Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro - 300

Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro (2006)

 

Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro (born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. 

Santoro was cast as Persian emperor Xerxes in the film 300, based on the Frank Miller comic of the same name, in 2006. 

The role had many special requirements, such as intensive workout for the physicality of the role (Santoro had lost 24 pounds to work in a Brazilian miniseries), extensive CG work to portray the 6'2" Santoro as the 7-foot God-King, a four-and-a-half-hour makeup application process and the complete removal of Santoro's body hair first by waxing and then by shaving when that proved too painful. 

His eyebrows were kept intact, however, covered over with prosthetics and drawn in rather than being shaved. 

Santoro read the works of Herodotus, an Ancient Greek historian, in order to prepare for his part. Regarding Xerxes, he has stated:

He's rich, he's arrogant, he's a very unstable megalomaniac. He just wants to conquer the world. His ambition is unlimited. He wants glory; he wants victory; he wants eternal fame. Underneath all that wanting, though, he's ultimately weak and very insecure.

For his role on 300, Santoro became the first Brazilian actor nominated to the MTV Movie Awards in the category of Best Villain. READ MORE

300 movie here