Netflix offers up its own brand of superhero film on August 14 with Project Power, which stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie reveals a world where humans can obtain powers through pharmaceutical means, which quickly become more dangerous than anticipated.

Rodrigo Santoro takes on the role of the drug-dealing villain, Biggie, who markets a pill that gifts users with superpowers for all of 5 minutes. He spoke with Screen Rant about the contradictions in his complex character, as well as what his definition of power is in the context of the film.

Tell me a little bit about your character, Biggie.

Rodrigo Santoro: Biggie is the main representative power. He's sort of like a salesman, but I would say he's more of a visionary; a guy that wants to take the product all over the world and wants to be sort of a megalomaniac figure. Also a very contradictory kind of character that, on the surface, is one thing. Very confident, smooth and all that. But then - I don't want to give spoilers, but he is going to reveal another side of him once the situation starts to get complicated.

Without going into spoilers, Biggie seems like he's used power quite a bit throughout his life, and it's had a lasting effect on. How did you use Biggie's disfigurement as a part of your character development?

Rodrigo Santoro: Well, it all started when I read the part, and I spoke to the directors about how can we make this character a real person. In the beginning, it was a little bit tricky to play him and [not] fall in to sort of a caricature of a dealer and salesman. So, we started to talk about what's the story behind this guy. And they were very open and very talented; amazing guys to work with.

We started to discuss, and I brought this idea of having the opposite underneath; having this guy who was very secure and all that. We start to work with that - and again, without giving any spoiler - the whole physical part, it is also a reflection of what Biggie is looking for in life; what he wanted to be. Usually the superpower is - this is sort of a theory that I came up with and started to talk to them about - why do you think this guy gets this kind of superpower and this guy gets a different superpower? It has to do with what?

We kind of came up with the theory that it depends on each person; like what we want, what we desire in life, or our fears. We came up with all these theories, but that was a big part of playing the character I had to play once he becomes who he becomes. I had to play that, so in a way it informed me who was the guy basically.

The movie talks a lot about the meaning of the word power. Superpowers aside, what would you consider Biggie's power?

Rodrigo Santoro: His power is to convince people. One of the inspirations that I got was, those people [who] when they talk, they're good talkers. The people that have the magnetism about them that really - they look at you, and there's nothing else in the world. It's all about you. They make you feel special; they tell you they want to help you. They're going to make you grow; they're going to change your life.

I watched a lot of those people, and I started to think that I wanted to play a salesman that had a touch of almost a life coach. Somebody that was there for you. It was just an inspiration; I wanted to give a personal touch to the character. And that was it, man. Then just working little things here and there and just trying to never lose contact with with the core of the character, which is the most important thing.

More: Jamie Foxx & Dominique Fishback Interview for Project Power