In The Fast Lane
Latina
By Peter McQuaid
January 2001
Benicio Del Toro is in career overdrive. Those knowing eyes, those full, almost lazy-looking lips; and that way he looks (even at 10 a.m.) as if he could have used a bit more sleep give the 33-year-old actor an aura that works magic in dark theaters and make-believe bedrooms alike.
That aura may also light up the stage at Los Angeles's Shrine Auditorium before the year is up. When confronted with rumors that he is a hot Oscar prospect for his work as Mexican police officer Javier Rodriguez in Traffic, a smart, bilingual drug yarn costarring Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Del Toro lets out a whoop before catching himself. "Hey, I'm lucky," he says modestly. "I feel it's kind of cool. Uh, I'm looking for another word besides 'cool,' but it's too early for me. I'm on my first cup of coffee.
The Hollywood heat is all the more impressive considering that Del Toro's dialogue in Traffic is entirely in Spanish, with English subtitles. No stranger to awards or red carpets, he has already received two Independent Spirit Awards. As for the Oscar talk, he says, "You don't do movies alone." From here on out, it looks as if Del Toro won't be doing much alone--except maybe thanking the Academy.
(Photograph by Darcy Hemley/Corbis)