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Benicio Del Toro
Benicio Del Toro was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but relocated1 with his family to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania after his mother died of hepatitis2 when he was just nine years old. Feeling pressure from his father, Benicio pursued3 a business degree at the University of California in San Diego. It was only after he had taken an elective4 drama course that he discovered his true calling5. Without telling his father, Benicio dropped out6 of school and began studying with the legendary Stella Adler in Los Angeles, as well as at the Circle in the Square Acting School in New York City. After a few hum-drum7 appearance in shows like Miami Vice, Del Toro began his feature film career, most notably8 in License To Kill, where he played the youngest villain9 in James Bond history.
When Bryan Singer cast Benicio Del Toro as the mysterious gangster Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects, he took a chance on an unusual, but charismatic10 actor. Del Toro took a chance too, when he chose to imbue11 his character with an unmistakable mumble12. The movie was a surprise hit and Del Toro’s performance a sensation. Del Toro went on to star alongside Robert De Niro in The Fan, Alicia Silverstone in Excess Baggage, and Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But it wasn’t until Del Toro hooked up13 with Steven Soderbergh that he would gain household name status.
Only seven actors have won an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and SAG Award for the same performance, among them: Jamie Foxx for Ray, Daniel Day.Lewis for There Will be Blood, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, and of course Benicio Del Toro for Steven Soderbergh’s drug epic Traffic. That gives you an idea of just how powerful and universally acclaimed14 Del Toro’s portrayal of conflicted border cop15 Javier Rodriguez really was. Del Toro became only the third Puerto Rican actor to win an Academy Award, and only the fourth actor whose character spoke in a language other than English to win the prestigious award.
Having already won an Academy Award and appeared in a number of cult films, Benicio Del Toro was set to take the next leap and become a superstar. But instead of headlining brainless films with little artistic merit16, Del Toro chose to stick to the same artistic sensibilities that saw him star in films like Basquiat and The Funeral, earlier in his career. After the success of Traffic, Benicio opted17 for smaller, more artful18 films including Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and Sean Penn’s The Pledge. Del Toro then starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted before body slamming critics once again in 21 Grams. The film saw Del Toro capture his third Independent Spirit Award and his second Oscar nomination. At this point in his career, Benicio Del Toro was widely considered19 one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. After appearing in the films Sin City and Things We Lost in the Fire, Benicio Del Toro again teamed20 with Steven Soderbergh for what would prove to be the role of a lifetime. It’s difficult to imagine any contemporary21 actor better suited22 to play the legendary revolutionary Che Guevara than Benicio Del Toro, so when he was cast in as the title character in Soderbergh’s Che, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from film critics and movie buffs23 alike. Del Toro definitely earned his stripes for the part, having spent seven years researching the life of Che, while searching obsessively24 for the right person to write and direct the film. After selecting his old friend Steven Soderbergh, the grueling25 shoot began on what would eventually26 become a four.hour film. It was decided that Che would be split into two parts — The Argentine and Guerilla. Although the film premiered to mixed reviews, Del Toro’s performance was unanimously27 praised and he took home the best actor award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
Next up for Benicio Del Toro is Joe Johnston’s remake of the classic horror film The Wolfman. Del Toro was a huge fan of the character growing up, and is actually a collector of Wolfman memorabilia28. Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt costar in the oft.delayed film, but after the trailer was released with Inglorious Basterds, fears of an inevitable29 bomb were laid to rest. Del Toro has also been cast as Moe in the upcoming Farrelly brother-directed Three Stooges film alongside Paul Giamatti. But perhaps his most anticipated30 project costars Daniel Day. Lewis and Gael Garcia Bernal in Martin Scorsese’s Silence, a film about two Jesuit priests and their evangelical journey to 17th century Japan. Don’t be surprised if you see Benicio Del Toro coming to an awards show near you.
1 Relocate – сменить место проживания
2 Hepatitis – гепатит, воспаление печени
3 Pursue – добиваться чего-либо
4 Elective – факультативный, необязательный
5 Calling - призвание
6 Drop out – бросать (школу)
7 Hum-drum – тихий, невнятный
8 Notably – в особенности
9 Villain – злодей, негодяй
10 Charismatic - харизматический
11 Imbue – насыщать, окрашивать
12 Mumble - бормтание
13 Hook up – встретиться с кем-либо
14 Acclaim - приветствие
15 Border cop – полицейский на границе
16 Merit – качество, достоинство
17 Opt – выбирать, предпочитать
18 Artful - искусные
19 Considered - считается
20 Teamed – объединиться для работы вместе
21 Contemporary - современный
22 Suited - подходящий
23 Movie buff – любитель кино
24 Obsessively – настойчиво, навязчиво
25 Gruelling - суровый
26 Eventually – в результате, в конечном итоге
27 Unanimously - единогласно
28 Memorabilia – памятные вещи
29 Inevitable - неизбежный
30 Anticipated - ожидаемый
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