'Narcos' Brazilian star Wagner Moura wins best actor at Cannes

Brazilian Wagner Moura -- best known for playing Pablo Escobar in "Narcos" -- won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival Saturday for playing a good guy.

He plays an academic being hunted down by a corrupt Brazilian minister in "The Secret Agent" by his compatriot Kleber Mendonca Filho.

Moura beat competition that included British heartthrob Josh O'Connor, who appeared in two films, Joaquin Phoenix in "Eddington" by Ari Aster and Benicio Del Toro in "The Phoenician Scheme" by Wes Anderson.

"He's a great actor and I hope 'The Secret Agent' will bring him many great things," Mendonca Filho said, accepting the award on his behalf.

Minutes later, Mendonca Filho was up on stage again receiving the best director prize.

"The Secret Agent" is an intense thriller about a man trying to escape corrupt politics set in 1970s Brazil.