Jorge Mário da Silva, more commonly known by his stage name Seu Jorge (Seu, an abbreviation of "Senhor"; born June 8, 1970; ), is a Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor. He is considered by many a renewer of Brazilian pop samba. Seu Jorge cites samba schools and American soul singer Stevie Wonder as major musical influences. Jorge is also known for his film roles as Mané Galinha in the 2002 film City of God and as Pelé dos Santos in the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. His musical work has received praise from many of his fellow musicians including Beck and David Bowie. Biography The first-born of four children (the others being Charles, Vitório and Rogério), Seu Jorge had a tough childhood in the neighborhood of Gogó da Ema, in Belford Roxo. He started working in a tire shop when he was only 10 years old, the first of various jobs such as courier, joiner, and potato peeler in a bar. Seu Jorge served in the Brazilian Army from 1989 to 1990 in Rio de Janeiro, but did not adapt to the military lifestyle and ended up being expelled, in January of 1990. The various professions never hindered Seu Jorge's dream of becoming a musician. Since his adolescence, he would frequent samba circles and funk parties with his dad and brothers, and early on started to perform singing at such events. It was there that, in 1990, the murder of his brother Vitório tore his family apart, and Seu Jorge ended up being homeless for around three years. The turnaround happened when Gabriel Moura, nephew of clarinetist Paulo Moura, invited him to participate in a spectacle called The flour saga (known in Portuguese as A saga da farinha), in which Gabriel was the musical director. He ended up participating in more than 20 shows with the Companhia de Teatro TUERJ, as singer and actor. Since he had no place to sleep, Seu Jorge slept in the theater, between 1993 and 1997 – the year where he joined the band Farofa Carioca. Career Seu Jorge has gained exposure through his work as an actor and soundtrack composer. He appeared in the critically acclaimed 2002 film City of God as Mané Galinha, directed by filmmakers Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, and then played Pelé dos Santos in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, for which he