Who is Benicio Del Toro?

Benicio Del Toro (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor known for playing oddball characters. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Traffic (2000). Del Toro has appeared in both independent films and blockbusters, such as Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). In 2018, he starred in Escape at Dannemora , a miniseries based on true events, and in 2019, he voiced the sneaky fox in Dora and the Lost City of Gold .

Where is Benicio Del Toro from?

Benicio Del Toro was born in either San Germán or Santurce, Puerto Rico. Modern Puerto Rican culture is a mix of North American, Latin, African, and Caribbean influences, evident in its dance, music, art, and sports. Del Toro emerged in the 1990s, becoming known as a character actor. He later received an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in Traffic (2000).

What is Benicio Del Toro best known for?

Benicio Del Toro, born in Puerto Rico on February 19, 1967, is best known as a compelling character actor with a talent for unusual roles. Del Toro's role in Traffic (2000) earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor.

What are some famous movies Benicio Del Toro has acted in?

Benicio Del Toro, born in Puerto Rico, is known for playing oddball characters. He won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in Traffic (2000). Del Toro's notable films include: * The Usual Suspects (1995) * Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) * Snatch (2000) * Sin City (2005) * Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) * Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

What awards has Benicio Del Toro won during his career?

Benicio Del Toro , born in Puerto Rico, is known for his character acting. His role in Traffic (2000) earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor. For the same role, he won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award. Del Toro also received a Silver Bear for best actor at the Berlin International Film Festival for Traffic . Additionally, he won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival for his performance in Che (2008). He was also nominated for an Oscar for 21 Grams (2003).

How has Benicio Del Toro influenced film or represented Puerto Rico in Hollywood?

Benicio Del Toro, born in Puerto Rico, is a compelling character actor known for his oddball roles. His role as a conflicted Mexican police officer in Traffic (2000) earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor. He also won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Che Guevara in Che (2008). Del Toro has acted in a wide variety of movies, including The Usual Suspects (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Benicio Del Toro

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

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Benicio Del Toro wearing a black suit jacket and white shirt, posing at the Los Angeles premiere of Inherent Vice.

Quick Facts

Born:: February 19, 1967, San Germán or Santurce, Puerto Rico (age 59)

Awards And Honors:: Cannes film festival (2008); Academy Award (2001); BAFTA (2001); Golden Globe Award (2001); Academy Award (2001): Actor in a Supporting Role; Golden Globe Award (2001): Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Shell Game" (1987); "Joyride" (1997); "Licence to Kill" (1989); "Snatch" (2000); "The Pledge" (2001); "Miami Vice" (1987); "A Perfect Day" (2015); "Swimming with Sharks" (1994); "Excess Baggage" (1997); "Jimmy P." (2013); "The Hunted" (2003); "Money for Nothing" (1993); "Che: Part One" (2008); "The Little Prince" (2015); "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" (1992); "21 Grams" (2003); "China Moon" (1994); "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018); "The Way of the Gun" (2000); "Ohara" (1987); "The Usual Suspects" (1995); "The Indian Runner" (1991); "Fearless" (1993); "The Fan" (1996); "Savages" (2012); "The Funeral" (1996); "Che: Part Two" (2008); "Sicario" (2015); "Tales from the Crypt" (1994); "Escape at Dannemora" (2018); "Basquiat" (1996); "The Wolfman" (2010); "Escobar: Paradise Lost" (2014); "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014); "Inherent Vice" (2014); "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" (2018); "Private Eye" (1987); "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" (2017); "Huevos de oro" (1993); "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" (2019); "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998); "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" (1990); "Sin City" (2005); "Big Top Pee-wee" (1988); "Fallen Angels" (1995); "Things We Lost in the Fire" (2007); "Traffic" (2000)

Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):: "7 días en La Habana" (2012)

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Benicio Del Toro

Puerto Rican-born actor

Written by

Patricia Bauer

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 15, 2026 •History

Childhood and education

Though sources are divided as to where Del Toro was born, it is agreed that he spent his early childhood in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was nine years old when his mother died, and a few years later his father moved the family to rural Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school, Del Toro entered the University of California, San Diego, intending to major in business. However, he enrolled in an acting class that convinced him to change course. He moved to New York City and studied at the Circle in the Square Theatre School before receiving a scholarship to the Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre in Los Angeles.

Early career

Del Toro began his career in 1987 with guest parts on such television shows as Miami Vice and Private Eye. He made his film debut in the improbable role of Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in Big Top Pee-wee (1988). He played a henchman of the villain in the James Bond movie Licence to Kill (1989) and earned favorable reviews for his portrayal of a Mexican drug lord in the fact-based TV miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990). Del Toro appeared in such movies as Money for Nothing (1993) and China Moon (1994) before his breakthrough role as the unintelligible Fenster in the crime drama The Usual Suspects (1995).

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Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Snatch, and Traffic

Del Toro portrayed a close friend of the title character in the biopic Basquiat (1996), about Jean-Michel Basquiat and directed by Julian Schnabel; costarred with Alicia Silverstone in the forgettable comedy Excess Baggage (1997); gained 40 pounds (18 kg) to portray Dr. Gonzo in Terry Gilliam’s film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998); and played Franky Four Fingers in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch (2000).

Del Toro’s performance as a conflicted Mexican police officer in Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed film Traffic (2000) earned him a Silver Bear for best actor at the Berlin International Film Festival as well as a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award for best supporting actor. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a religious fanatic and former drug addict in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 21 Grams (2003). Del Toro took the part of Che Guevara in Soderbergh’s two-part biopic Che (2008), for which he won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival.

Later roles

Del Toro’s films of the 2010s include Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014), Sicario (2015), and Sicario 2: Soldado (2018). He also appeared in such blockbusters as Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Del Toro then portrayed one of a pair of inmates who plan a breakout from a maximum-security prison with the help of an employee in Escape at Dannemora (2018), a miniseries based on true events. He later voiced the character of a sneaky fox in the family film Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019).

In 2021 he reteamed with Soderbergh on the drama No Sudden Move (2021), starring with Don Cheadle as a small-time criminal in 1950s Detroit. That year he also appeared in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, playing an unstable artist who finds his muse while in prison. He worked with Anderson again several years later, starring in The Phoenician Scheme (2025), about the misadventures of an international businessman. Del Toro then had a supporting role as a karate instructor in Paul Thomas Anderson’s action epic One Battle After Another (2025). For his performance, Del Toro received his third Oscar nomination.