The poor man’s Brad Pitt

That’s what I like to call Benicio Del Toro. He has always reminded me of Brad Pitt; a less polished, more intense version of him. Intense, that would probably be the best way to describe him in a word. I’ve never seen Benicio disappoint. He’s been fantastic in all his roles – be it in The Usual Suspects, Traffic, or 21 grams. Wow, 21 grams. As a Christian who recently reformed his ways, Benicio was stellar in 21 grams, to say the least. In the scene after the freak accident, he brings such sorrow, remorse and shock to the moment, it’s unbelievable. In Traffic, Benicio plays a Mexican cop with a golden heart, and endears the audience to him without any sugary scenes, but just his sincere goodness.

I can’t forget Franky Four Fingers, can I? A testament to Benicio’s felicity, he’s awesome as the diamond thief with a gambling problem in Guy Ritchie’s hilarious Snatch. He’s done many brooding, complex roles that suit his persona, but it would be really cool to watch him in a romantic comedy or something. I’m sure he’d be every bit as good in Hugh Grant territory.

Benicio plays the legendary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in Steven Soderbergh’s next two movies in succession, in Spanish – The Argentine and Guerrilla. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play Che, as it’s almost certain he’s going be brilliant. And it would be interesting to contrast him to Gael Garcia Bernal’s(who deserves a tribute post himself) Che in The Motorcycle Diaries. Keep going, Benicio.

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