Gonçalves began his career in
São Paulo, in an
amateur group. As he moved to a professional group, he met
Augusto Boal, who was looking for an actor to play an old black man. Joining Boal's
Teatro de Arena, Milton Gonçalves found an open environment for political, philosophical, and artistic discussion, where he was not discriminated against on the baseless basis of his race. Gonçalves wrote four plays, one of which was staged by the
Teatro Experimental do Negro and directed by Dalmo Ferreira. He said of this engagement "There I learnt everything I know about Theater. It was fundamental for my comprehension of the world." A Black Movement activist, Milton Gonçalves tried a political career, in the 1990s, as a candidate to
Rio de Janeiro state governorship. Father of actor Maurício Gonçalves, he was married to Oda Gonçalves from 1966 until her death in 2013. The life and career of Milton Gonçalves are depicted in the 2025
documentary film Milton Gonçalves, Além do Espetáculo, by Luiz Antonio Pilar. ==Death==