The role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor, and firmly established him as "the guy to watch." His career gained real momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects, where he stole scenes from his more seasoned costars as the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster.
He began to surface in small television parts during the late 1980s, playing mostly thugs and drug dealers on programs like "Miami Vice" and the NBC miniseries, "Drug Wars: The Kiki Camarena Story." Work in films followed, beginning with his debut in Big Top Pee-wee and in the 007 film Licence to Kill, in which 21-year-old Benicio held the distinction of being the youngest actor ever to play a Bond villain.Īlthough both films were considered box office disappointments, Del Toro continued to give worthy performances in movies like The Indian Runner (1991), China Moon (1991), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Money for Nothing (1993), Fearless (1993), and Swimming with Sharks (1994). Benicio hid his new career goals from his family until roles began to come his way. Success in an elective drama course encouraged him to drop out of college and study with noted acting teacher Stella Adler in Los Angeles, as well as at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York. At age 13, his father moved his family to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, near Chambersburg, where Benicio was enrolled in Mercersburg Academy, a boarding school.Īfter graduation, Del Toro followed the advice of his father and pursued a practical degree in business at the University of California, San Diego. When he was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis. He has an older brother, also named Gustavo, who is a pediatric oncologist working in Manhattan.īenicio Del Toro attended Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (The Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), a Roman Catholic school in Miramar, Puerto Rico. His parents, Gustavo Adolfo Del Toro Bermudez and Fausta Sanchez Rivera, were both lawyers.
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