Even though he broke out in Zack Snyder‘s “300” as the memorable Xerxes, Rodrigo Santoro has had a hard time snowballing that exposure into anything substantial. For every solid turn like Raúl Castro in Steven Soderbergh‘s “Che” or Jimmy in “I Love You Phillip Morris” there’s something like “Post Grad” or even “Lost” where he played one half of Nikki and Paulo, the most hated couple to ever appear on that show. On the horizon he’s got the HBO film “Hemingway & Gellhorn” with Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen but that will be countered by yet another gig that’s beneath him.
THR reveals that he has joined the ensemble dramedy “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” starring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick, Chris Rock and Matthew Morrison. Based on the must have book for any soon-to-be Mom, the film will spin it into a “Love Actually” style narrative — something Santoro should be familiar with — about four couples on the path to having a baby. Stretching the boundaries of believability — okay, not really — Santoro will play J. Lo’s husband, a music business type who doesn’t want to have a baby but says “what the hell” when his wife plans to adopt. And then he’ll probably come to realize that not even having the biggest hit record in the world can match the glory of being parent….awww….
Anyway, Kirk Jones (”Nanny McPhee”) is directing and it will hit theaters on May 11, 2012.