But while volunteering in a government-sponsored judo training project in 2000, Canto said he realized that sports were a powerful tool to change people's lives.

CNN: Olympian transforms poor children's lives through judo

Local TV and radio stations have reported that the Canto star, whose most famous role was in the Oscar-nominated Farewell My Concubine, was found dead on Tuesday.

BBC: Actor Leslie Cheung 'found dead'

The story, set in Lisbon, concerns Eloi (Henrique Canto e Castro), a paunchy middle-aged man, who finds Samuel (Dinis Neto Jorge), a young sad sack, about to kill himself by plunging into the sea.

NEWYORKER: The Last Dive