| August
12, 2003
By
Veronica Mixon
On March 9, 2003, I met Benicio Del Toro in New
York City to talk about his role in The
Hunted. The soft-spoken actor bravely
faced questions about this haunting, violent film
about a damaged soldier as America went to war
in Iraq and in the absence of famed director,
William Friedkin (French Connection and
To Live and Die in L.A.) and his co-star,
Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive).
The 36-year-old actor is best known for his Academy
Award winning performance in Traffic
as an honest Mexican policeman struggling to serve
his people in the dangerous world drug trafficking
and corruption. He first garnered fans as the
ruthless henchman of the South American drug lord
in the James Bond thriller, License to Kill.
Over the years, the tall, handsome actor has appeared
in the cult hit, The Usual Suspects opposite
Kevin Spacey, the gonzo drug saga in Fear
and Loathing with Johnny Depp and the explosive,
kinetic Guy Ritchie thriller, Snatch.
Del Toro has popped up in the romantic comedy
Excess Baggage, the hip artist bio, Basquiat
and the aggressive in-you-face kidnap thriller,
Way of the Gun. He never repeats himself
and despite being criticized for mumbling, Del
Toro exhibits a wide range of emotions in his
films. The Hunted has just been released
on DVD.
THE INTERVIEW
Are you a knife expert now?
With the butter and the bread, yeah.
Was this most traumatic movie that you ever
made?
I don't know if it was the most traumatic. It
was the most physical.
More than "Fear and Loathing?"
You know, that one is up there. I know that at
the time that I was recuperating. It was a good
time. I didn't have to answer the phone. I had
a good excuse. I could do whatever I wanted to
do.
Could you talk about the martial arts?
The knife fighting itself was kind of cool cause
there's logic behind it and I think that's what
work in the film. There's a fighter's logic behind
the fighting sequence here. It's like if you do
this move, you're gonna be open here so what do
you do to get back to that place. You know in
order to get better at it you have to practice
quite a bit. There's a lot of repetition. It was
a style of knife fighting from the Philippines.
We worked with a guy from Philadelphia –
Tom Kai. It was fun. It's like learning a dance.
Could you defend yourself?
No, I'd run. Maybe, one or two things but not
really. You learn it like a dance. [Pause] I've
just finished another movie so I'm kind in another
world, you know.
Which movie?
"21 Grams"
What is it about? Drugs? Cocaine?
No, it's with Sean Penn. Great cast. I play this
guy who is kinda like born again and his faith
gets tested. He's done time in jail but not from
being a cocaine addict. It's because of an accident.
And, then there are three stories that come together.
You have a personal great story. You didn't
want to act as a kid? How did it happen?
I don't know how it all started. I think we all
act at some point when you're a kid.
Who were your favorite actors as a kid?
When I was a kid, it was like Bela Lugosi, Boris
Karloff. That's when I was a kid and later on
Richard Gere, Eddie Murphy and Robert DeNiro.
When your brother came to you and said you
should be an actor, what did you think?
Because I was really into imitating...more like
imitating Mick Jagger and doing the Michael Jackson
dances - showboating that way. I don't know, maybe
he saw something else. That's a question you'd
have to ask him. I've never asked him. I'll ask
him.
Did you really use your college money for
acting lessons?
Not for acting lessons. I had a scholarship. I
used it for like – ‘hey send me the
check and I owe the school’ but I'm getting
credit over here. That was a lie.
What did your dad do when he found out?
Well, I told him. But in UC schools, it's not
like Yale or NYU. It wasn't that expensive. It's
a state school. If I was going to UFC, my dad
would have been right there saying 'Where's the
money?" Anyway, I think I did a James Bond
movie and he said, ‘oh, he was right, he's
going to be a movie star.’ And, then I didn't
work again for about a year. Then it was pretty
much like that! A job a year, not really hitting
it...that's how it went. I was able to survive
up to a point, you know.
What did you do besides that? Odd jobs?
No, I had an apartment that was $300 dollars a
month so I could survive in LA.
After the Oscar, how did things change?
Now, everybody's like we knew it was going to
happen. That kind of attitude.
What would you be doing if you had not started
acting?
I don't know. I like music a lot so who knows.
One of my talents is kind of like making 'mixes.'
Kind of like a DJ.
What was it like winning Oscar?
It kind of hits you like a year or two later.
You're right there in the middle and people are
saying 'Congratulations' and all this stuff. You're
not really looking at it and it hits you - you
get to enjoy it a year or two later.
Does it mean more?
I don't know if it means more. It's almost like
looking at a painting like [holds hands up] this
and stepping back and being able to see it from
a distance. Looking at it and everything that
it represents. It's not only like 'yeah, I made
it' but it also represents auditions I didn't
get, people not really friendly, you know. I had
many auditions-
What's your worst audition?
I had a really bad one. I had people call my manager
at the time and say, 'he came in. He's completely
drunk.' I wasn't at all. I heard things "he's
the worst actor I've ever seen." And, you're
a kid and you're starting out. Everyone was joking
about but you have these doubts. It's not easy
being an actor in Hollywood. There's a lot of
rejection.
What would you do when that happened?
Get drunk or [say] it can't get worse than this!
You're a very sexy guy and I've never seen
you in a love story?
They're all full of love.
Would you try one of them?
Yeah. I would.
With whom?
I don't know. Who I would I like? It depends on
the part. There are a lot of good actors out there,
actresses out there. Yeah, I'd do something like
that. I've done a little bit of that but it wasn't
too successful. I did one with Alicia Silverstone
but it wasn't too successful I guess but I liked
it, I enjoyed it. [He’s referring to Excess
Baggage.]
Where is your Oscar?
It's on a shelf.
to
TOP
|
