Benicio Del Toro is a Puerto Rican film actor best known for his intense screen presence and transformative performances. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Traffic and received another Academy Award nomination in the same category for 21 Grams, in which he starred alongside Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.

Benicio Del Toro, whose full name is Benicio Monserrat Rafael Del Toro Sanchez, was born on February 19, 1967, in San Germán, Puerto Rico, as the second son of Gustavo Adolfo Del Toro and Fausta Sanchez Rivera, both of whom were lawyers. Raised in Santurce, he began his education at the Roman Catholic school Academia del Perpetuo Socorro in Miramar.

When he was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis. Following this loss, he moved with his father and older brother Gustavo Del Toro to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he spent his formative years. He attended the boarding school Mercersburg Academy and, after graduating, enrolled at the University of California to study business administration, following his father’s advice. However, after excelling in a drama course, he left the university and moved to Los Angeles, where he studied acting under the renowned teacher Stella Adler.

In the late 1980s, Benicio Del Toro began appearing in small roles on television series such as Miami Vice and NBC productions including Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, often portraying criminals or drug dealers. Until he started securing steady roles, he did not inform his family about his new career path. His film career officially began with Big Top Pee-wee in 1988. In 1989, he appeared in the James Bond film Licence to Kill, becoming the youngest actor to portray a villain in a Bond film up to that time.

After these early projects, he continued working in films such as The Indian Runner (1991), China Moon (1991), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Fearless (1993), and Swimming with Sharks (1994). His breakthrough came in 1995 with his role as Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects, which earned him the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and established him as an actor to watch. This success led to roles in larger productions, including The Funeral (1996), Basquiat (1996), The Fan (1996), and Excess Baggage (1997).

In 1998, Benicio Del Toro portrayed Dr. Gonzo, the attorney of Johnny Depp’s character Hunter S. Thompson, in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He fully committed himself to the role both physically and emotionally, even going so far as to burn himself with a cigarette during filming, though that scene was ultimately removed. Despite receiving mixed reviews at the time, the film later achieved cult status. After a two-year hiatus, he returned to high-profile projects such as The Way of the Gun (2000), Traffic (2000) directed by Steven Soderbergh, Snatch (2001) directed by Guy Ritchie, and The Pledge, directed by Sean Penn.

Benicio Del Toro won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a Mexican border police officer in Traffic. In 2003, he appeared alongside Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted, and the same year received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in 21 Grams.

He later appeared in Sin City (2005), after which his intense gaze and charisma led critics to compare him to James Dean, Brad Pitt, and Marlon Brando. He became regarded as a modern sex symbol and was included in People Magazine’s “Most Beautiful People” list in 2003. In his younger years, he also appeared in Madonna’s music video for La Isla Bonita. Benicio Del Toro is the third Puerto Rican actor to have won an Academy Award.

Source: Biyografiler.com