’A sense of humour is the asterisk to drama’
Benicio Del Toro on balancing wit and worry
In their attempts to bring order to chaos, Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko star as a group of aid workers trying to sanitize the water in Bosnia, an armed conflict zone, in Fernando León de Aranoa’s A Perfect Day. In just 24 hours, their group experiences the humour, danger and emotional and sometimes dull routine of the hazards and rewards of the job.
Del Toro, who plays Mambrú, the team leader whose seen it all and is on his last week of the job, spoke to the National Post’s Sadaf Ahsan about balancing the wit and worry of his character, his thoughts on the lack of diversity at this year’s Oscars and almost reveals some hints about his role in the upcoming Star Wars sequel — almost. Q What drew you in to this story?
A The structure kept me intrigued a lot. The characters were interesting, the outcome of their journey, the effort they put into their work — there’s something to that that keeps you in there. It excited me, the script excited me. Q There’s a surprising amount of humour in this rather serious story. How do you juggle that contrast and maintain the tone of the film?
A I think it’s medicine for the sad reality that they’re surrounded by; a sense of humour is the asterisk to all of that drama. My experience as the character was pulling from Doctors without Borders. You know, they find humour in what they do, they have to to get through the day sometimes. Even if it’s really dark — and that isn’t a joke or meant to be insensitive. It’s a survival mechanism, which I understand, it’s how they move on. Q A Perfect Day carefully builds to an overall message, particularly towards the end in a moment that signifies that parallel between humour and intensity. Is that message realized by Mambrú and his team?
A From the point of view of the characters, even though it looks like they lost, they effectively won and saved a lot of lives throughout their journey. You know, we see them run into one obstacle on their way to find the rope, when they bump into these armed soldiers dragging a group of men out of a bus as prisoners. Our characters decide to call the UN to rescue them, and later we see that because they did that, these men were able to go free. Our characters don’t know that happens, and that’s the nature of the job sometimes, you don’t know your impact. The characters remain unaware, but it says something that this change came out of their actions. They’re winners in the dark. In the same way, the townspeople see how hard they’re working to get the body out of the well in order to clean the water, and so when they’re given that opportunity, they’re inspired and able to act on it themselves. Q The Oscars have been criticized this year for their lack of diversity, and given suggestions that you were snubbed for your work in Sicario, do you feel it’s a fair argument?
A I think a lot of great performances have been recognized. But I think what people are talking about is opportunity, and they’re right. There is far less opportunity for Latino people, for people of colour in general — that’s a fact. When it comes to the Oscars, who is to say? Who is to judge? Whoever thinks that I should have been nominated for one, I thank them greatly, that’s amazing. But who is to say, really? Q You’re a massive Star Wars fan, and you were cast in the sequel to The Force Awakens. There’s obviously a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding this next film. What can you share about the filming process so far?
A We start filming in two and a half weeks, so right now, it’s really scary and really exciting all at the same time. Honestly, it feels like a roller-coaster ride. I’m so excited to work with the director, Rian Johnson, and to just finally get started. I would love to reveal a little bit more, but I think they want me to keep quiet. … All I will say is that it’s a really interesting character. Q Any news on HBO’s Cortes? Is it still in the works?
A Yes! We’re very much still working on that, but it’s a massive project and we’re still in early stages. We’re really passionate about it, but there’s no date set yet. The writers are actually still working on the scripts, but I’m excited for it. Q You’ve become strongly associated with these intense, heavy roles in dramatic films. Can we expect any comedy or romance in your future?
A What do you got for me? I would love to do a comedy! Most of what I have done is intense, sure, but it comes down to material. Guardians of the Galaxy was a little different and that was fun for me. So if there is a comedy, even if it’s something small or a minor role, and it’s the right people and the right story, I would love to do it.