Rodrigo Santoro

A sought-after leading man in South America, actor Rodrigo Santoro successfully transitioned to Hollywood in several critically and commercially acclaimed projects. After gaining fame on Brazilian television, Santoro earned raves for his starring turn as an institutionalized teenager in the gritty drama "Brainstorm" (2001). He was soon courted by international filmmakers for such projects as "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (Showtime, 2003), "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003) and "Love Actually" (2003). A high-profile television ad for Chanel - directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman - brought him further attention. It was, however, the talented actor's one-two punch as the detestable crash survivor Paulo on the third season of "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010) and the Persian King Xerxes in director Zack Snyder's stylized rendition of Frank Miller's graphic novel "300" (2007) that put him on the mainstream radar. While not catapulting to the Hollywood stardom some predicted, Santoro nonetheless continued to deliver inspired performances alongside some of cinema's finest talents in movies like "Redbelt" (2008), "Che" (2008), "I Love You Phillip Morris" (2009) and "There Be Dragons" (2011). Blessed not only with leading man good looks, but the talent and drive to move beyond those limitations, Santoro was assured a satisfying career, both in his homeland and abroad.