Born in the south of Brazil, Gonçalves majored in journalism and worked in over 30 films, starred in 20 telenovelas, and performed in numerous plays, starting with "Auto de Natal" in 1959.
He studied film directing at the "Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia" in Rome, Italy, and became popular after his performance in
Nelson Rodrigues's "Toda Nudez Será Castigada" in 1965, directed by
Zbigniew Ziembinski.
He would write some 20 plays, including "2 ou 3 Buracos" (1976), "Dia Torto" (1976), "Vem Contudo" (1977) and "Até as Orelhas" (2004), and adapt literary works such as
João Guimarães Rosa's
Sorôco, Sua Mãe, Sua Filha (1975) for the screen and
Erico Verissimo's "Sonata".
He won the 'Candango' award for best actor at the 'Festival of Brasilia' in 2003, and was also awarded twice at the 'Rio Cine Festival', once for his portrayal of 'Fausto' on
Filme Demência (1986) and also for the short "Com o Andar de Robert Taylor".