Benicio Del Toro talks about his fascinating character in 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado'
“I am not saying he is innocent, but I am saying that it is the beginning of the rehabilitation of Alejandro,” Del Toro told NBC News.
Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) opens fire on the Mexican police ambushing the humvee convoy.Courtesy Richard Foreman
By Vanessa Guillen Matheus, NBC NEWS, June 2018
MIAMI — Benicio Del Toro is known for going above and beyond when preparing for roles. When resurrecting his complex character, Alejandro, the Puerto Rican actor decided to learn sign language for "Sicario: Day of the Soldado."
“You have got to practice a lot,” he recalled during a press day for the film in Miami explaining what it takes to add an extra dimension to an already compelling story.
At 51, Mr. Del Toro is part of an acclaimed action-film franchise. Starring opposite Josh Brolin, the film follows their characters in a mission to create a war between powerful drug cartels.
Del Toro plays the role of Alejandro, a mysterious Colombian agent. “When we met the character in Sicario, the first movie, he was a man that was set on revenge. We knew that his wife, and that his daughter had been killed by drug cartel violence,” the actor told NBC News.
According to Del Toro, even though he has always tried to challenge the stereotypical Latino roles throughout his career, he always goes for the “good part.”
He had his breakout role in "The Usual Suspects," (1995) for which he won his first Independent Spirit Award. Six years after, at 34, Benicio Del Toro became the third Puerto Rican Actor to win an Academy Award. His role as a Mexican police officer in the highly acclaimed movie, "Traffic" (2001) earned him an Oscar for best supporting actor, along with a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
In addition to being part of an exclusive group of Academy Award-winning Latinos, Del Toro belongs to a small group of Latino actors who has managed to remain a Hollywood "A-lister."
According to the 2018 Hollywood Diversity report from the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UCLA, Latino actors appeared in 2.7 percent of top movie roles in 2016; Asian and mixed race actors had these kinds of roles 3.1 percent and 3 percent of the time, respectively.
This is not the first time Del Toro has been on screen this year. Recently, he played the role of The Collector in “Avengers: Infinity War,” released in April. He was also in “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi,” released in 2017.
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