City of God actor wanted for killing of Rio police officer

Ivan da Silva Martins, who appeared in acclaimed 2002 film ‘City of God,’ is wanted by the police in Rio de Janeiro, as a suspect in the killing of an officer.

Sgt Hudson Araujo was shot dead on Sunday, reportedly the 91st officer to have been killed in the line of duty this year in Rio.

Reportedly known in the community as ‘Ivan the Terrible,’ Martins is now aged 34 and is thought to be a major figure in the drug trade in Rio’s Vidigal favela, according to BBC News.

Martins was one among a number of young people from the streets of Rio who were enlisted by director Fernando Meirelles to appear in ‘City of God,’ a fact-based, decades-spanning examination of organised crime in the impoverished areas of Rio between the 1960s and 1980s.

Meirelles told local newspaper O Globo that he was “saddened by the news,” adding that he had long since lost contact with the younger members of his cast.

After attracting widespread acclaim from numerous festival screenings around the world in 2002, ‘City of God’ had a limited theatrical release in 2003, after which it received four nominations at the 2004 Academy Awards.

‘City of God’ is Ivan da Silva Martins’ only screen credit, except for an appearance in 2013 retrospective documentary ‘City of God: 10 Years Later.’

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