Born: Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro on 22 August 1975, in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rodrigo Santoro is a Brazilian actor. 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), as well as the miniseries Hilda Furacão (1998), in the role of a priest. 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) by Brazilian director Laís Bodansky. Critics praised his portrayal of a young man who is sent to a psychiatric clinic by his father after being caught smoking marijuana. He also went on to win the festival's best actor trophy. After Bicho, 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 had another critically acclaimed performance in the 2003 Hector Babenco film Carandiru, where he played a transexual prisoner known as Lady Di.

Canadian director Robert Allan Ackerman signed Santoro for his TV production The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone after being mesmerised by his performance on Bicho de Sete Cabeças. Soon after he finished shooting for Mrs. Stone, he received an offer from Columbia Pictures for a part in the blockbuster Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. After Charlie's Angels, he played the character of Karl, the "enigmatic chief designer" and love interest of Laura Linney's character, in the romantic comedy Love Actually, alongside Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Rowan Atkinson.

I love both the sun and the moon, day and night. But I enjoy the day the most because I live in Rio and I can play sports.

In 2006, Santoro joined the cast of Lost as survivor of Oceanic Flight 815, Paulo. His first appearance was in episode titled, "Further Instructions". His character was killed off in the episode "Exposé".

Santoro was cast as Persian emperor Xerxes I in the movie 300, based on the Frank Miller comic of the same name, in 2007. Despite his successful international career, Santoro has said he doesn't want to move to Los Angeles and would like to stay in Rio. He practices transcendental meditation and sports when time allows, is a fan of The Doors and likes to read William Shakespeare's works. His favourite actors are Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

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