Biography

Mishaël Abia Lopes Cardozo (1972) is known for his roles in Game of Thrones and Vikings. Mishaël was born in a small town called Laren in North Holland. His parents are Jacques Lopes Cardozo (Dentist) and Annemarie van Leeuwen. He has two younger siblings Eva and Sharon Lopes Cardozo. Mishaël is an international swordmaster, a painter of fine arts, musician, coach and entrepreneur.

As a young kid he was blessed and cursed with many talents. For his education he had to choose between Art school or conservatorium. Mishaël ended up studying Art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Hague, He made his living as an artist and jazz musician. (drums & guitar). His hobby was historical fencing, which over the years became his new profession. In 2002 he founded his historical fencing club AMEK, which he turned into a company (HEMA, Events & Film) He introduced HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) in the Netherlands, which led to a rich and thriving subculture, consisting of many HEMA clubs scattered throughout the Netherlands. In the HEMA scene he is considered one of the top promotor of this ancient art and an authority on 15th century German fighting arts. He teaches in over 22 countries worldwide under the name 'Cardozo Swordsport' and initiated and co-founded the HEFFAC, the first coalition uniting all existing HEMA clubs in the lowlands, which led to official unions for this 'new' martial art. In 2008 Mishaël was knighted in Holland for his contribution to the reconstruction of the historical European martial heritage in the lowlands and was elevated to the Dutch Hall of Fame for Martial Arts in 2014. Winning three times the international championships for Stage Combat in Italy and many gold medals during his career as a HEMA tournament fighter, opened the door for him to the movie industry, where he was discovered by director Stefano Milla, who gave him his first role as Wilhelm in the motion picture Richard the Lionheart Rebellion. Mishaël plays a ruthless killer Knight and the right hand of Henry IV. This first role stirred Mishaël's interest in acting and led to further roles in the hit series Game of Thrones and Vikings. Apart from Acting and HEMA, Mishaël does Motion Capture for computer games and organizes workshops and demonstrations for company events. He likes to ride horses, shoot bow and arrow, throw knives and swing swords. Mishaël is a true knight in heart and soul. His wish and goal is to become the first Dutch action hero and bring authentic historical fencing back to the silver screen, combining his acting talent and his exceptional fighting skill to promote HEMA worldwide.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jolanda van Dijk