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Benicio del Toro

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is del Toro and the second or maternal family name is Sánchez.

Benicio del Toro
Del Toro in 2014
Born
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez

(1967-02-19) February 19, 1967 (age 57)
San Germán, Puerto Rico
CitizenshipSpain and US
EducationUniversity of California, San Diego
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1987–present
Children1
AwardsFull list

Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967)[1] is a Puerto Rican-born Spanish[2] actor. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Silver Bear for his portrayal of the jaded but morally upright police officer Javier Rodriguez in the film Traffic (2000). Del Toro's performance as despairing ex-con turned zealot Jack Jordan, in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003), earned him a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He is also known for his breakout role as the eccentric, unintelligible crook Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects (1995); Benny Dalmau in Basquiat (1996), winning two consecutive Independent Spirit Awards for both films; Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998); gambling addict Franky Four Fingers in Snatch (2000); the predatory, unhinged antagonist Jackie Boy in Sin City (2005); revolutionary Che Guevara in Che (2008), a performance that earned him the Best Actor award both at the Cannes Film Festival and at the Goya Awards; and as Alejandro, a mysterious, ruthless agent out to bring down a drug cartel in Sicario (2015), for which del Toro was nominated for several awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

His other roles include portrayals of the Collector in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; drug lord Pablo Escobar in Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014); Lawrence Talbot in the 2010 remake of The Wolfman; and the codebreaker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). In 2018, he starred as Richard Matt in the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora, for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

Early life

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Del Toro was born on February 19, 1967, in San Germán, Puerto Rico, to Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Genoveva Sánchez Rivera (daughter of Benicio Sánchez Castaño and Lirio Belén Rivera),[3] who were both lawyers. He has an older brother, Gustavo, who is the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York.[4][5] He had a Catalan paternal great-grandfather and a Basque maternal great-grandmother.[6][7] Del Toro's great-grandfather was Rafael Rivera Esbrí, one of the heroes of the El Polvorin fire in Ponce, and who would also later become mayor of that city (1915–1917).[8]

He spent most of his infancy in Santurce, a barrio within San Juan. Del Toro, whose childhood nicknames were "Skinny Benny" and "Beno", was raised a Roman Catholic[9][10] and attended Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (The Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), a Roman Catholic school in Miramar, Puerto Rico.[11][12] When del Toro was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis.[4] At age 15, he moved with his father and brother to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was enrolled at the Mercersburg Academy. He spent his adolescence and attended high school there.[13] After graduation, del Toro followed the advice of his father and pursued a business degree at the University of California, San Diego.[13] Success in an elective drama course encouraged him to drop out of college and study with noted acting teachers Stella Adler and Arthur Mendoza, in Los Angeles, as well as at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City.[13]

Career

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Del Toro surfaced in small television roles during the late 1980s, playing mostly thugs and drug dealers on programs such as Miami Vice and the NBC miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. He appeared in the 1987 music video for Madonna's song "La Isla Bonita" as a background character sitting on a car hood. Film roles followed, beginning with his debut in Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and as Dario in the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989).[13] Del Toro continued to appear in film including The Indian Runner (1991), China Moon (1994), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Fearless (1993) and Swimming with Sharks (1994).

His career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects, where he played the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster.[13] The role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and established him as a character actor. This led to stronger roles in independent and major studio films, including playing Gaspare in Abel Ferrara's The Funeral (1996) and winning a second consecutive Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work as Benny Dalmau in Basquiat (1996), directed by his friend, film-maker and painter Julian Schnabel. Del Toro also shared the screen with Robert De Niro in the big-budget thriller The Fan (1996), in which he played Juan Primo, a charismatic Puerto Rican baseball star. He subsequently starred opposite Alicia Silverstone in Excess Baggage (1997), which Silverstone produced.

Del Toro at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con

For Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's a famous book, he gained more than 40 lbs. (about 18 kg) to play Dr. Gonzo (a.k.a. Oscar Zeta Acosta), Thompson's lawyer and drug-fiend cohort.[13] The surrealistic film, directed by Terry Gilliam, has earned a cult following over the years.

Del Toro's performances in four films in 2000 gained him a mainstream audience. First, the crime yarn The Way of the Gun reunited him with The Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. A few months later, he stood out among a first-rate ensemble cast in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, a complex dissection of the North American drug wars. As Javier Rodriguez—a Mexican border policeman struggling to remain honest amid the corruption and deception of illegal drug trafficking—del Toro, who spoke most of his lines in Spanish, gave a performance that dominated the film.[13] His performance swept all of the major critics' awards in 2001. Del Toro won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the fourth living Oscar winner whose winning role was a character who speaks predominantly in a non-English language. Del Toro is also the third Puerto Rican actor to win an Oscar, after Jose Ferrer and Rita Moreno.[13] The year he won his Oscar marked the first time that two actors born in Puerto Rico were nominated in the same category (the other actor was Joaquin Phoenix). In his acceptance speech, del Toro thanked the people of both Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora and dedicated his award to them. In addition to the Oscar, he also won the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Traffic was also a success at the box office. This was soon followed by a small role as the diamond thief Franky Four Fingers in Guy Ritchie's hip caper comedy Snatch and a role as a mentally challenged Native American man in The Pledge, directed by his old friend Sean Penn.[13]

In 2003, del Toro appeared in two films: The Hunted, co-starring Tommy Lee Jones and the drama 21 Grams, co-starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. He went on to earn another Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the latter. He then appeared in the film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel Sin City, directed by Robert Rodriguez, and Things We Lost in the Fire, the English-language debut of celebrated Danish director Susanne Bier.

Del Toro at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2008, del Toro was awarded the Prix d'interpretation masculine (or Best Actor Award) at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Che Guevara in the biographical films The Argentine and Guerrilla (together known as Che).[14] During his acceptance speech, del Toro dedicated his award "to the man himself, Che Guevara" along with director Steven Soderbergh.[15] Del Toro was also awarded the 2009 Goya Award as the Best Actor for his portrayal of Guevara.[16] Sean Penn, who won the 2009 Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Milk, remarked that he was surprised and disappointed that Che and del Toro were not also up for any Academy Award nominations. During his acceptance speech for the Best Actor award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Penn expressed his dismay stating, "The fact that there aren't crowns on Soderbergh's and del Toro's heads right now, I don't understand... that is such a sensational movie, Che."[17] For the final portions of the film (shown here), del Toro shed 35 pounds to show how ill Guevara had become near the end of his life in the jungles of Bolivia.[18]

In 2010, del Toro starred in and produced the remake of Lon Chaney Jr.'s classic cult film The Wolf Man (1941).[19] He was chosen to be the face of the 2011 Campari calendar, becoming the first male model to be featured in the Italian liquor company's calendar.[20][21] Del Toro played The Collector in a mid-credits scene of Marvel Studios' superhero film Thor: The Dark World (2013) and later reprised his role in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)[22] and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

In September 2015, del Toro played Alejandro Gillick in the critically acclaimed Sicario, about a Mexican ex-prosecutor seeking revenge for the slaying of his wife and daughter working with a CIA special ops team to bring down the leader of a powerful and brutal Mexican drug cartel. Film critics widely praised his performance.[23][24] Del Toro reprised his role in the sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). In 2016, del Toro appeared in a Heineken television advertisement in its More Behind the Star series. The gag in the spot is that fans frequently mistake him for fellow actor Antonio Banderas, much to del Toro's chagrin.[25] In 2017, he played DJ (an abbreviation for "Don't Join", as DJ viewed the Resistance and the First Order as equally corrupt), a supporting antagonist in Star Wars: The Last Jedi,[26] who betrayed Rose and Finn to save himself when they were apprehended on the First Order's flagship.[27]

In 2021, del Toro starred in the Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch as Moses Rosenthaler, a mentally disturbed artist.[28]

Personal life

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On April 11, 2011, del Toro's publicist announced that del Toro and Kimberly Stewart, daughter of British singer Rod Stewart, were expecting a child, although they were not in a relationship.[29] Stewart gave birth to a daughter on August 21, 2011.[30][29] They had their daughter baptized in Puerto Rico.[31]

On November 4, 2011, he acquired Spanish citizenship, along with fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin.[32] The request was granted by the Spanish government in recognition of his artistic talents[32] and for his Spanish ancestry (he has family in Barcelona).[33]

In March 2012, he was granted an honorary degree by the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico for his influence on the cinema enterprise, during the celebration of the institution's centenary.[34]

In 2003, del Toro became the spokesman of the educational campaign Yo Limpio a Puerto Rico, an environmental organization founded in 1997 by Ignacio Barsottelli, whose mission is to educate and mobilize Puerto Ricans in favor of recycling and the protection of the environment.[35]

Del Toro narrated the public service announcement entitled "Coral Reef", joining the Artists to the Rescue of the Environment campaign.[35]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 Big Top Pee-wee Duke, The Dog-Faced Boy
1989 Licence to Kill Dario
1991 The Indian Runner Miguel Aguilera
1992 Christopher Columbus: The Discovery Alvaro Harana
1993 Fearless Manny Rodrigo
Golden Balls Bob, the friend from Miami
Money for Nothing Dino Palladino
1994 Swimming with Sharks Rex
China Moon Detective Lamar Dickey
1995 The Usual Suspects Fred Fenster
Submission — Short film; director, writer and producer only
1996 The Funeral Gaspare Spoglia
The Fan Juan Primo
Cannes Man Himself Cameo
Basquiat Benny Dalmau
Joyride Detective López
1997 Excess Baggage Vincent Roche
1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Dr. Gonzo
2000 Traffic Javier Rodríguez Rodríguez
The Way of the Gun Harold Longbaugh
Snatch Franky "Four Fingers"
Bread and Roses Himself Uncredited cameo
2001 The Pledge Toby Jay Wadenah
2003 21 Grams Jack Jordan
The Hunted Sergeant Aaron Hallam
2005 Sin City Lieutenant Jack "Jackie Boy" Rafferty
2007 Things We Lost in the Fire Jerry Sunborne
2008 Che Che Guevara Also producer
2010 The Wolfman Lawrence Talbot / The Wolfman
Somewhere Himself Uncredited cameo
2011 The Upsetter Narrator Voice
2012 Savages Miguel "Lado" Arroyo
7 Days in Havana — Director only; segment: El Yuma
2013 Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian Jimmy Picard
Thor: The Dark World Taneleer Tivan / The Collector Uncredited cameo; mid-credits scene
2014 Guardians of the Galaxy
Inherent Vice Sauncho Smilax
Escobar: Paradise Lost Pablo Escobar
2015 A Perfect Day Mambrú
Sicario Alejandro Gillick
The Little Prince The Snake Voice
2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi D.J.
2018 Avengers: Infinity War Taneleer Tivan / The Collector
Sicario: Day of the Soldado Alejandro Gillick
2019 Dora and the Lost City of Gold Swiper The Fox Voice
2021 No Sudden Move Ronald Russo
The French Dispatch Moses Rosenthaler
2023 Reptile Detective Tom Nichols Also co-writer and executive producer
2025 The Battle of Baktan Cross TBA Filming
All-Star Weekend Dr. Phill Completed[36][37]
TBA The Phoenician Scheme TBA Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Shell Game Pedroza Episode: "The Upstairs Gardener"
Miami Vice Pito Episode: "Everybody's in Showbiz"
Private Eye Carlos 2 episodes
Ohara Mike Episode: "And a Child Shall Lead Them"
1990 Drug Wars: The Camarena Story Rafael Caro Quintero Television miniseries
1994 Tales from the Crypt Bill Episode: "The Bribe"
1995 Fallen Angels Paco Episode: "Good Housekeeping"
2008 Todos Contra Juan Himself Episode: "Juan & La Critica"
2018 Escape at Dannemora Richard Matt 7 episodes
2021 What If...? Taneleer Tivan / The Collector (voice) Episode: "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?"

Theme park attractions

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Year Title Role Venue
2017 Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout! Taneleer Tivan / The Collector Disney California Adventure

Awards and nominations

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See also: List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro

See also

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References

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  1. ^ This Is My Life: Benicio Del Toro - Memories of a bittersweet childhood. Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Gabriel de Lerma. The Miami Herald - El Nuevo Herald. 10 October 1997. Accessed 27 November 2020.
  2. ^ Méndez-Méndez, S.; Mendez, S.M.; Cueto, G.; Deynes, N.R.; Rodríguez-Deynes, N. (2003). Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-313-31443-8. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "Fausta Genoveva Sanchez Rivera] - United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch.
  4. ^ a b 'Dammit, this guy is cool' - The Guardian - published 2008-11-29, retrieved June 29, 2009.
  5. ^ "Gustavo Del Toro - Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice". Mount Sinai Faculty Practice Associates. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  6. ^ BARCELONA, CARMEN MUÑOZ (November 5, 2011). "Ricky Martin y Del Toro se hacen españoles". El Periódico. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  7. ^ "Benicio del Toro: "Soy como un enterrador"". El Mundo. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  8. ^ Historic Buildings and Structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Jorge L. Perez (El Nuevo Dia) and Jorge Figueroa (Ponce Municipal Historian). Text accompanying Drawing #20, titled "Tumba de los Bomberos". Puerto Rico Historic Buildings Drawings Society. 2019. Accessed 4 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Benicio Del Toro's "Let's Have Some Fun, Okay?" Page". Portland Mercury.
  10. ^ Mike Sager (April 1, 2005). "Toro, Benicio Del". Esquire. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  11. ^ 'Traffic Stopper' - People - published 2001-04-16, retrieved May 14, 2010.
  12. ^ 'Benicio del Toro: Mild at heart' - Irish Independent - published 2010-02-05, retrieved May 14, 2010.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  14. ^ "Benicio Del Toro gana premio a mejor actor en Cannes". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Associated Press. May 25, 2008. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  15. ^ Hernandez, Eugene; Brooks, Brian (May 25, 2008). "Laurent Cantent's The Class Wins the Palme d'Or". indieWIRE. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  16. ^ Rolfe, Pamela (February 1, 2009). "Camino Leads Goya Awards with Six Nods". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  17. ^ "Penn Surprised over Toro's Absence from Nominations List". The Hindu. February 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  18. ^ Olsen, Mark (December 11, 2008). "Benicio Del Toro leads the charge for Che". Los Angeles Times.
  19. ^ "Benicio Del Toro Talks The Wolfman". DreadCentral. July 25, 2012.
  20. ^ Rosario, Mariela (September 30, 2010). "Benicio Del Toro Named Face of 2011 Campari Calendar". Latina. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  21. ^ Badiali, Alessandro (October 22, 2010). "Guests in frenzy for the Puerto Rican actor, star of the Campari Calendar 2011". Vogue. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  22. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 3, 2013). "Benicio Del Toro Takes Lead Role In Marvel's 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  23. ^ Galloway, Stephen; Belloni, Matthew (January 18, 2016). "Watch THR's Full, Uncensored Actor Roundtable With Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo and More – Actor Oscar Roundtable". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  24. ^ Galloway, Stephen; Belloni, Matthew. "Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo and Four More A-List Actors on Hollywood Racism, Aging and … Peeing in Sinks?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  25. ^ [1], reviewed Aug. 16, 2016. Archived July 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "Star Wars Episode 8's Villain to Be Played by Benicio Del Toro". GameSpot.
  27. ^ "DJ". StarWars.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  28. ^ Raup, Jordan (December 2, 2018). "Timothée Chalamet, Benicio del Toro & More Join Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch'". Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Kimberly Stewart Gives Birth to Baby Girl!". Us Weekly. August 21, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  30. ^ Finlayson, Ariana (December 4, 2011). "First Pic: Meet Kimberly Stewart's Daughter, Delilah, 3 Months". Us Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  31. ^ "Benicio Del Toro Baptises Daughter in Puerto Rico - Latin Gossip". www.latingossip.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ a b "Spanish citizenship for Ricky Martin, Benicio del Toro | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. November 4, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  33. ^ Puente, Maria (November 4, 2011). "Oscar winner Benicio del Toro, singer Ricky Martin become Spanish citizens". USA Today. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  34. ^ "Benicio del Toro recibe homenaje en la Interamericana de San Germán". March 4, 2012. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  35. ^ a b Vargas, Patricia (June 10, 2003). "Protege Benicio la vida marina" (in Spanish). Adendi.com. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  36. ^ Tangonan, EJ (August 13, 2024). "Jamie Foxx leaks the trailer to his "unreleasable" film All-Star Weekend". JoBlo. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  37. ^ Geschwind, Max (August 6, 2018). "Jamie Foxx on Directorial Debut, LeBron-Curry Rivalry". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
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