Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro is a brazilian actor born on August 22, 1975 in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro.
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). 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). After this, 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 also started getting work in the advertising business as he appeared in a commercial campaign with Gisele Bündchen in 2002. He also played the male lead in No. 5 The Film, the 3-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.

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, extensive CG work, a four-and-a-half-hour makeup application process, and the complete removal of Santoro's body hair.
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