Hélio de la Peña

Helio de la Pena, stage name of Helio Antonio do Couto Filho, is a Brazilian comedian, actor, writer and TV presenter born on June 18, 1959 in Rio de Janeiro. Raised in modest circumstances in the Vila da Penha neighborhood, he won a scholarship to the elite Colegio Sao Bento and went on to study Production Engineering at UFRJ before pivoting fully to comedy. He is one of the founding members of Casseta and Planeta, the troupe that defined Brazilian sketch comedy on Rede Globo from 1992 to 2010, and is today an active solo stand-up performer.

Helio's comedy career began in 1978 when, together with university friends Marcelo Madureira and Beto Silva, he co-founded the satirical fanzine Casseta Popular at UFRJ. The publication grew into the magazine Almanaque Casseta Popular and, after merging in 1992 with the Planeta Diario team, gave birth to the prime-time TV phenomenon Casseta and Planeta, Urgente! on Rede Globo, where he played dozens of recurring characters including the iconic 'Reporter Helio de la Pena' newsroom sketches. The show ran for 18 years, until 2010, followed by the spin-off Casseta and Planeta, Vai Fundo in 2012. With the troupe he co-wrote and acted in the feature films A Taca do Mundo e Nossa (2003) and Seus Problemas Acabaram (2006). After the program ended he embraced solo stand-up, headlining Comedy Central specials and touring with shows such as Preto de Neve. He has also published the books O Livro do Papai (2003) and the comic novel Vai na Bola, Glanderson (2006), and runs a community library on Morro da Babilonia in Rio.

Helio de la Pena tours regularly across Brazil with his solo stand-up show Preto de Neve and other live programs, frequently appearing in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Goiania, the Espirito Santo coast and the South. Selected stand-up sets are available on his YouTube channel (youtube.com/heliodelapena) and via Comedy Central Brasil, classic Casseta and Planeta episodes can be streamed on Globoplay, and tour dates are announced on Instagram (@lapena, around 431K followers).