Spanish Actors and Actresses

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Spanish Actors and Actresses Benicio del Toro When Benicio Del Toro first announced to his father and siblings that he intended to pursue a career in acting, they didn't take the news very well. As Del Toro told one interviewer, "My family freaked when I told them I wanted to be an actor. It was like telling them I wanted to be an astronaut. On top of that, it was like saying that in order to be an astronaut, I was going to have to drive a cab in New York for five years. " The family probably felt that its worst fears had been realized when Del Toro won his first movie role, playing "Duke the Dog-Faced Boy," in the ill-contrived sequel to Pee-WeeÆs Big Adventure, Big Top Pee-Wee. Undaunted by the execrable effort, Del Toro stuck it out, and over the course of the next several years, he paid the bills with a steady stream of supporting roles, both in films and on television, including several memorable portrayals of drug-dealing heavies. His career caught fire with the role of enunciation-challenged con man Fred Fenster in Bryan Singer's stunning ensemble crime drama The Usual Suspects (1995), a performance for which he won an Independent Spirit Best Supporting Actor award; he won the same award the following year for his work in the critically lauded biopic Basquiat. With a résumé comprised in equal measures of mainstream fare and independent projects, Del Toro is uniquely positioned to become a draw both at the box office and on the film-festival circuit. Now living in Los Angeles, Del Toro maintains a low profile between movies, and has thus far managed to avoid becoming entangled in any celebrity romances. His scree... ... middle of paper ... ... of 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' and 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!' piqued Hollywood's interest in the Latin sensation. He crossed over to American pictures in 1992, playing a young Cuban musician in 'The Mambo Kings.' At the time he was cast, Banderas spoke no English and had to learn all of his dialogue phonetically. Despite the language barrier, the role provided the jump-start Antonio needed. He was cast opposite TOM HANKS in the 1993 Oscar?-winner 'Philadelphia,' then went on to take a bite out of the big screen -- and some innocent victims -- with fellow blood-suckers BRAD PITT and TOM CRUISE in the 1994 blockbuster, 'Interview with the Vampire.' His other early credits include 'The House of Spirits' (starring MERYL STREEP, GLENN CLOSE and WINONA RYDER) and 'Miami Rhapsody' (SARAH JESSICA PARKER).

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