He was raised by his mother, Juçara, along with an older brother and two younger sisters; Vinícius and his brother would shine shoes to make ends meet, and it was while shining shoes that de Oliveira met director Walter Salles, who would invite him to a screen test for a role in his upcoming film.

[1] In 1997, de Oliveira selected from among almost 2,000 candidates to play the role of Josué in Salles’ Central Station alongside Fernanda Montenegro.

The film was critically acclaimed and launched de Oliveira into a career as a child actor, presenting such programs as Alô Vídeo Escola and Que bicho é esse?

He also starred in the telenovela Suave Veneno on Globo TV and reunited with Walter Salles to perform in the film Behind the Sun during this period.

[citation needed] De Oliveira began to break into theater around this time, performing in a production of Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s Jovem Drummond, which debuted in November 2000 and toured the country, and Marcus Vinícius Faustini's São Paulo production of They Do Not Wear Black-Tie between March and May 2001.