Benicio Del Toro

Quotes

Here you can find some of Benicio's thoughts from various interviews and what others have to say about Benicio.

Benicio's thoughts

• "It's the hardest thing I've done so far, logistically and historically and dramatically. It's an ambitious project. We're trying to tell the whole story of an Argentine named Ernesto who became a very different man named Che when he got to Cuba. It's not a story of some myth on a T-shirt, that's for sure."
  1. Benicio on making The Argentine and Guerrilla — Free Press Movie Writer, October 2007

• "I love working with kids, man. They're so real if you don't turn them into little robots, just let them react naturally. I thought it was important to show how comfortable he is with them because it reminds him of when he was really happy hanging out as a kid with their father."
  1. Benicio on working with kids on Things We Lost in the Fire — Free Press Movie Writer, October 2007

• "When you make movies, it's teamwork. You can't really be in your own world all the time or you'll drive people crazy. You have to be open to the actors you're working with, to the director, to the makeup people, everybody. You can't be like a rock of emotions, just waiting to do it in front of the camera. You have to be able to communicate and be there for the people, working with other people."
  1. The Oprah Winfrey Show, October 2nd, 2007

• "Che [Guevara] symbolizes not selling out, staying true to what you believe in."
  1. The NY Times, September 2007

• "I'm not saying I'm a writer, but I've been in movies for a long time, and I think I could write a script for a movie. Writing and directing. I'd like to tell a story from the way I look at life because sometimes I think, well, I just saw that, and I see somebody else seeing it, so I think there are people out there who can see the same colors as I see. I'd like to tell a story that way."
  1. The NY Times, September 2007

• "I just didn't feel I was good at anything. Then, after this play, someone told me, ‘Hey, you've got talent.' And I thought, someone told me I could do this."
  1. About winning a part in a play in his freshman year at the University of California, San Diego — The NY Times, September 2007

• "I still have that. Faith and hope, still burning. Not faith in God; faith in something. Something bigger than you and me. It could be humanity. Or the universe. It's not personal."
  1. Guardian, February 2004

• "The funny thing is, I was originally attracted to acting because I was a clown when I was younger. Still am a little bit. But hey," he adds, grinning, "I have an image to keep up."
  1. W / Style.com, December 2003

• "I think any character who goes against the grain is interesting. Maybe it's a romantic idea that I have about people standing up for what they believe in and ignoring the odds and not following… but I like people when they make choices for themselves. I like people who take chances."
  1. W / Style.com, December 2003

• "I'm not really a chitchat kind of guy, I'm kind of like, if I want to get into a conversation, I want to have a conversation."
  1. W / Style.com, December 2003

• "It's weird to have people looking at you all the time. And they come up to you, and you know, most of the time I don't mind. — Well, if they're drunk, I do mind, or if you're concentrating on doing something, and someone comes and says, 'Hey, can you come over here and take a picture with my sister?' It can be annoying, but you have to know that it comes with the territory."
  1. W / Style.com, December 2003

• "When you do a movie, you do a movie based on the script, the director and the actors. And I hit the jackpot with this one."
  1. About 21 Grams — The NY Times, December 2003

• "Well, I like to get invited to parties. I don't like to invite myself." (Laughs)
  1. Asked if there are any directors he wants to work with — Cinema Confidential, November 2003

• "Well when I was a kid, I asked Santa Claus for some toys. Santa Claus wrote me a letter that he lost his bag. He said he'd get back to me next year." (Laughter)
  1. About bad Christmas memories — Cinema Confidential, November 2003

• "Yeah, we wanted to show a little bit the contradictions and at the same time making him kind of like a simple guy. We wanted to show that contradiction of being hardcore and almost noble. The fact that he doesn't deserve to enjoy another day. There's something noble about it. He does the right thing most of the time but just a little too slow. But too fast, too."
  1. About his character in 21 Grams — Cinema Confidential, November 2003

• "If they have expectations for me to behave some way, or dress some way, or look some way, you know, I couldn't give a damn about that."
  1. About people's preconceptions — Cinema Confidential, November 2003

• "It gives you more of a leverage on your career. It's like good for the business side. But I don't think it's much of the curse, unless it starts to change your approach of the work. And it hasn't with me. If you start thinking like, "Now I won the Oscar." I mean, and you start believing that now you don't have to like read the scripts or whatever. You might start to think, "I'm that talented." I never thought I was that talented."
  1. About winning the Oscar for Traffic — IGN, March 2003

• "Hopefully, the recognition will allow me to have more freedom, more choices to do things that challenge me and challenge the audience. It would be scary if I didn't really know what got me here. But as long as I don't forget where I'm coming from, I'll be fine. — And I won't."
  1. The NY Times, January 2001

• "With my character in 'Traffic,' I knew where I was coming from, what I wanted and where I was going. When you know that, man, it's not easier to play, but it's clear."
  1. The NY Times, January 2001

• "– I like to take things very slowly. When you start to become a movie star it's easy to believe that you are Superman. That can fool you. That's why I prefer not to pay much attention to fame. The truth is that I don't give it much thought. I don't suffer. I don't hang my photographs on the wall. Without realizing it, you can enter a vicious circle and think that you really are a superhero. It is at that moment that you are in great trouble."
  1. The Miami Herald — El Nuevo Herald, October 1997

• "It's funny, but when I arrived in California to start college I was much more interested in becoming a surfer and cruise along in life from one beach to the next. I didn't plan out any huge career for myself. Now that I see that I have this career and it's worked out for me, it still feels like I'm surfing, only that it's on a different level. I feel very free and that's all that I've ever wanted out of life."
  1. No source info

Quotes about Benicio

• "You know, he's immensely secretive, and I think you want to open that door. You want to know what that secret is, even if it doesn't exist."
  1. Susanne Bier, Things We Lost in the Fire director — Los Angeles Times, October 2007

• "He makes me cry with laughter. But he is a very serious artist. He makes no compromises. We had a few confrontations, which were very exciting. They were not about power games. They were about: Is this the truthful description of this moment? He manages to remain a good person while being completely fueled up by drugs. He does not make drugs sexy, even though he is very sexy."
  1. Susanne Bier — The NY Times, September 2007

• "He's an actor who plays dark and brooding really well, but his sexuality and his sex appeal have always shown through his work. As a woman, I was always intrigued by how this guy could be so brooding and menacing and be so sexy at the same time. — I learned a lot from watching his sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, stay-in-the-moment method. And working that way, when it works, creates moments on screen that are just magical."
  1. Halle Berry, Things We Lost in the Fire co-star — The NY Times, September 2007

• "Benicio has that ineffable quality that some performers have. And for whatever reason, he has a very compelling screen presence. I think you're born with part of that. And if you're as smart as he is, you work hard, you develop your craft to a point where it's supporting that innate talent. — We actually tend to make a lot of jokes and really have a good time."
  1. Steven Soderbergh, Traffic, The Argentine and Guerrilla director — The NY Times, September 2007

• "We wrote that part [in Traffic] with Benicio in mind. I've always found him magnetic on screen, and we really didn't consider anyone else. The rhythm of his character is slowed down, and what I like best is his attention to detail. The design of the story demands that he play what he's thinking very close to the vest, because the stakes are so high. It's a towering performance."
  1. Steven Soderbergh — The NY Times, January 2001

• "Benicio Del Toro is a big man, more than two metres tall and suitably hefty. It's not until you look into his face that you get the full impact of his physical legacy. He looks like an angel. Unfathomably, ethereally, androgynously beautiful. A dark Lucifer, with wild black hair that seems to hold a lot of pale dust; soft, feminine lips and lidless eyes with irises the colour of mother-of-pearl. You expect him to tell you to fear not, and in a way he does. He keeps very quiet, lets you get used to it."
  1. Sally Vincent, reporter — Guardian, February 2004

• "He could do nothing onscreen and he would be interesting to watch. Those eyes are so soulful and deep. They express so much sadness and strength."
  1. Naomi Watts, 21 Grams co-star — W / Style.com, December 2003

• "– this big smoky-eyed 'Rican who has a great kind of stillness and dignity about him."
  1. Sean Penn, 21 Grams co-star and The Pledge and The Indian Runner director — W / Style.com, December 2003

• "The way that he thinks is just so uncommon. Everybody has their own truth in life, but the truth Benicio sees is a lot more fun to watch."
  1. Sean Penn — W / Style.com, December 2003

• "He's like an acting animal, this guy who comes out of the forest to make movies better. He's fearless, and he has a very distinctive imagination for character. He's one of the few actors who can make flamboyant choices that never just say, 'Look at me.' He's not showy. If he stands out, it's only because the rest of the people haven't risen as high to the bar."
  1. Sean Penn — The NY Times, January 2001

• "Benicio decided to record this version of 'Shake, Rattle and Roll.' He didn't sing it; he just read the words out loud. It was like a complete rediscovery of the song. It took on a whole new depth and meaning, and you'd say you'd never heard it before. That's what he does with his characters, too. He takes a story you think you've seen a thousand times and transforms it into something else entirely. He makes it new."
  1. Alejandro González Iñárritu, 21 Grams director — W / Style.com, December 2003

• "Del Toro is an exciting actor. He's obsessed with his work. He draws the camera like a magnet because he keeps coming up with things that are dark, brooding, dangerous and sexy."
  1. Terry Gilliam, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas director

• "More than any other actor I've ever met, Benicio is not in pursuit of fame or recognition. I think he's a guy who has a great disdain for popularity. He's very resistant to playing a leading man. He would rather create a character."
  1. Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects writer, The Way of the Gun writer/director

• "He's killed early into the movie and he probably has, like, nine lines. But I found it the most memorable performance of 1995. The guy just goes out and thinks, 'No one's gonna understand what I'm doing except for me, but I'm a f***ing genius.' "
  1. Matt Damon on Benicio's performance in The Usual Suspects