THE MARQUEE
The case for Benicio del Toro as this generation’s Great American Actor
DJ in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
In the sexless world of Disney’s new Star Wars universe, Benicio del Toro single-handedly knocks the entire trilogy up a notch on the lust index, as a swarmy, well-dressed, two-faced thief in The Last Jedi.
Franky Four Fingers in Snatch
Snatch is loud, disorienting and adolescent. Del Toro plays Franky Four Fingers and appears in just a few scenes, including a robbery where he dresses up as a Hasidic Jew. While Guy Ritchie’s dialogue never transcends “college student tries to replicate Tarantino,” del Toro somehow manages to make it work.
Fenster in The Usual Suspects
As Fenster, del Toro moves like an overcooked noodle garnished with red sauce. His limbs swing in a constant nervous movement and his contemptuous cynicism is undercut by his smirk and affected falsetto. In a film full of all-star scenery chewers (Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne and Steph Baldwin’s bugged out eyes), del Toro is comparatively demure but nonetheless memorable.
Jimmy Picard in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian
In Jimmy P, del Toro establishes power through silence, translating the demonstrable pain and overwhelming sadness of Jimmy’s suffering through small gestures like quivering eyelids and strained brows. It’s a private and interior performance that del Toro gives, a haunting look behind the mask of collective trauma.
Javier Rodriguez in Traffic
While Traffic has not aged well on several fronts, del Toro’s Oscar-winning performance as a Tijuana cop caught between survival and corruption remains one of the film’s enduring strengths. The actor builds the character through small but poignant gestures, like lighting a cigarette with sensual deliberation to attract an assassin. It’s hard to take your eyes off him.
The Collector in Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War
One of the few gifts in the limp corporate monotony of the Marvel universe, del Toro is colourful and charming as the Collector, ranking among a handful of villains that actually bring it.
Jackie Boy in Sin City
Sin City is a garish and borderline fascistic adaptation of not-so-borderline fascism enthusiast Frank Miller, and yet ... it’s still kinda good? Part of the film’s appeal is del Toro’s wide-eyed performance as Jackie Boy, Shellie’s (Brittany Murphy) maniacal, sweatdrenched, giggling abusive ex-boyfriend. It’s absurd and obscene, and del Toro holds nothing back.
Lado in Savages
Oliver Stone poorly pantomimes Tony Scott in Savages, a 2012 drug-movie where three Californian pot dealers (Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Taylor Johnson) come up against a Mexican drug cartel. Del Toro gives a performance as big as his moustache and as hammy as his mullet, making this otherwise forgettable movie essential viewing.
Alejandro in Sicario
The high-ranking of this performance hinges heavily on one particular scene nearing the end of the film, where Alejandro holds a drug dealer’s family hostage at gunpoint. It is tense, quiet and menacing. Like many of del Toro’s roles, this one is all about the negotiation of power and the lengths to which we’ll go to maintain the upper hand.
Sauncho Smilax, Esq in Inherent Vice
So much of del Toro’s comic performance in Inherent Vice is built around his gaze. Arrogance and paranoia intersect as he fails to maintain eye contact with anyone, but is constantly guiding the audience into off-screen spaces with a clued out, but concentrated look towards unseen horizons. It’s an off-balanced and uproariously funny role.
Celebrity in Somewhere
In a wordless cameo, del Toro is merely listed as “celebrity” in the IMDB credits for Somewhere. Wearing a baseball cap and blue suit, he perfectly encapsulates awkward ennui as he shares a long elevator ride with Stephen Dorff, punctuated only by a terse nod of acknowledgment.
Jack Jordan in 21 Grams
Del Toro plays an ex-con, born-again Christian dealing with a horrific tragedy through unrelenting desperation. If his performance doesn’t resonate as much as some of his other films, it’s due to being bogged down by director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s pornographic approach to the morose material.
Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
For most audiences, del Toro’s cult performance in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was the role that put him on the map. Paranoid and ineffectual, Dr. Gonzo is constantly biting his lips and straining to see, lost in a high daze. Demonstrating his unique comic talents, this role makes us yearn for del Toro to finally collaborate with the Coen bros.
Benny Dalmau in Basquiat
In a film featuring an all-star cast, del Toro channels genuine spontaneity, as he shifts the tone of his voice and mannerisms depending on his environment. Balancing boundless energy as he swings from a street sign to the meek tenderness he embodies while speaking with Basquiat’s girlfriend, this is a fantastic, anchoring performance.
Che Guevera in Che: Part 1 and Part 2
Told in two parts, del Toro’s performance as the legendary Che Guevera spans decades: from his spirited years as a young intellectual to his more pitiable decades as a has-been revolutionary. Capturing Guevera’s charm and arrogance, del Toro works well within Steven Soderbergh’s experimental structure, undercutting any romanticism attached to the icon.