Quotes and Articles
Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Lead Role
Actor® Recipient : Benicio Del Toro Traffic - Javier Rodriguez
BENICIO DEL TORO: I messed up introducing the film, so now I'm going to get straight to the point. And I want to thank -- it's written here, the typed version -- I left it at home -- Michael Douglas, I'd like to thank Michael Douglas. I'd like to thank the whole cast of this picture [applause] because I'm only as good as these guys.
And I'd like to thank Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Erika Christensen, Miguel Ferrer, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid Tomas Milian, Eddie Velez, Amy Irving, Jacob Vargas, Marisol Sanchez, Clifton Collins, Albert Finney, Steven Bauer. This is for you.
Thank you. See you next year. [applause]
'Benicio Del Toro, a shy seducer.' French Elle
By Dany Jucaud
February 26, 2001
Transcribed by Irene
He shines out in Traffic by Steven Soderbergh
This American actor with Puerto-Rican origin, nominated to the next Academy Awards, is revered at 34 years old, beside Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. A blending of Latino rage, European culture and discretion. He got everything to become a star. Except that he doesn't like celebrity. Incandescent interview.
Behind the camera, Steven Soderbergh, winner of the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1989 for his first directing, "sex, lies and videotapes" and main favourite for the 2001 Oscars with "Erin Brockovich". On the set, Michael Douglas, ageing boss of the planetary box-office, Catherine Zeta-Jones, his delightful wife and a myriad of prestigious actors, among them Dennis Quaid, Albert Finney, Benjamin Bratt (Mr. Julia Roberts), Salma Hayek. This is the making of Traffic, an ambitious as well as an expected thriller, which will be released this week in France. In the middle of this, an almost unknown, a 34 year old Puerto Rican, fixes the attention of critics, of audience and of the Golden Globes Jury which named him Best Supporting Actor. A name as romantic as a Castilian matador, an Argentinean tango dancer or a captain of Charles Quint armies. A model's physique struck by debauchery : beautiful, brown hair already sewn with grey, expressive and languishing eyes, but with dark circles. And, above all, such a presence that we were anxious to meet him.
Elle: Benicio Del Toro, that is such a funny name, isn't it .
When I began doing this job, the first thing they told me was I had to find another name : it was too Puerto Rican. Even with another name, I would keep my identity. I arrived to the United states when I was 14, I studied here, and everything I know about cinema, I learned it in English. But I am Puerto Rican. They also mentioned my eyes. They said I was a drug addict, because I had dark circles. I am born with it. I don't drape myself with the Puerto Rican flag, but it is in my bones. I never considered myself as a Puerto Rican actor. I am simply an actor. Would you ask Al Pacino if he feels Italian?
Elle: Your grand-mother and your parents were lawyers. To make movies shouldn't be highly seen for them?
At school, I had two passions : The Rolling Stones and basketball. I told myself : "when I will be older, I will wear jeans, a tee-shirt, and I will work in a gas station". I was 19 when I decided to be an actor. My parents were shattered. Of course they wanted me to follow their own way. But can you imagine me as a lawyer? I couldn't imagine doing something else that movies. I endured a long time but I hung on to it.
Elle: Now you are swamped with propositions. What do people see in you they didn't see before?
People in the movie business noticed me in "Traffic". And I think they appreciated my stubbornness. They are satisfied I kept believing in it when nobody wanted me, except my friend Jean-Marie Périer, the first who trusted me and the only one who always supported me and kept faith in me against all the odds.
Jean-Marie Périer: I met Benicio for the first time in 1988. I was making a casting for an advert for Swedish jeans. All the guys who were there were showing a perfect self-contentment. The only one who were hiding was Benicio. I immediately wanted to know him better and I invited him for lunch. He told me he didn't have any desire to be in that advert, that he came because he was obliged by his agent. I explained him that the advert was destined to Swedish television, so nobody would see it in Hollywood or United States. He answered me " you are right, after all, it is just like sending a letter on the moon".
Elle: You said in a recent interview "I didn't want to be famous". Don't you think it contradicts the vocation for acting that you claim?
I am not running after money or glamour. I have lived in the same apartment for 10 years. I refuse to buy a house so that I am not obliged to accept any roles to pay a rent each month. In the official ceremonies, I am trembling, I have sweaty hands and headaches. During the Golden Globes evening, when I went on stage to receive my award, I went blank. I wanted to thank a lot of people but when I saw in the audience Pacino, De Niro, Jeff Bridges, all looking at me, I couldn't utter any sound.
Elle: Except professional press, what do you read?
You are insulting me! ( he bursts out laughing). I admit I don't really like reading scripts, but, fortunately, I am well surrounded. I love literature. I have read Balzac, Camus, Dostoïevski. My apartment collapses under books. I like their presence, their smell, their contact.
Elle: Do you know women are crazy about you?
You are embarrassing me. When I hear that women suddenly see me as a sexual beast, it makes me smile. I was the same a few months ago before success. Someone doesn't become sexy at the end of a long process. Someone has or doesn't have charms or sex appeal. It is inborn, it can't be purchased. There is no school for that. While becoming famous, I have learned a little bit about what it's like to be a woman.. I'll explain : a woman goes in a bar, and if that is what she wants, she can leave with any man she wants. It is not the same for a man. If he tries to flirt with a woman who doesn't want him, he can straight receive a slap. Not a star. When you are a star, you go into a bar, you can carry off whoever you want. I confess it is sometimes embarrassing.
Elle: But you mustn't have too many problems with women.
I suffered some setbacks. I used to make anything from time to time. Today I try to behave more responsibly.
Elle: Have you ever been really in love?
Madly. When I was thinking about her, I had hallucinations as if I had taken some LSD.
Elle: Is there any place left for a woman in your life right now?
She should be really understanding. I am living a crucial moment in my career. At the moment I am feeling unable to give a woman the attention she deserves. And frankly I like being alone after a shooting day. But don't make any mistake, I love being with women. Moreover I noticed that most of my male friends have a feminine side. I hate machos.
Elle: You must be a little bit macho..
Just a little bit. I really have an affirmed feminine side. That is probably why I am an actor.
Elle: At the end of a love affair, are you the one that leaves or that one that is left?
Most of the time women leave me. Elle : You let them leave you?
Maybe. I like strong women. I appreciate they know what they want, but also that they are able to show compassion. The first thing I look at a woman is her facial expression. No matter if she is 20 or 40. I like what she suggests, what comes from her soul. I like when a woman is smarter than I am.
Elle: Have ever lived with someone?
Never entirely. I am living like a student. In my home, there are clothes everywhere, books in every nook and cranny. Each morning when I wake up, I tell myself I have to get organized. But I am unable to do it. I am not ready for a couple life. When I am working, nothing else matters. I become unbearable. I am 24 hours a day in my character.
Elle: You must have a Pacino's side, the kind of actor who creates in pain. Unbearable!
It is true that I am more Pacino than Mastroianni. Contrary to Pacino, you don't feel the effort in Mastroianni's work, you don't feel the pain, but I am sure that in his inside he had a really big discipline. To have a beautiful face and luck is not enough. It is necessary to work a lot. Talent has to be cultivated.
Elle: How do you work on a character?
I am searching the way of telling his story with most of the concision I am able to have. My goal is to say the maximum with the minimum. A glass which is breaking can mean more than a long monolog. I am obsessed by details.
Elle: You must drive people crazy!
Only for authenticity reasons. I want to be credible.
Elle: What is your most important asset?
One day, I told a friend of mine : "When I am 50, and I haven't done anything interesting, kill me !". I never give up. To succeed in Hollywood, you must have two qualities : perseverance and passion. And an attitude : always behave as if you don't care.
Elle: Is there anything lacking in your life today?
Yes, but I won't tell you what.
"What I learned is that acting must consume you. When I act, everything else ceases to exist. "
A few thoughts from Benicio on...
...Getting movie roles
"Sometimes when I get turned down for a part, I go, God bless. I dont have to deal with it. Because my process means a lof of excavating. It's work."
...Inner strengths
"I am a dreamer, I'm...I care. And it's very hard for me to give up. But I'm a good loser."
...Tranquility
"I enjoy being alone. I've got to lock the door and be by myself. When you're in a relationship you have to work at it. It's a job."
...Meeting women
Q. Do you know women are crazy about you?
A. "You are embarassing me...when I hear women suddenly see me as a sexual beast, it makes me smile. I was the same a few months ago before success. Someone doesn't become sexy after a long process. Someone has or doesn't have charms or sex appeal. It is inborn, it can't be purchased. There is no school for that. While being famous, I have learned a little bit about what it't like to be a woman...I'll explain : a woman goes in a bar, and if she see's what she wants, she can leave with any man she wants. It is not the same for a man. If he tries to flirt with a woman who doesn't want him, he can straight receive a slap. Not a star. When you are a star, you go into a bar, you can carry off whoever you want. I confess it's sometimes embarrasing."
...more women
"I like strong women. I appreciate they know what they want, but also that they are able to show compassion. The first thing I look at a women is her facial expression. No matter if she is 20 or 40. I like what she suggests, what comes from her soul. I like when a woman is smarter than I am."
...sad moments
"I remember driving home from the set on the last day, thinking, 'You clown, what have you done? The end, the end! What have you done?!"
...finding success
"Sometimes you're at the beach, and when a wave forms, you don't know whether or not to go over it, and last night I thought about it in the same way as finding success in Hollywood. I have to make quick decisions, before I swallow to much salty water."
...accents and fame
"I kinda do different accents all the time. I like to change my voice. I always like to make phone calls and scare people. I see change more like as I do characters. Even though people say, 'Oh he's a heart throb' or whatever, thats not the road I want to take. Eventually, they know my face...its okay with me the fact that they recognize my face, they recognize me on the street or whatever. But hopefully they'll recognize me in a different way. So if I get recognized for my work and people enjoy my characters and imitate my characters...then, thats better than a heart throb." (aww!)
...frustrations and food
"When people say, 'oh, you're a movie star', I tell them, 'I ain't no god damn movie star.' The projects that interest me are mostly independant. It's not up to me. If you want to, go and ask Disney and all of them, 'How come Benicio was not in Mission Impossible, playing the lead.' I don't know, maybe they think that I'll eat all the catering."
...being himself
"So I go around and do my thing. I'm an individual."
...his name
Benicio remembers that when he first started acting, "they wanted to change my name because it sounded too Puerto Rican. They wanted to call me Benny Dell or Benny Delaware or something. [But] I am Puerto Rican. They can't change that by changing my name. I told them they'd have to live with my ethnicity or just not use me."
(We love your name, Benicio!)
...Excess Baggage
Del Toro plays Vincent (in Excess Baggage), a mumbling, introverted car theif who snatched a car that has the wealthy and bratty Emily (Silverstone) in the trunk. He's stuck with an obnoxious heiress who wnats to pull a trick so that she can win her father's love. "I knew that this guy was a good guy who was trapped," Del Toro said. "He's whiny, which I decided to cling to. He's a little slow, but not stupid. He's a survivor. He's slow the same way an alligator is slow, pretending to be distracted. Vincent is so good-hearted that he can't force himself to toss Emily out of the car. "Now me, I would've dumped her and never looked back," Del Toro said. "End of movie."
...Madness
"I've been surrounded by madness my whole life," he declares, deftly popping the business end of a red pepper into his gullet. "Take my grandfather. He came from a family of elevan, and they were all cops, and he was completely paranoid. No matter where we were--bus, his living room, walking around--he was always telling you not to talk so loud. He thought they were listening...He never said who, but they were out there, man. At night, too, wherever he slept he had to move the bed away from the walls. So they couldn't get him. You'd make a noise after ten o'clock and BAM, he'd hit you in the head with a stick. He was insane, my father was insane, and after my mother died, when I was nie, my whole life got weird and insane. Madness doesn't bother me, man. Madness I know how to deal with."
...improvising
Del Toro likes to improvise, but he's not happy with movies that start with improvision, and no script. "I start screaming during the night if I don't have a script I can understand and play." There was a lot of that in Excess Baggage. But Del Toro said that the panic of not having a set script can lead to brilliant things. For instance, the last scene of the movie invloves his deftly slipping into a car trunk. "That was improvised. We were running out of time. We didn't have an ending, sat there, and we came up with that. Had to pull the trunk lid down with my food. I had no idea I could do that." -Benicio Del Toro