Benicio Del Toro: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

Remember Taneleer Tivan, The Collector? That David Bowie-looking guy who appeared at the end of Thor: The Dark World and made a similarly fleeting appearance in this week's crazy sci-fi blockbuster Guardians Of The Galaxy? Well, beneath the eccentricities, the mincing and the hairpiece of the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was multiple award winning, Puerto Rican character actor Benicio del Toro, in his first big screen role since...well, we'll get to that soon enough. It's a bit of a funny turn for a man with an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award to his name - for the same movie, no less - and it got us to thinking how he'd gotten here. Born to a couple of lawyers, with an older brother who went into the medical profession, del Toro was something of a black sheep when he started on the road to Hollywood stardom. His first appearance in the forgotten sequel to Pee-Wee's Big Adventure - Big Top Pee-Wee - as "Duke, The Dog Faced Boy" probably didn't help things much, as we don't imagine roles as Latino thugs in eighties TV shows like Miami Vice didn't. Despite upgrading to a Bond film around this era it was still a good decade before he properly broke through into the mainstream and started picking up the nom nods and public recognition. Since then Benicio has turned up in everything from genre fare to Oscar bait, with upcoming turns in Terrence Malick and Paul Thomas Anderson's new films at odds with...well, Thor and Guardians Of The Galaxy. Guy's gotta blow off some steam sometimes, we suppose. You can't always be doing Things We Lost In The Fire. He's been in Guy Ritchie gangster flicks, bonkers Hunter S Thompson adaptations and historical dramas, serious crime dramas and cheesy B-movies. He's had quite the career, old del Toro, and been showered with some well-earned plaudits. He's also been in some absolute dross. We've certainly got a lot to work with in our latest 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked column€