Man Crush Monday: Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Santoro will surprise you with his body of work, but right now he can currently be seen as Hector on HBO’s Westworld. Hector, sexily clad in black leather, had a remarkable redemption arc thanks to Maeve, who turned him from a common criminal and bank robber to a loyal bodyguard who has fallen in love with her. The mindblowing season finale leaves the fate of everyone in Maeve’s group up in the air. I, for one, will be super sad if the gorgeous gunslinger doesn’t get revived. After all, Rodrigo did make People Magazine’s “Most Beautiful List” in 2004 and when you mix leather and a cowboy hat with that, well…
Rodrigo was born in August 1975 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His father is Italian, and his mother is Brazilian. If you think his face is familiar, you may have seen him on the big screen in Zack Snyder’s 300, as Xerxes, the enemy king who set out to conquer Greece. Rodrigo won an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for that performance.
In 2008, he starred in two competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. First, as Raul Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s film Che, and then in Pablo Trapero’s Lion’s Den. One thing is clear, Rodrigo is a serious actor who truly honors and hones his craft.
His American film debut was in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, playing Randy Emmers. (Now I have to go back and rewatch that movie!). He was also in the ensemble cast of Love Actually, along with Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson, and he portrayed Jim Carrey’s first love in I Love You Phillip Morris.
As for TV work beyond Westworld, you may recognize him as the ill-fated Paolo from the series Lost.
Rodrigo has been nominated for many awards; 32 in fact, with 18 wins and 14 other nominations, most of which are for his work in Brazilian film and TV.
I’m so impressed with all of Rodrigo’s accomplishments. It’s obvious he is more than a pretty face. He’s currently hard at work on a Brazilian TV show called Solteira e Boa Rapariga. We wish him all the best… but do hope to see him in season three of Westworld. Viva Hector!
1 comment
Very talent!