Originally from Puerto Rico, Benicio Del Toro has become one of the most treasured supporting actors and diverse leading men in cinema. His career began when as a business student he excelled in an elective drama course. Del Toro dropped out and began taking bit television parts before his big-screen debut in 1988.
He has since gone on to appear in many critically acclaimed films since then and will appear in Wes Anderson’s highly anticipated The French Dispatch as well as Jaime Foxx’s upcoming sports comedy All-Star Weekend. Here are Benicio Del Toro’s ten best roles ranked according to IMDB.
The Things We Lost in the Fire (2007): 7.2
The Things We Lost in the Fire is a heartbreaking drama about loss, love, and recovery. Del Toro stars as Jerry Sunborne, a struggling heroin addict. Sunborne moves in with his dear friend Brian’s wife, played by Halle Berry, after his untimely death in an accident and the two become close navigating grief together.
While The Things We Lost in the Fire was not a commercial blockbuster the film has been met with some critical success particularly for Del Toro’s performance.
Che: The Argentine (2008): 7.2
Che is a two-part biographical drama by Steven Soderbergh about the life of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. The first part The Argentine chronicles his part in the Cuban revolution and was shot in Del Toro’s native Puerto Rico and Mexico.
The film has been met with critical reception and for the role, Del Toro won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Che Guevarra’s widow Aleida March sent a congratulatory note to Del Toro upon hearing about his win. When the film opened in Cuba at Havana’s Yara Cinema Del Toro received a ten-minute-long standing ovation with many of the audience members having taken part in the revolution.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998): 7.6
Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a psychedelic satirical comedy about two journalists who go on a drug-fueled trip through Las Vegas. Del Toro plays Dr. Gonzo, the crazed Samoan lawyer.
For his role, Del Toro gained 45 pounds in nine weeks, partially by eating sixteen donuts a day. Additionally, he also researched the life of Oscar Zeta Acosta of whom the character is based on. While the film was not commercially successful it has since been heralded as a cult classic.
Traffic (2000): 7.6
Traffic marked Benicio Del Toro’s first time working with director Steven Soderbergh in his film which explores the trade of illegal drugs. In the film, Del Toro plays Mexican police officer Javier Rodriguez who becomes embroiled in a high-profile drug bust.
For his role, Del Toro speaks only Spanish with English subtitled dialogue after working to master Mexican inflections and vocabulary. Traffic was a critical and commercial success and for his role, Del Toro won both the Academy Award and the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor, in addition to the films three additional Academy Award wins.
Sicario (2015): 7.6
Sicario, meaning hitman in Spanish, follows an FBI agent enlisted by a U.S. government task force to bring down the leader of a brutal Mexican drug cartel. Del Toro plays the secretive Alejandro Gillick cohead of a joint task force assigned with bringing two cops killed by the Sonora Cartel to justice.
The film was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Cinematagrophy, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing. A sequel titled Sicario: Day of the Soldado, focusing on Del Toro’s character was released and also did well. A third film is currently in development.
21 Grams (2003): 7.7
21 Grams is a nonlinear crime drama directed by Alejandro Inarritu that follows the consequences of a tragic car accident and its impact on the three main characters. Del Toro plays Jack Jordan an ex-convict turned born again Christian whose faith is severely tested following the accident.
The film uses different film stocks and color patterns for each character with Del Toro’s character supplemented by warm colors. Del Toro was nominated for Best Supporting and Best Actor at the Academy Awards and BAFTAs respectively.
Sin City (2005): 8.0
In Frank Miller’s Sin City Benicio Del Toro stars as Detective Lieutenant Jack “Jackie Boy” Rafferty, a so-called “hero cop” in Basin City and abusive ex-boyfriend in the chapter “The Big Fat Kill”.
Rafferty incites a street war between mercenaries, prostitutes, police, and the mob. Sin City won the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was met with critical and commercial acclaim. The sequel Sin City: A Dame to Kill For was critically panned, however. A television series is reportedly in development as of 2019.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): 8.0
Guardians of the Galaxy is the tenth film in the incredibly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film follows a ragtag group of extraterrestrial criminals who band together and go on the run after stealing an artifact. Del Toro plays the eccentric Taneleer Tivan also known as the Collector for his extensive collection of interstellar species and artifacts.
On creating the character Del Toro commented, “What James [Gunn] wanted, that I found out little by little as I was doing it, is that he wanted me to explore and just keep pushing the character and keep creating as I was in front of the camera”.
Snatch (2000): 8.3
Guy Ritchie’s Snatch follows the intertwined plots of a stolen diamond search and a small-time boxing promoter who finds himself underneath a powerful and sadistic gangster in the London underworld. Del Toro stars as thief and gambling addict Franky Four-Fingers among the star-studded cast.
The film has drawn comparison to Ritchie’s earlier film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and has garnered similar critical and commercial success. The film spawned a television series of the same name which ran for two seasons in 2017.
The Usual Suspects (1995): 8.5
One of the most intriguing neo-noir mysteries of all time The Usual Suspects follows the interrogation of a small-time con man who survives a massacre of his criminal cohorts on a ship at the hands of the mysterious crime lord Keyser Soze. The film is a convoluted roller coaster and won two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor.
Del Toro plays the scene-stealing Fred Fenster a member of the criminal gang. Due to the small nature of the part, Del Toro improvised the unique garbled speech patterns of the character to make him stand out and becoming one of the funniest aspects of the film.