The tropical climates of Hawaii have got to be a marked improvement over the cold of Montreal.

Rodrigo Santoro: Oh yeah, completely. Montreal was cold, man, and believe me I’m used to it. I don’t feel that cold and usually I can take it but Montreal…  and with that wardrobe? Like walking from the studio, it was like this (raises hand high) much snow to the trailer. I wouldn’t go to the trailer. ‘I’m staying here.’ I made a little corner for me inside and I said, ‘that’s my trailer. I’m not going out there at all.’ It was like freezing.

How was doing the scene when you walk down from your little mobile temple onto the field?

Rodrigo Santoro: Little? You thought that was little?

I could imagine that his big temple would be 8 times as big or something like that. It was a mobile temple.

Rodrigo Santoro: Yeah, yeah. (laughs) Well it was insane. When I saw that golden, huge, massive throne carried and I actually step on those guys’ backs, I thought ‘my god, do I have to do that?’ ‘Yes!’ It was a real trip. It was like ‘what am I doing here?’ Alright, just go for it. That’s what it is. By the time I was there shooting, I had already spent 4-1/2 hours there so I remember...  There’s a funny story. I had this velvet blue cape -- heavy, very heavy – plus all the chains around my neck so I was like, ‘wow, that’s a lot to carry!’ I was actually having a hard time going up and coming down the stairs without stepping on my cape and all that. It was just a joke. Don’t get me wrong. But I just clapped my hands and went like, ‘Don’t I have a helper to hold my cape?’ (laughs)

You were really into it?

Rodrigo Santoro: I had to be. I’m telling you it was blue screen. You had to trip. So this guy from the costume department walks up and goes, ‘from now on, I’m your helper.’ And he was, he was always carrying my cape around and I felt bad for the guy and I’m like, ‘you don’t have to do that.’ ‘No, no, no, I want to do that.’ And that was great.

Were there any mistake made, any missteps, anything that happened that was funny?

Rodrigo Santoro: Funny? That was the funniest thing actually that happened, that I had this guy help me out with the cape. Nothing really funny.

Did you ask to keep that costume?

Rodrigo Santoro: I did ask. They would not. (laughs)

What would you do with the costume?

Rodrigo Santoro: I can’t tell you.

Wear it at home around the house?

Rodrigo Santoro: I would keep it. I thought it was so interesting. At least some chains, you know. I actually have a piece of the wardrobe of most of the characters that I’ve played. I always ask for something. But this one they said, ‘no, no, no, no, no. This one you cannot take’ and I said, ‘please man. Any piece.’ ‘No, no.’

When you play a guy like this, what are the dangers of making him too evil?

Rodrigo Santoro: Tricky, man. Very tricky. Very risky. At the same time I was like ‘wow, what a character’ and on the other hand, I was like ‘oh my god, this is going to be so difficult.’ I just made a choice to try to make him a little ambiguous and a little like not here or there or more of an entity. I don’t think he’s human. The voice was amazing because Zack asked me to work in my lower register if possible. He said, ‘I want the movie theater to shake when you open your mouth. They’re going to do a lot of computer work afterwards.’ So you had to go for it. That’s what I tried to do. You have to make a choice. There are so many ways to play [it]. I didn’t want to play a caricature even though we were in this kind of comic book, operatic, stylized world, we had to be believable. So you just had to go for it and I think all the actors in the movie did the same. They just made a choice, ‘okay, let’s go and tell the story.’