BENICIO DEL TORO
Happy Eater’s new look
scared the children
“I had a cigarette, there were lots of
people, so I thought I’d freak them out”
way he talked about injustice,
the way he wanted to help – he
was a terrific writer.
You have a substantial beard
and rather wild hair in the film
– did people react differently
to you off-set?
I think so. I’ve had other movies
where people reacted [more
weirdly] because of the way
I looked. I did a small part in
a movie called The Pledge, and
I had really long hair and a weird
hairdo around my mouth and
then I really got weird reactions
from citizens. They stayed away
from me. The women would
always look away and men
would never make eye
contact either.
In Fear And Loathing, you
changed your appearance quite
a lot, too – you gained 40lb and
apparently burned yourself
with cigarettes. Is that true?
I did that, it never made it into
the film, but it’s one of the most
talked-about moments that
never made it. I’m sure it’s on
someone’s editing floor. I would
love to get a copy of that.
Was it the Method approach
that made you think “I’ll
give that a go”?
That has nothing to do with
Method. Gaining the weight,
maybe, it’s common sense. The
guy in the book is even heavier
– he’s described as immensely
fat – but that’s why I gained
the weight, because it was
written in the book. The burning
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with the cigarettes was
something that I learned
about him through Hunter S
Thompson, who knew Oscar
Acosta, who Dr Gonzo is based
on. I learned he used to do that
just to freak people out. He’d
go like, “Where’s the ashtray?”
Pssh [makes stubbing-out-onarm
motion]. “Anyone have
an ashtray?” Pssh…
So you did it to be true to
the character?
I just had a moment there like,
“Hmm, I wonder if this will work
out?” To be honest with you, I
wouldn’t do it again. No, it’s part
of growing up as an actor. Actors
do that stuff when they’re trying
to define themselves or find
themselves as actors. I think
not doing it would be a sign of
maturity. But then again, I just
did it because it felt like the guy
needed to do something to freak
people out. I was inside an
elevator, I had a cigarette,
couldn’t move, there were
a lot of people, so I thought
I would freak people out.
Did you do anything extreme
like that for Che?
Yeah, I had to fight with a mule,
and then I stabbed the mule.
That was all real – well not the
stabbing, that was a retractable
knife. But you can hit a
mule quite hard and
she’s just going to
look at you blankly.
She’s not going to
react at all. But
trying to get her to
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rest of this
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do stuff was not easy. There
were little moments of that –
like rolling down a hill, there
were no stunt guys. It was the
most gruelling film I’ve done.
My toughest part, no doubt.
There’s a big Oscar buzz
around the film – have you
got your fingers crossed?
You cross your fingers, but don’t
keep them crossed all the time
because then you’re believing it,
you’re hoping it too much. You
should feel great about it, but
don’t expect anything, because
if you do, nothing is going to
happen. I’ve heard that I’m going
to get awards for other movies.
I had people say, “Oh, for sure
you’re going to get nominated.”
Didn’t happen. So, if it happens,
great. If it doesn’t, too bad.
All your family were lawyers –
why did you decide to follow
a different path?
It’s not that different. As a lawyer
you have to convince people.
Sometimes you might get a
client you don’t like, and you’ve
got to defend his rights. You
might get a character you don’t
like, but you’ve got to make him
believable. I’ve played a lot of
bad guys, a lot of killers; it’s
similar that way. You might get
a character that you really like
and you have to do him justice.
Were they happy you went
into acting?
No, they weren’t. Now I can say
that it’s similar, but when you’re
starting, it’s not similar at all.
You study law, most likely you’re
going to get a job, then you’re
going to move up in the law jobs.
As an actor, the chance that
you’re going to get a job are
small, and the chance that
you’re going to progress and get
bigger jobs are even smaller. So
it’s a very difficult career and
I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked hard
too, but I’ve been very lucky.
When I started working, [my
family] went from turning their
backs to encouraging it with
one foot out of the door. As I got
a little more recognition and I
won an Independent Spirit
Award for The Usual Suspects,
they started to support me in
some ways.
Have they forgiven you now
you’re successful?
Yeah, I think they have.
Che: Part One is
released at cinemas
nationwide on
SUFFERING FOR HIS ART
The numerous ways that Del Toro has
immersed himself in his roles
CHANGING
HIS FACE
The Traffic star had to
be transformed for his
role in next year’s The
Wolf Man (right) – rather
unsurprisingly.
His make-up took
approximately three
hours to apply and
one hour to remove.
Six-times Oscar-winning
make-up artist Rick
Baker was tasked
with transforming him
every day. The process
involved a latex facial
piece, wig, dentures,
hairs glued on to his face
one by one – and lots
of patience.
GAINING
WEIGHT
Del Toro gained a hefty
40lb for his role as
drug-addict Dr Gonzo
in the 1998 cult film
Fear And Loathing
In Las Vegas. The actor
claims the role made
him un-hireable for
some time. “For a while
I couldn’t get a job in
Hollywood after that
movie came out,”
he claimed. “People
thought I was a drunk,
that I’d turned into
a drunken, fat slob.”
BURNING
HIMSELF
In Fear And Loathing
In Las Vegas, Del Toro
also burnt his own arms
with cigarettes. Rather
distressingly for the actor,
ALLSTAR
OUTLINE, WATTS/CORBIS
The Great Moustache
BEN
Fire of 1972 could easily
have been prevented
2 January PHOTOGRAPHS: the scenes ended up on
the cutting-room floor.
This, along with the fact
that he felt the reviews
had been unnecessarily
harsh, led to Del Toro
feeling disillusioned.
Interestingly, before
filming, the book’s author
Hunter S Thompson
had warned him that
the movie would ruin
his career.
BREAKING
BONES
During a fight scene –
wrestling for a knife, to
be specific – with Tommy
Lee Jones in The Hunted,
Del Toro broke his wrist.
Production was halted
while he had surgery
and didn’t start again for
five months. He had to
endure three hours of
therapy a day and still
doesn’t have full use of
his wrist. The film was
due to come out this
year, but has now been
put back to next April.
As passport
photos went, it
was far from ideal
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