Recently I met up with some of the cast and crew of 300.

Director Zack Synder discussed how he became involved in the project, why Warner Brothers may have been reluctant to make it after Troy and Alexander, plus the challenges of adapting Frank Miller’s graphic novel to the screen:

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Gerard Butler plays King Leonidas, the leader of the 300 soldiers who take on the Persian army. We spoke about how he first heard about the project and his thoughts on the finished film:

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Rodrigo Santoro plays Xerxes, the Persian King who leads his army of a million soldiers against the 300 Spartans. He is a Brazilian actor who you may remember seeing as Laura Linney’s object of affection in Love Actually. I spoke with him about his character and the difficulties of acting against blue screens whilst the effects were added in later:

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And finally I spoke to Lena Headey, who plays Queen Gorgo, the Spartan queen who has to deal with the treacherous intrigue at home whilst her husband battles the Persians. We spoke about her role and the unexpected box office success of the film in the US:

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You can also download the interviews as MP3 files via the following links:
- Director Zack Snyder on the making of 300
- Gerard Butler on his role as King Leonidas
- Rodrigo Santoro on playing Xerxes
- Lena Headey on playing Queen Gorgo

Also check out these links to find out more about 300:
> 300 at the IMDb
> Get showtimes for 300 at your local cinema via Google Movies
> Find out more about Frank Miller’s original graphic novel
> See how the actors got in to shape for the film with ‘The 300 Workout’