Rodrigo Santoro talks about returning to the role of Xerxes for 300: Battle of Artemisia

The prequel/sequel/something like that anyway to 300 has been shaping up for a while now, with the most recent development being the announcement of a May 24th, 2013 release date.  But today brings some insight from someone who is perhaps most important of all to 300: BATTLE OF ARTEMISIA, Rodrigo Santoro aka Xerxes (the movie was originally titled XERXES). 

Not only does he reveal in an interview with Cinemablend that filming is set to begin this summer (which of course makes sense considering the release date), but he also talks a bit about what sorts of things he has to do to get ready to take on the role again.

Cinemablend: Have you started your preparation process for the film yet?
Santoro: Yes, I have. We’re going to start shooting in July. I have started going to the gym. It’s a lot of work. People don’t know how much work we have to put into this – especially for Xerxes. It’s not only about working out, but, you know, the character has a very specific look. People ask me, “Were you bald?” I had to shave, workout, there’s five hours of makeup. 

Cinemablend: And all those piercings…
Santoro: Piercings are all very delicate. So it’s a lot to get there. It’s the first time that I’m returning to a character, I’ve never played the same character twice. That’s interesting, I want to try and make this experience fresh, somehow for me. I want to find different layers. Let’s see what the script is going to give me, because they’re still working on it. They’re working on the last draft. I’m looking forward to show something to the fans that they haven’t seen in the first one, in 300. We’re all excited. The interesting thing about this is that they’re not calling it a prequel or a sequel or a spin-off. There’s a bit of what you saw in 300 and what happened a little bit before. It’s interesting the take they have on it.