His career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance inThe Usual Suspects, where he played the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster. The role won him anIndependent 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 inAbel Ferrara'sThe Funeral (1996) and winning a second consecutive Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work as Benny Dalmau inBasquiat (1996), directed by his friend, film-maker and painterJulian Schnabel. Del Toro also shared the screen withRobert De Niro in the big-budget thrillerThe Fan (1996), in which he played Juan Primo, a charismatic Puerto Rican baseball star. He subsequently starred oppositeAlicia Silverstone inExcess Baggage (1997), which Silverstone produced. ForFear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the 1998 film adaptation ofHunter S. Thompson's famous book, despite the status ofsex symbol he gained more than 40 lbs. (about 18 kg) to playDr. Gonzo (a.k.a.Oscar Zeta Acosta), Thompson's lawyer and drug-fiend cohort.[17]
Del Toro's performances in four films in 2000 gained him a mainstream audience. First, the crime yarnThe Way of the Gun reunited him withThe Usual Suspects screenwriterChristopher McQuarrie. A few months later, he stood out among a first-rate ensemble cast inSteven Soderbergh'sTraffic, a complex dissection of the North Americandrug 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.[17] His performance swept all of the major critics' awards in 2001. Del Toro won theAcademy 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, afterJose Ferrer andRita Moreno.[17] 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 wasJoaquin Phoenix). In his acceptance speech, del Toro thanked the people of bothNogales, Arizona andNogales, Sonora and dedicated his award to them. In addition to the Oscar, he also won theGolden Globe Award and theScreen Actors Guild award for Best Actor.Traffic was also a success at the box office. This was soon followed by a small role as thediamond thief Franky Four Fingers inGuy Ritchie's hip caper comedySnatch and a role as amentally challengedNative American man inThe Pledge, directed by his old friendSean Penn.[17]
In 2008, del Toro was awarded thePrix d'interpretation masculine (or Best Actor Award) at theCannes Film Festival for his portrayal ofChe Guevara in the biographical filmsThe Argentine andGuerrilla (together known asChe).[18] During his acceptance speech, del Toro dedicated his award "to the man himself, Che Guevara" along with directorSteven Soderbergh.[19] Del Toro was also awarded the 2009Goya Award as theBest Actor for his portrayal of Guevara.[20]Sean Penn, who won the 2009Best Actor Oscar for his performance inMilk, remarked that he was surprised and disappointed thatChe and del Toro were not also up for anyAcademy Award nominations. During his acceptance speech for theBest Actor award at theScreen 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."[21] 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 ofBolivia.[22] In 2010, del Toro starred in and produced the remake ofLon Chaney Jr.'s classic cult filmThe Wolf Man (1941).[23] He was chosen to be the face of the 2011Campari calendar, becoming the first male model to be featured in the Italian liquor company's calendar.[24][25]
Del Toro playedThe Collector in a mid-credits scene ofMarvel Studios' superhero filmThor: The Dark World (2013) and later reprised his role inGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)[26] andAvengers: Infinity War (2018). In September 2015, del Toro played Alejandro Gillick in the critically acclaimedSicario, 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.[27][28] Del Toro reprised his role in the sequelSicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). In 2016, del Toro appeared in aHeineken televisionadvertisement in itsMore Behind the Star series. The gag in the spot is that fans frequently mistake him for fellow actorAntonio Banderas, much to del Toro's chagrin.[29] 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 inStar Wars: The Last Jedi,[30] who betrayed Rose and Finn to save himself when they were apprehended on the First Order's flagship.[31]
Del Toro was formerly romantically involved withChiara Mastroianni,Alicia Silverstone andValeria Golino.[33] In April 2011, del Toro's publicist announced that del Toro andKimberly Stewart were expecting a child, although they were not in a relationship.[34] Stewart gave birth to a daughter, Delilah, on August 21, 2011.[35][34] They had their daughter baptized in Puerto Rico.[36]
On November 4, 2011, he acquiredSpanish citizenship, along with fellow Puerto RicanRicky Martin.[37] The request was granted by the Spanish government in recognition of his artistic talents[37] and for his Spanish ancestry (he has family inBarcelona).[38]
In March 2012, he was granted an honorary degree by theInteramerican University of Puerto Rico for his influence on the cinema enterprise, during the celebration of the institution's centenary.[39]
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.[40]
Del Toro narrated the public service announcement entitled "Coral Reef", joining the Artists to the Rescue of the Environment campaign.[40]
^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.
_(2)_(cropped).jpg)
