This is… Xerxes!
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
King Xerxes played by Rodrigo Santoro in Warner Bros.’ 300.
300 comes out on DVD today. There was controversy around the time of its theatrical release, especially among Iranians, about how Persians, and in particular, King Xerxes, were depicted in the film. Frank Miller’s Xerxes was a giant who looked like Dhalsim with makeup on.
You can see in the bas relief carving on the right how the ancient Persians recorded Xerxes’s appearance. Let’s see how Hollywood has portrayed him over the years.
King Xerxes played by Luke Goss in last year’s One Night with the King. Still a little too pretty but definitely regal looking.
King Xerxes played by David Farrar in the 1962 film 300 Spartans. Perhaps the closest likeness to the bas relief above.
King Xerxes played by a vegetable in VeggieTales: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen. Should be the ultimate indignity one can heap upon the portrayal of a Persian king but considering that the rest of the cast were also vegetables, we should let this slide. Besides, I hear kids love the video.