Wikipedia:
Rodrigo Santoro |
| Rodrigo Santoro | |
|---|---|
 Rodrigo Santoro in 2004 |
|
| Birth name | Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro |
| Born | August 22 1975  Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Occupation | actor |
| Years active | 1993 - present |
| Official site | Oficial Site |
Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro, pron. IPA: [xo'dɾigu ʒũ'kejɾɐ dus 'xejs sɐ͂'tɔru], (born August 22, 1975) is a Brazilian actor.
Biography
Career
In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo. Santoro went on to play parts in many of Globo's telenovelas, such as Olho no Olho (1993), Pátria Minha (1994), Explode Coração (1995), O Amor Está no Ar (1997), Suave Veneno (1999) and Mulheres Apaixonadas (2003), as well as the miniseries Hilda Furacão (1998), in the role of a priest. Santoro also did the Brazilian version of the titular character in Stuart Little and its sequel.
His first major role in a cinema production would come in 2001, with Bicho de Sete Cabeças (Brainstorm) by Brazilian director Laís Bodansky. At the time, he was under heavy criticism for his role in a Brazilian soap and was even booed at the first showing of the film at the 2000 Brasília Brazilian Cinema Festival. By the end of the film, he received a standing ovation from the audience and critics praised his portrayal of a young man who is sent to a psychiatric clinic by his father after being caught smoking marijuana. He also went on to win the festival's best actor trophy. After Bicho, his reputation as an actor had been solidified and he was cast as the male lead in the much-praised Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), one of the nominees for best foreign film in the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. He had another critically acclaimed performance in the 2003 Hector Babenco film Carandiru, where he played a transexual prisoner known as Lady Di.
Canadian director Robert Allan Ackerman signed Santoro for his TV production The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone after being mesmerised by his performance on Bicho
de Sete Cabeças. Since Santoro didn't have an agent in North America, Ackerman contacted Santoro's father. He spent two
months filming in Rome, alongside renowned actors such as Helen
Mirren and Anne Bancroft. Soon after he finished shooting for Mrs. Stone, he
received an offer from Columbia Pictures for a part in the blockbuster
He also started getting work in the advertising business as he appeared in a commercial campaign with Gisele Bundchen in 2002 and in a 2-minute-long commercial for Chanel, directed by Baz Luhrmann alongside Nicole Kidman in 2004.
In 2006, Santoro joined the cast of Lost as survivor of Oceanic Flight 815, Paulo. His first appearance was in episode titled, "Further Instructions". His character was killed off in the episode "Exposé".
Santoro was cast as Persian emperor Xerxes I in the movie 300, based on the Frank Miller comic of the same name, in 2007. 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.[1] His eyebrows were kept intact, however, covered over with prosthetics and drawn in rather than being shaved.[2] Santoro claims to have read the works of Herodotus, an Ancient Greek historian, in order to prepare for his part. Regarding Xerxes I, he says:
| “ | 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."[3] | ” |
For his role on 300, Santoro became the first Brazilian actor nominated to the MTV Movie Awards, in the category of Best Villain. Santoro though, did not win the category which went to Jack Nicholson from The Departed.
Despite his successful international career, Santoro has said he doesn't want to move to Los Angeles and would like to stay in Rio. He practices transcendental meditation and sports when time allows, is a fan of The Doors and likes to read
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Como Ser Solteiro | Himself |
| 1999 | O Trapalhão e a Luz Azul | D'Artagnan |
| 1999 | Stuart Little | Stuart Little (portuguese voice) |
| 2001 | Bicho de Sete Cabeças | Neto |
| 2001 | Abril Despedaçado | Tonho |
| 2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Stuart Little (portuguese voice) |
| 2003 | Carandiru | Lady Di |
| 2003 | Randy Emers | |
| 2003 | Love Actually | Karl |
| A Dona da História | Luiz Cláudio young | |
| 2006- |
Lost | Paulo |
| 300 | Xerxes I (Plays portuguese voice in Brazilian DVD Edition) | |
| Não Por Acaso | Pedro | |
| Os Desafinados | Joaquim | |
| 2008 | Redbelt | |
| 2008 | Black Oasis |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Olho no Olho | Pedro | soap opera |
| 1994 | Pátria Minha | Fernando | soap opera |
| 1995 | Explode Coração | Serginho | soap opera |
| 1997 | O Amor Está no Ar | Léo | soap opera |
| 1998 | Hilda Furacão | Frei Malthus | soap opera |
| 1999 | Suave Veneno | Eliseu Vieira | soap opera |
| 2001 | Estrela-guia | Carlos Charles Pimenta | soap opera |
| 2003 | Mulheres Apaixonadas | Diego | soap opera |
| 2005 | Hoje É Dia de Maria | Amado / Dom Chico Chicote | miniseries |
| 2006-2007 | Lost | Paulo | Season 3 |
Awards and nominations
- MTV Movie Awards
- 2007 - Best Villain for 300 (Nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival
- 2004 - Chopard Trophy of Male Revelation (Won)
- Cartagena Film Festival
- 2002 - Best Actor for Bicho de Sete Cabeças (Won)
Other nominations and honors
- 2006: 12th position on People Magazine's 2006 Sexiest Man Alive.
- 2004: On People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list 2004.
References
- ^ http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=5477
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=405883
- ^ http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=5477
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
