Benicio del Toro seeks another Oscar after 25 years with his portrayal of a Hispanic sensei

Benicio Del Toro is vying for his second Oscar. The 59-year-old Puerto Rican will compete Sunday in the best supporting actor category, which he won in 2001 for his role in “Traffic.” This time he will do it for “One Battle After Another,” in which he plays a karate teacher and defender of undocumented immigrants in a dystopian United States. In this character, he assures: “There is a lot of me in there.”

This he said in an interview to AFP, also confessing that the repercussions generated by his character took him by surprise: less than 15 minutes on screen were enough for a nomination, in addition to stirring up the media and the internet.

He feels surprised to be singled out because he understands his fellow cast members to be the real stars. "It feels good, and it also can make you a little bit uncomfortable too." Sensei Sergio St. Carlos is a calm, self-assured character who mixes Hispanic roots with the stereotype of the wise karate master.

But the actor said he was proud that it's just this role that "perhaps there's something in a movie that is so dark... since it brings a little bit of a sense of hope." 

“One Battle After Another,” the favorite to take the Best Picture Oscar with 13 nominations, follows retired revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who tries to raise his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti) when the past comes back to take its toll. The film has been criticized in conservative circles for depicting gun violence by leftist revolutionary groups, claiming it romanticizes it.

"Why it's considered a masterpiece, the greatest film of the decade, the greatest film ever made [is] because it really aligns with this kind of leftist sensibility," Bret Easton Ellis, author of “American Psycho” (1991), among other books, claimed in his podcast. Fox columnist David Marcus added to the criticism: "As I walked to my car after the nearly three-hour indictment of America, I lit a cigarette and wondered how all these multimillionaires like DiCaprio and Anderson can live with themselves if they truly believe America is as rank and horrible as the film depicts."

Del Toro seems to disagree. He maintains that he knew the film would be successful from the beginning, and that they had made it from "the heart." "There's a heart there... I think that's why people are gravitating towards Sensei." Anderson told him he wanted him to play a karate instructor and sent him a picture of a tiger in a kimono. The actor described Anderson as someone who creates a space for creativity.

He believes he has represented the Latino community. That, he says, is an honor.

Del Toro's career

He made his first mark in television. After several minor roles, such as an extra in Madonna's “La Isla Bonita” video, he moved on to film. His first major role on the big screen was in “The Usual Suspects,” in 1995, which made him stand out in Hollywood.

In 2001, he established himself by winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “Traffic,” beating names such as Willem Dafoe and Jeff Bridges. He was nominated for a second time in 2004 for his participation in “21 Grams.”

Praised by directors such as Steven Soderbergh, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Denis Villeneuve, Guy Ritchie and Wes Anderson, Del Toro’s appearance in “One Battle After Another” marks his second collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, after “Inherent Vice” (2014). Working again with the acclaimed director, who is seeking his first Oscar after 14 nominations, was the reason that convinced Del Toro to join the project.

On Sunday, the actor will be able to expand his crowded showcase, if he manages to prevail over fellow castmate Sean Penn, Sweden's Stellan Skarsgard (“Sentimental Value”), Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”) and Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”). At the moment, among his distinctions are: