Benicio Del Toro urges better roles for Latinos

ZAP2it

By Claudia Puig

January 22, 2001

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HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Benicio Del Toro, who's filling up the theaters in movies such as The Pledge, Traffic, Snatch, The Way of the Gun and the upcoming labor-related film Bread and Roses, says that he hopes his recent successes translates to better roles for Latinos.

The Puerto Rican-born actor won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes for his role as a no-nonsense anti-drug cop in Traffic said that his family in Puerto Rico have helped him reach his dreams.  "This award is going to my father, Gustavo, who lives in Puerto Rico, I think he will like it," Del Toro says. "He helped me get here."  Although his family had aspirations that he would someday be a lawyer, he said they supported him when he went into acting. Not seeing himself as a spokesman or representative of Latino actors, he said he does hope that Hollywood will take notice of his recent win.  "We need better stories, we need better scripts," he said about Latino actors.

In his next film, Bread and Roses he plays a guy caught up in a labor dispute in Los Angeles involving janitors. This coming at a time when his own actors union may strike this spring, he said he finds ironic.  "I hope it doesn't come to a strike, but if it must, it must," he smiled.

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