Posted on 10/17/2024 12:45:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro is in Lyon for the 16th edition of the Lumière Film Festival. Euronews Culture attended his masterclass, during which he spoke about his career and his faith in the younger generation - especially with the upcoming US presidential elections only a few weeks away.
Benicio del Toro, the Oscar-winning star of The Usual Suspects, Traffic and Sicario, is one of this year’s guests of honour at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon.
During his masterclass, the 57-year-old actor delved into his career and when asked about his film Sicario and how director Dennis Villeneuve considers it less a film about drugs and more one about borders, the conversation swerved to how US politicians have been using borders to weaponise the topic of immigration.
With just a few weeks to go before the US elections, Benicio del Toro said: “You can’t group people and say they are all bad people… People who are trying to get to America are trying to improve their lives because there are problems in their hometowns. They’re trying to better their lives. That said, borders have to be respected.”
“When you group people and you put them in a position where they become subhuman, then that’s really scary,” continued del Toro. “I don’t subscribe to treating anyone like they’re less than human because of the colour of their skin, because of their religion, or because of their origin.”
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“Politics is a dirty game. It’s a tough situation right now, and there are a lot of people suffering because of it. It has to be put in check. There’s going to be an election and let’s see what happens, but I trust in the younger people.”
When asked, rather cheekily, whether the actor would be tempted to go into politics later, del Toro chuckled and gave a short and sweet answer: “Negative. No. No way!”
The actor has several projects on the way, including Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which is in post-production and out soon. The film, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, also stars Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Scarlett Johansson.
When asked what he thought of the dominance of streaming platforms and how they contribute to conformity of content, del Toro answered: “When change happens, I’m one of those people that’s like ‘Let it rip!’ I think that there’s more opportunity now for people that are interested in film or storytelling like that.”
Pointing to the screen behind him in the Pathé cinema where the masterclass was taking place, he added: “The way of watching a movie like this, is, for me, the best.” However, he stated: “I would be a hypocrite to say it doesn’t work because I’ve participated in them, and I’ve had a good time. I did a miniseries called Escape at Dannemora that I liked and it was very interesting, and I did a movie called Reptile that went straight to Netflix. I enjoyed it, and it found an audience.”
“But go with it, you can’t stop it,” he added, before referencing the Lumière Film Festival by saying: “Just keep this film festival alive! And they (the audience) will come!”
Elsewhere, del Toro talked about his first major role in the 1989 James Bond movie License to Kill, in which he starred opposite Timothy Dalton as 007.
“They’re currently looking for a new James Bond...” - to which he replied: “Yeah, sure – I'll take it!”
When asked what advice he’d give to a new generation of actors, del Toro answered: “Get lost – by which I mean don’t take the path and don’t worry about getting lost. But to be practical, I suggest reading and understanding that the actor tells the story” - referencing his time under the tutelage of Stella Adler, his teacher at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.
Del Toro was also asked about method acting under Adler, and whether an actor can go too far for a role – with reference to his weight gain for Terry Gilliam’s Hunter S. Thompson adaption Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas.
“I don’t think that gaining or losing weight can make an actor. Acting is a different thing. Anyone can lose or gain weight... Well, at least gain weight! But that doesn’t make a good actor.”
A large part of the masterclass discussion was dedicated to a cinematic sub-genre in which del Toro has appeared in several times: drug and cartel dramas.
The actor explained that he came to fame in an era in which the war on drugs was a major issue.
“I happen to become an actor at a time when the war on drugs was – and is - an issue. Those stories explore the human condition. Greed, love... You can explore almost everything in that genre, just like you could in a gangster movie.”
“I happen to be one of many actors who can participate in those movies just by origin, meaning being a Latino. I can play on both sides, because it’s part of that war that has been going on now for so long.”
Benicio del Toro, who has been directed by the likes of Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson, also shared which filmmakers he would like to work with in the future.
“There are many - Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers… But it’s a combination of the story, the part, and availability, too.” He added, with a smile: “But I also want to work with people who want to work with me!”
When asked whether he would be tempted to step behind the camera one day, he cited Anderson and Stone, saying that he had been to an “incredible school” through his collaborations with such filmmakers.
“Inevitably, you start thinking ‘Why is the camera over there?’... As I get older, there is a challenge with directing that encourages me to take the risk. So yes, one day...”
The Lumière Film Festival is ongoing and runs until 20 October.
He is a good actor.
“US politicians have been using borders to weaponise the topic of immigration.”
Riddle me this, clown... Why is the immigration all one way? Can I, as a white guy, go to Mexico and demand they take me in and pay for my life of luxury in fine hotels? Feed me, clothe me? Give me welfare? Free food? Free medical care? Political power? If immigration is so great, why isn’t Somalia and Haiti getting tons of European white Chirstians moving in? Can someone say “Burkina Faso needs more white people.?”
Oh but he’s a communist loving actor so much no more than any of us.
Has he ever been in the room at the same time as Brad Pitt?
If you haven’t seen The Way of the Gun I highly recommend it.
A great plot.
Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe AND James Caan
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0202677/
Always enjoyed his movies. The Hunted with him and Tommie Lee Jones is probably my favorite.
He is. And personally, I could care less about what he thinks politically.
Whoops.
I thought he was great as Dr. Gonzo in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Adrenochrome and “Took too much, you took too much” and all that. “This man suffers from a bad heart, but I have plenty of medicine. I’m Dr. Gonzo.”
I mean a real room.
Yes but to be honest I was bored watching Sicario.
He seems to be trying to straddle the fence with saying that the borders need to be respected, but then reverting to racism.
FGS, people, racism is not the issue. Race. Is. Not. The. Issue. with the border. Racism is the left’s go-to cudgel against anyone or anything they disagree with.
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