Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro was born on the 19th of February 1967, in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Genoveva Sánchez Rivera were both lawyers. He spent his infancy in a barrio within San Juan called Santurce. Childhood nicknames for him included Skinny Benny and Beno. He attended Academia del Perpetuo Socorro, a Roman Catholic school located in Miramar, Puerto Rico. When he was nine years old, his mother died from hepatitis. At age fifteen, he moved with his father and brother to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. There he enrolled at the Mercersburg Academy. He spent his adolescence attending high school there.
Del Toro surfaced in small television roles during the late 1980s playing thugs and drug dealers. 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 in 1988. His career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects. He played the mumbling Fred Fenster in that crime thriller. The role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. This established him as a character actor. He then won a second consecutive Independent Spirit Award for his work as Benny Dalmau in Basquiat in 1996. For Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in 1998, he gained more than forty pounds to play Dr. Gonzo.
Four films released in 2000 gave del Toro a mainstream audience. Steven Soderbergh directed Traffic where he played Javier Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a Mexican border policeman struggling to remain honest amid corruption. Del Toro spoke most of his lines in Spanish. His performance swept all major critics awards in 2001. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This made him the fourth living Oscar winner whose winning role featured predominantly non-English dialogue. In his acceptance speech he thanked people from Nogales Arizona and Nogales Sonora. He dedicated his award to them. That year marked the first time two actors born in Puerto Rico were nominated in the same category. Joaquin Phoenix was the other nominee.
In 2008 del Toro received the Prix d'interpretation masculine at the Cannes Film Festival. He portrayed Che Guevara in biographical films The Argentine and Guerrilla. During his acceptance speech he dedicated his award to the man himself Che Guevara. For the final portions of the film shown here, del Toro shed thirty-five pounds. This showed how ill Guevara had become near the end of his life in the jungles of Bolivia. In 2010 he starred in and produced the remake of Lon Chaney Jr.'s classic cult film The Wolf Man. He was chosen to be the face of the 2011 Campari calendar. He became the first male model to be featured in the Italian liquor company's calendar.
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Common questions
When and where was Benicio del Toro born?
Benicio del Toro was born on the 19th of February 1967, in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Genoveva Sánchez Rivera were both lawyers.
What role gave Benicio del Toro his breakout performance in 1995?
Benicio del Toro gained momentum with his breakout performance as Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects in 1995. This role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and established him as a character actor.
Which film earned Benicio del Toro an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor?
Benicio del Toro won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Javier Rodriguez in Traffic released in 2000. He spoke most of his lines in Spanish making him the fourth living Oscar winner whose winning role featured predominantly non-English dialogue.
How did Benicio del Toro prepare to play Che Guevara in 2008?
Benicio del Toro portrayed Che Guevara in biographical films The Argentine and Guerrilla during 2008. For the final portions of the film shown here, he shed thirty-five pounds to show how ill Guevara had become near the end of his life in the jungles of Bolivia.
Why is Benicio del Toro notable regarding the Campari calendar?
Benicio del Toro became the first male model to be featured in the Italian liquor company's 2011 Campari calendar. He was chosen to be the face of the 2011 Campari calendar after starring in and producing the remake of The Wolf Man in 2010.