Rodrigo Santoro Talks 'Heleno,' Playing A Mad Man, '300' Sequel

Rodrigo Santoro has worn many hats in his film career, and for his latest role, as the late and troubled Brazilian soccer star Heleno de Freitas in Heleno, Santoro had to dig down into the depths of his character. “You learn about the character while you’re doing it,” Santoro told Uinterview exclusively. “And I was trying to understand, ‘What was the sweet side of him? Where was the love?’”

Santoro, 37, was born in Rio de Janeiro. He initially studied to be a journalist before enrolling in the Actors Workshop of the Brazilian television network Rede Globo, which spawned roles for Santoro in a number of Brazilian telenovelas. Santoro eventually segued into film, breaking out in Hollywood first with a small cameo in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, followed by playing Laura Linney’s love interest Karl in the hit romantic comedy Love Actually. Santoro has also played such notable characters as Paulo in the third season of Lost, Xerxes in 300, Che Guevara in Che, and Alex (Jennifer Lopez’s husband) in What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

Santoro fans will also see much more of the actor in the coming year with his roles in The Last Stand, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and 300: Rise of an Empire.

For now, though, Santoro is pulling for Heleno to be a hit in its own right. “Heleno is opening Friday (Dec. 7) in Miami, New York and L.A. And hopefully we stay a little while in the theaters so people will have a chance to watch it.”