At the age of 13 or 14, he debuted as the main character in the play A Viagem de um Barquinho, directed by Petinha Barreto.

He also performed in the circus and, along with street children, put on shows in schools, public hospitals, and in the favelas of Salvador as well as the interior of Bahia.

He then went to João Pessoa, where he perfected his circus art with Luiz Carlos, and then traveled in Brazil and elsewhere in the world following the piece O Vau da Sarapalha.

He performed in the solo piece Bishop, the story of the Sergipean artist Arthur Bispo do Rosário, which he staged for years in several Brazilian cities.

[6] His presence in four of the first six films presented in the Rede Globo 50th anniversary retrospective series Luz, Câmera, 50 Anos [pt], led some to call it, jokingly, the "João Miguel Festival".