Rodrigo Santoro | |
|---|---|
 Santoro at the 2025Berlinale | |
| Born | Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (1975-08-22)22 August 1975 (age 50) Petrópolis,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (Portuguese pronunciation:[ʁoˈdɾiɡuʒũˈkejɾɐˈʁejssɐ̃ˈtɔɾu]; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is known in Brazil for his appearances on local telenovelas, and internationally for his portrayal of the Persian kingXerxes in the film300 (2006) and its sequel300: Rise of an Empire (2014). Other credits includeBrainstorm (2001),Carandiru (2003),Love Actually (2003),Che (2008),I Love You Phillip Morris (2009), andRio (2011), What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012). He also appeared on the television seriesLost in 2006, portraying the characterPaulo, and onHBO'sWestworld (2016–2020).
Rodrigo Santoro was born in Petrópolis, the son of Francesco Santoro, an Italian engineer with origins inPaola,province of Cosenza, inCalabria[1] and Maria José Junqueira dos Reis, a Brazilianartist ofPortuguese ancestry.[2][3][4][5]
In 1993, while studying Journalism atPUC-Rio, Santoro entered the Actor's Workshop ofRede Globo. He went on to play parts in many of Globo'stelenovelas, such asOlho no Olho (1993),Pátria Minha (1994),Explode Coração (1995),O Amor Está no Ar (1997),Suave Veneno (1999) andMulheres Apaixonadas (2003), as well as the miniseriesHilda Furacão (1998), in the role of a priest. Santoro also voiced the titular character inStuart Little and its sequelStuart Little 2 in the Brazilian-dubbed versions.
His first major role in a film production came in 2001, withBicho de Sete Cabeças (Brainstorm) from Brazilian director Laís Bodansky. By the end of the film, he received a standing ovation from the audience.[6][7] He also went on to win the festival's best actor trophy. AfterBicho, his reputation as an actor had been solidified and he was cast as the male lead inAbril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), one of the nominees for best foreign film in the 2002Golden Globe Awards. In the 2003Hector Babenco filmCarandiru, he played Lady Di, atransgender prisoner.
American directorRobert Allan Ackerman signed Santoro for his TV productionThe Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone after being mesmerized by his performance inBicho de Sete Cabeças. Since Santoro did not have an agent in North America, Ackerman contacted Santoro's father. He spent two months filming in Rome, alongside such actors asHelen Mirren andAnne Bancroft. Soon after he finished shooting forMrs. Stone, he received an offer fromColumbia Pictures for a part in the blockbusterCharlie's Angels: Full Throttle. This role kick-started his career in Hollywood. AfterCharlie's Angels, he played Karl, an enigmatic chief designer and the love interest ofLaura Linney's character, in the romantic comedyLove Actually.
Santoro began obtaining work in the advertising business as he appeared in a commercial campaign withGisele Bündchen in 2002. He played the male lead inNo. 5 The Film, a three-minute-long commercial forChanel, directed byBaz Luhrmann alongsideNicole Kidman in 2004.
In 2006, Santoro joined theseason three cast of theABC television seriesLost asPaulo, a survivor of theOceanic Flight 815 crash. His first appearance was in the episode "Further Instructions", and his character was killed off in the episode "Exposé". He also voiced the character in the Brazilian-dubbed version of the series.
Santoro was cast asPersian emperorXerxes inZack Snyder's film300 (2006), based on theFrank Miller comic of the same name. The job had many special requirements, which included intensive workout for the physicality of the role (Santoro had previously lost 24 pounds (11 kg) to star in a Brazilian miniseries), extensiveCGI work to portray the 6'2" Santoro as the seven-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 waxing proved too painful.[8] His eyebrows were kept intact, however, covered over withprosthetics and drawn in rather than being shaved.[9] Santoro read the works ofHerodotus, anAncient 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.[8]
After playing the footballerHeleno de Freitas in the 2012 filmHeleno,[10] Santoro co-starred alongsideArnold Schwarzenegger in the 2013 filmThe Last Stand before playing Garriga in theWill Smith drama filmFocus (2015).
Santoro playedJesus in the 2016historicalaction filmBen-Hur and received personal blessings fromPope Francis for the role.[11]
In October of the same year, it was confirmed that the actor would return to soap operas after twelve years inVelho Chico, written by Benedito Ruy Barbosa, playing the role of protagonist Afrânio in the first phase, alongside Carol Castro.
Santoro was inRibeirão Preto for the premiere of the 2011 filmMeu País, directed by André Ristum. As the character Marcos, in the award-winning feature film, he emphasized his strong relationship with the city and the reasons that led him to select it as one of the locations for an avant-première: "My mother's entire family, Junqueira Reis, is from Ribeirão Preto. I've been coming here since I was little. I have a strong relationship with the city.[12]
Santoro dated actressLuana Piovani for three years, from 1997 to 2000, until it was discovered that she was cheating on him with businessman Cristiano Rangel.[13][14] He dated model Ellen Jabour from 2004 to 2008.[15]
He has been married to actress and presenterMel Fronckowiak since 2016.[16][17] The two were purportedly introduced by an assistant director of the soap operaRebelde, onRecordTV, in which Mel was one of the protagonists. After the soap opera, Mel was left without theflat provided by the broadcaster and, at Santoro's invitation, she started living in his apartment, inLeblon. The couple started dating in mid-July 2012 and kept their relationship discreet for 1 year. Santoro proposed to admit the relationship in public, at the launch of Mel's book, at Shopping do Leblon, in Rio de Janeiro, where the actor joined thousands of the actress's fans to receive his personal dedication in the book, on 25 August 2013.[18]
In January 2017, Santoro and Mel announced that they would become parents for the first time. The couple's daughter, Nina, was born on 22 May 2017.[19]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Depois do Escuro[20] | Roberto | |
| 1998 | Como Ser Solteiro | Himself | |
| 1998 | Hilda Furacão | Frei Malthus | |
| 1999 | O Trapalhão e a Luz Azul | Musketeer | |
| Stuart Little | Stuart Little | Voice (Brazilian Portuguese dub) | |
| 2001 | Bicho de Sete Cabeças | Wilson Souza Neto[21] | |
| Abril Despedaçado | Tonho | ||
| 2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Stuart Little | Voice (Brazilian Portuguese dub) |
| 2003 | The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | Young Man | |
| Carandiru | Lady Di | ||
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Randy Emmers | ||
| Love Actually | Karl | ||
| 2004 | A Dona da História | Luiz Cláudio | |
| 2006 | 300 | Xerxes I[22][23] | |
| 2007 | Não por Acaso | Pedro | |
| 2008 | Live, Love, Laugh, But... | Bellboy | Short film |
| Os Desafinados | Joaquim | ||
| Redbelt | Bruno Silva | ||
| Leonera | Ramiro | ||
| Che | Raúl Castro | ||
| 2009 | I Love You Phillip Morris | Jimmy Kemple | |
| Post Grad | David Santiago | ||
| 2010 | Manual Para Se Defender de Alienígenas, Zumbis e Ninjas | Ninja | Short film |
| There Be Dragons | Oriol | ||
| 2011 | Meu País | Marcos | |
| 2011 | Rio | Túlio / Soccer Announcer | Voice (also in the Brazilian Portuguese dub) |
| 2012 | Hemingway & Gellhorn | Paco Zarra | |
| Heleno | Heleno de Freitas | ||
| What To Expect When You're Expecting | Alex Castillo | ||
| Reis e Ratos | Roni Rato | ||
| 2013 | The Last Stand | Frank Martinez | |
| Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury | Piatã / Júnior | ||
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | Xerxes I | |
| Rio 2 | Túlio | Voice (also in the Brazilian Portuguese dub) | |
| Rio, I Love You | Ele | ||
| 2015 | Focus | Garriga | |
| The 33 | Laurence Golborne | ||
| 2016 | Jane Got a Gun | Fitchum | |
| Ben-Hur | Jesus Christ | ||
| Dominion | Carlos | ||
| Pelé: Birth of a Legend | Brazilian announcer | ||
| 2018 | A Translator (Un Traductor) | Malin | |
| 2019 | Monica and Friends: Bonds | Nutty Ned | |
| Klaus | Jesper Johansson | Voice (Brazilian Portuguese dub) | |
| 2020 | Project Power | Biggie | |
| 2021 | Save Ralph | Rabbit | Voice; short film |
| 7 Prisoners | Luca | ||
| 2024 | Noah's Ark | Vini[24] | Voice |
| 2025 | The Blue Trail (O Último Azul) | Cadu | It had its world premiere in February 2025, as part of the75th Berlin International Film Festival, in Competition.[25] |
| 2026 | Animal Race | Abu | Post Production |
| TBA | Runner | Damian Zaldívar | Filming |
| Year | TV show | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1994 | Olho no Olho | Pedro | Main role |
| 1994–1995 | Pátria Minha | Fernando | |
| 1995–1996 | Explode Coração | Sérgio | |
| 1996 | Sai de Baixo | Gama | Episode: "Sexo Nosso de Cada Dia" |
| Comédia da Vida Privada | Diogo | Episode: "Mulheres" | |
| 1997 | O Amor Está no Ar | Léo | |
| 1998 | Hilda Furacão | Malthus Librelato | Main role |
| 1999 | Belo e as Feras | Henrique | Episode: "Só o Amor Destrói" |
| Suave Veneno | Eliseu Vieira | Main role | |
| 2001 | Os Normais | Júlio | Episode: "Grilar é Normal" |
| Estrela-Guia | Carlos Charles Pimenta | Main role | |
| 2002 | Pastores da Noite | Padre Gomes | Television film |
| 2003 | Mulheres Apaixonadas | Diogo Ribeiro Alves | Main role |
| 2005 | Hoje É Dia de Maria | Amado | |
| Hoje é Dia de Maria: Segunda Jornada | Dom Chico Chicote | ||
| 2006 | Lost | Paulo | Main role (season 3) |
| 2009 | Som & Fúria | Sanjay | Main role |
| 2010 | Afinal, o Que Querem as Mulheres? | Rodrigo Santoro (fictional version) | Episode: "Elas?" |
| Papai Noel Existe | Robson Luiz | Television film | |
| 2012 | As Brasileiras | Carioca | Episode: "A Indomável do Ceará" |
| 2016 | Velho Chico | Afrânio de Sá Ribeiro | Guest role, 24 episodes |
| 2016–2022 | Westworld | Hector Escaton / Ettore | Main role (seasons 1–2) Guest role (seasons 3–4) |
| 2019 | Solteira e Boa Rapariga | David | Main role |
| Reprisal | Joel Kelly | ||
| 2021 | Sessão de Terapia | Dr. Davi Greco | Main role (season 5) |
| 2022 | Sin límites | Ferdinand Magellan | Main role |
| 2023 | Wolf Pack | Garrett Briggs | |
| 2024 | Good Morning, Verônica | Jerônimo | Main role (season 3) |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Ocean" | Alok, Zeeba and IRO |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Festival de Brasília | Best Actor | Bicho de Sete Cabeças | Won |
| 2001 | Recife Film Festival | Won | ||
| Brazil Quality Award | Won | |||
| Santo Domingo Film Festival | Won | |||
| SESC Best Film Festival | Won | |||
| 2002 | Cinema Brazilian Grand Prix | Won | ||
| APCA Trophy | Won | |||
| Cartagena Film Festival | Won | |||
| Cero Latitud Film Festival | Won | |||
| 2003 | Festival de Brasília | Best Actor | Carandiru | Won |
| 2004 | Cannes Film Festival | Chopard Trophy of Male Revelation | N/a | Won |
| 2007 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Villain | 300 | Nominated |
| 2011 | Festival de Brasília | Best Actor | Meu País | Won |
| Havana Film Festival | Heleno | Won | ||
| 2012 | Lima Film Festival | Won | ||
| ALMA Awards | What to Expect When You're Expecting | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro | Heleno | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Troféu APCA | Velho Chico | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Prêmio Extra de Televisão | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Filming Italy Sardegna Festival | movie highlights and series in the year | N/a | Won |
| 2018 | Cinema PE - Audiovisual Festival | work set | N/a | Won |
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