massaro revealed he’s had plenty of support from his film’s cast and crew, as well as his friends and family.
“It was necessary for me to have patience because, unfortunately, we live in a world that is still very prejudiced.”
But he says that coming out was a “beautiful process” for him, and that having his parents at the premiere was a “very powerful” experience that they were all able to learn from.
Around the time he came out, Massaro also treated us with a “boyfriend reveal” that’s got our hearts a’flutter.
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Since early 2021, he’s been dating law professor and poet João Pedro Accioly, and apparently the two go way back!
According to Accioly’s Instagram, they were childhood friends who initially met at a family birthday party at his grandparents’ house way back in 1997. We just checked the math, and that means they’ve been a part of each other’s lives for roughly 25 years now. Awww.
And we’re pleased to report the two haven’t been shy about posting photos and videos of one another on Instagram and we are here for it! For example:
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Cheers to the happy couple!
The First Fallen is set to make its U.S. debut this weekend at the Outfest Film Festival, so, if you’re in the Los Angeles area, don’t miss the opportunity to check it out for yourself—or try to catch its virtual screening presentation!
Further release plans have yet to be announced, but Miami-based FiGa Films had picked up the film for distribution, so stay tuned for more details soon.
In the meantime, let’s share some more dreamy photos of Massaro… just because!
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Sqwoah
I think the guy who works at the gas station around the corner just came out. Maybe you’d like to write an article about him too.
Mario
Yeah.
A checker at the local Walmart just announced he is gay, too. Queerty should feature him.
Bengali
Gotta wonder why the phobes come to this site if they’re so anti-lgbtq. No one is more gay-curious than Sqwoah. Does mommy know?
RyanMBecker
Queerty relies on tips from readers. If you have stories about a gas station worker or Walmart checker, do the work and submit it to the staff. Or are you just blowing hot air? Duh.
RyanMBecker
Well, if the gas station worker and Walmart checker have over 400,000 followers, then sure. So how much influence do those people have? Will they make some closeted gay kid think that they too can be successful, after coming out? Or will they think that coming out will relegate their career choices to a gas station or Walmart? No disrespect for those workers, but you know what I mean.
Queerty publishers articles of gay interest. So how many people are interested in your gas station worker or Walmart checker? THINK about it.
Mario
Too bad Johnny Massaro is not attractive.
Cloud
He sure is, may be not to you.
barryaksarben
he is very attractive to gay men but not to little INCEL boys who have NEVER had any sex and can’t get a single human being to even consider having sex with you
PollyDarton
I feel like I should know who this person is. But I don’t.
vancouverdoug
He is not from the US so of course he does not matter.
scotty
congratulations to them. bom casal de caras
Kangol2
What wonderful news, and I’m looking forward to this film. I haven’t seem many Brazilian films set in the city of Vitória, which should also make it distinctive. The black sand beaches there are worth a visit if you get to Rio de Janeiro, since Vitória is the next major state capital to the north of Rio State.
bachy
I’m moving to Latin America.
sfhairy
Awww, that’s sweet that they found each other at such a young age.
Rob Moore
I don’t think I can watch this film. I was there when it was first call Gay Cancer. Many people I knew died. Probably by 1985, twelve friends were dead. By the time Reagan left office the number was close to 100. We were hated and feared by so many regardless of race, creed, or political affiliation. It was a horrible time, and I have many bad memories from then.
RyanMBecker
Rob,
Then you should avoid Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves, an acclaimed Swedish 3-part TV series. The title comes from a warning given to nurses taking care of AIDS patients. It has 8.3 from IMDB, 91% from Google users and an incredible 100% from Rotten Tomatoes. IMDB describes the story as “Rasmus is a 19-year-old who escapes to Stockholm in the 1980s, where he finds love with Benjamin in the shadow of the city’s AIDS epidemic.” The characters, Rasmus and Benjamin, became Sweden’s favorite couple after the show aired and the actors attended many events together as a couple.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you a review. A Swedish patient gave my girlfriend a copy many years ago (she’s an HIV clinician and I’m in research). We’ve tried watching it 6 times but I always break down tearfully just 15 mins into the first episode and couldn’t continue. The story is told in flashback so the death scene comes before the happy carefree ones. Think how carefree and hedonistic gays were in America right before AIDS hit. Then multiply that by 10x since this was liberal sex-positive Sweden.
But do try to watch it if you can. You’ll be rewarded with the most romantic scene I’ve ever watched. It shows how Rasmus and Benjamin met. There’s no sex or nudity — in fact, the guys are covered up in winter clothes — but the moment their hands touch had us simultaneously sighing. Everything was magical about the scene, from the mis-en-scene (the falling snow and street lights) to the montage (the familial deer scene preceding it, symbolizing innocence) to the cinematography (the use of bokeh). I’ve compared the anticipation to the window scene in Longtime Companion. It’s amazing how much I’ve analyzed the scene despite never having seen the entire series. Anyway, it’s one of my top 10 favorite scenes, ever.
You can Google for screenshots and excerpts. Or watch the entire series on Amazon. Just make sure to have some tissues nearby.
RyanMBecker
That first photo is, er, rather revealing. I can tell that the guy in the dark trunks is probably not Jewish…