 Fernando Meirelles (I) (qv) wanted the cast to be made of people  who had never acted before, and professional actors who were not  widely known. One such actor was Matheus Nachtergaele (qv) whom  Meirelles had seen in a play. But while Meirelles was working on the  script, Nachtergaele suddenly became a huge star in Brazil after  starring in the hit film _Auto da Compadecida, O (2000)_ (qv).  Meirelles was a little disappointed at first but Nachtergaele  promised him that he would disappear into the role of Sandro Cenoura  so completely that his stardom would not distract from the film.  Nachtergaele moved to the real Cidade de Deus where most of the cast  lived and lived there for three months to prepare for the role.