Born and raised in Maracaju, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, by 1963 Cardoso moved to São Paulo and began searching for gigs as a technician in filmmaking. Working as continuity supervisor and production director at Pam Filmes, Amacio Mazzaropi's production company, he got his debut as an actor in a short role in Mazzaropi's O Lamparina (1963). He would have his first substancial role in Walter Hugo Khouri's "O Corpo Ardente", in 1966.

By the early 1970s Cardoso already had gain notoriety as a star, after acting in Glauco Mirko Laurelli's "A Moreninha" (1970). In 1973 he founded DaCar Produções Cinematográficas, which would go on to produce most of his later films. His debut as a director was 1977's DaCar production "Dezenove Mulheres e Um Homem".

As an actor, Cardoso was featured in more than 40 films, from pornographic features to family-friendly movies such as Roberto Farias' "Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura" (1968), including avant-garde and cult films like Ozualdo Candeias' "A Herança" (1971). He played the main part in Rede Globo's soap opera "O Homem Proibido" (1982), leading to a series of protests from a conservative part of the public in account of his well-known connection to erotic productions. Cardoso is father to actors David Cardoso Júnior and Tallytha Cardoso, and currently lives in a farm in his home state of Mato Grosso do Sul.