Real name: Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sanchez
Born: February 19, 1967, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Alias: Beno
Height: 6' 2"
Discovered: Del Toro began to surface in small television parts during the late 1980s, playing mostly thugs and drug dealers on programs like Miami Vice and the NBC miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. He had a cameo in Madonna's 1987 music video clip "La Isla Bonita" as a background character (the kid sitting on the car). Work in films followed, beginning with his debut in Big Top Pee-wee and in the 007 film Licence to Kill, in which 21-year-old del Toro held the distinction of being the youngest actor ever to play a Bond villain. Although both films were considered box office disappointments, del Toro continued to appear in movies like The Indian Runner (1991), China Moon (1994), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Fearless (1993) and Swimming with Sharks (1994).
Career:
In 2003, del Toro appeared in two films: The Hunted, co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, and the drama 21 Grams, an acting tour-de-force, co-starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. He went on to garner another Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the latter.
Del Toro starred in and produced the remake of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s classic cult film The Wolf Man. Benicio will be in Martin Scorsese's "Silence" with Daniel Day-Lewis and Gael Garc?a Bernal, due to be released in 2010. Filming began late 2009, in New Zealand.
Awards: In 2001, del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Traffic, becoming the fourth living Oscar winner whose winning role was a character who speaks predominantly in a foreign language (most of del Toro's dialogue in Traffic is in Spanish).
Filmography:
Lunar Park (2011) (pre-production) .... Bret Easton Ellis
White Widow (2011) (pre-production)
Somewhere (2010) .... Celebrity
The Wolfman (2010) .... Lawrence Talbot
Che: Part Two (2008) .... Ernesto Che Guevara
Che: Part One (2008) .... Ernesto Che Guevara
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) .... Jerry Sunborne
Sin City (2005) .... Jackie Boy
21 Grams (2003) .... Jack Jordan
The Hunted (2003) .... Aaron Hallam
The Pledge (2001) .... Toby Jay Wadenah
Traffic (2000) .... Javier Rodriguez
The Way of the Gun (2000) .... Mr. Longbaugh
Snatch. (2000) .... Franky Four Fingers
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) .... Dr Gonzo
Excess Baggage (1997) .... Vincent
Joyride (1997) .... Detective Lopez
The Funeral (1996) .... Gaspare
The Fan (1996) .... Juan Primo
Basquiat (1996) .... Benny Dalmau
The Usual Suspects (1995) .... Fred Fenster
"Fallen Angels" .... Paco (1 episode, 1995)
"Tales from the Crypt" .... Bill (1 episode, 1994)
Swimming with Sharks (1994) .... Rex
China Moon (1994) .... Lamar Dickey
Fearless (1993) .... Manny Rodrigo
Huevos de oro (1993) .... El amigo de Miami
Money for Nothing (1993) .... Dino Palladino
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) (as Benicio del Toro) .... Alvaro Harana
The Indian Runner (1991) .... Miguel
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection (1990) (V) (uncredited) .... Kid sitting on car
"Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" (1990) TV mini-series .... Caro Quintero
Licence to Kill (1989) .... Dario
Big Top Pee-wee (1988) .... Duke the Dog-Faced Boy
"Private Eye" - Blue Movie (1987) TV episode
"Miami Vice" .... Pito
"Shell Game" .... Pedroza
Trivia:
Dated Chiara Mastroianni.
Was offered the role of Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls (2000) that eventually went to Javier Bardem. He turned it down to be in friend Christopher McQuarrie's The Way of the Gun (2000).
He badly injured his wrist during a stunt fight during the filming of William Friedkin's The Hunted (2003). He fell on his wrist as he dove for a knife and actor Tommy Lee Jones fell on top of him. He was injured so badly that he was out of work for months, even though the film was virtually completed. He required 3 hours of therapy daily and reportedly there is a question whether he will regain full use of the wrist.
Third Puerto Rican Actor to win an Academy Award. The other two were: Rita Moreno (West Side Story (1961)) and Jos? Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)).
From 1988 to 1992 he was in a relationship with Valeria Golino.
Is one of five Oscar winners - for Best Supporting Actor in Traffic (2000) - to play a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. Most of his dialog was in Spanish. The other are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni and Marion Cotillard.
Good friends with Johnny Depp. They worked together in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
Vocalist Macy Gray is one of his fans. They were born the same year.
Quotes:
"Before I was ever in high school, I had dark circles under my eyes. The rumor was I was a junkie. I have dark circles under my eyes, deal with it." - Benicio del Toro
"I do get more recognized now. If I go to dinner, people look at me more now and whisper. But as an actor I would be no one without the people who come and see me. So it would be ridiculous for it to bother me. It just bothers me when I'm intoxicated." - Benicio del Toro
"It's funny, but when I arrived in California to start college I was much more interested in becoming a surfer and cruise along in life from one beach to the next. I didn't plan out any huge career for myself. Now that I see that I have this career and it's worked out for me, it still feels like I'm surfing, only that it's on a different level. I feel very free and that's all that I've ever wanted out of life. " - Benicio del Toro
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