While attending the press junket for What to Expect When You're Expecting, Steve got to sit down with actor Rodrigo Santoro, who talked about reprising his role as the God-King, Xerxes, in the upcoming 300 spin-off, 300: Battle of Artemisia. Originally based on the Frank Miller comic, "Xerxes," the script has evolved to focus on an Athenian protagonist taking on the Persian king in a setting that parallels that of the original 300. Santoro commented on the progress of the shoot, how it might be filming in Bulgaria, the overall story and the challenge of returning to play Xerxes again. Check out our previous coverage of 300: Battle of Artemisia here.Directed by Noam Murro (Smart People) and also starring Eva Green (Dark Shadows) and Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom), 300: Battle of Artemisia opens August 2nd, 2013. Hit the jump to see what Santoro had to say.In previous interviews, Santoro had mentioned that the initial version of the script he had seen included a battle happening in parallel to the one in 300 as seen from a different perspective, potentially having to do with a naval battle. Here's an updated account from Santoro:
"We start shooting in July. Theyâre working on the very, well you never know, but last draft of the script. I think theyâre calling it a spin-off because itâs not exactly a prequel, itâs not a sequel. It takes place in the same time, you start a little earlier but then you see that itâs like a different point of view, a different camera, a different angle. While that battle was happening, the one that you saw in 300, there was another battle happening next to it and you will have a chance to see all of that happening and how they interact. I donât want to ruin it."
Also, as Santoro had stated before, there will be an explanation of Xerxes backstory and how he became the God-King:
"They are working on, right now, trying to explain it, I think they will try to do a little backstory on Xerxes and they will explain how he became 'the God King,' which Iâm excited about. I donât know what itâs going to be. Iâve never played a character twice. Itâs interesting. I think the challenging thing for me now will be to try to bring something new for the fans, for the audience and for myself just to make it interesting to play it again."
Santoro also commented on the amount of effort it takes not only to play the God-King Xerxes, but to be transformed into him:
"Iâve got to be honest, itâs a real hard process to get there, not only working out like crazy, [but also] shaving. Iâve got to shave all over my body. Itâs a really intense, bizarre character, so itâs a lot of work to get there. Make-up: like five or six hours of make-up every day. When you see it, it looks cool, but thereâs a lot of work behind it. Thatâs all very challenging and Iâm looking forward to it. I hope itâs going to be great."
Check out the video interview below for more from Santoro and 300: Battle of Artemisia. Look for Steve's full interview with Santoro closer to the release of What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Collider: Before I run out of time with you, of course, I love 300 . Obviously, Warner Bros. is moving forward on the sequel/prequel/whatever. I donât know whatâ¦
Rodrigo Santoro:Â Spin-off.
Spin-off, there we go. For fans of that film, can you give an update as to whatâs going on with it?
Santoro: Yeah, theyâre prepping right now. We start shooting in July. Theyâre working on the very, well you never know, but last draft of the script. I think theyâre calling it a spin-off because itâs not exactly a prequel, itâs not a sequel. It takes place in the same time, you start a little earlier but then you see that itâs like a different point of view, a different camera, a different angle. While that battle was happening, the one that you saw in 300, there was another battle happening next to it and you will have a chance to see all of that happening and how they interact. I donât want to ruin it.
Are you filming again in Montreal?
Santoro: No, I think we are going to do it in Europe this time. It might be Bulgaria.
Do you know if your part is going to be bigger?
Santoro: They are working on, right now, trying to explain it, I think they will try to do a little backstory on Xerxes and they will explain how he became âthe God King,â which Iâm excited about.  I donât know what itâs going to be. Iâve never played a character twice. Itâs interesting. I think the challenging thing for me now will be to try to bring something new for the fans, for the audience and for myself just to make it interesting to play it again. Iâve got to be honest, itâs a real hard process to get there, not only working out like crazy, shaving, Iâve got to shave all over my body. Itâs a really intense, bizarre character, so itâs a lot of work to get there. Make-up: like five or six hours of make-up every day. When you see it, it looks cool, but thereâs a lot of work behind it. Thatâs all very challenging and Iâm looking forward to it. I hope itâs going to be great.