Why Ronald From No Sudden Move Looks So Familiar
Steven Soderbergh has remained a powerful force in the entertainment industry since he broke onto the scene with 1989's "Sex, Lies, and Videotapes." It remains one of the director's best films, and not even his self-imposed retirement could keep him out of the game for long. He's had a wide range of hits over the years, including the original "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy, "Contagion," and "Magic Mike." He's looking to build upon that pedigree with the release of his latest heist flick, "No Sudden Move."
The film, set to come out in theaters and on HBO Max on July 1, follows a group of small-time criminals when one of their schemes goes awry. The failure sets them on a path through 1955 Detroit to learn the identity of the person who hired them for the initial crime. In true Soderbergh fashion, the movie has an all-star cast, including Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, David Harbour, and Benicio del Toro.
Del Toro is one of Soderbergh's frequent collaborators, having also starred in "Traffic" and "Che" from the filmmaker. The actor even won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the former. Here's where else you've seen the prolific performer before.
He broke out to mainstream audiences in The Usual Suspects
Benicio del Toro's resume dates back to the 1980s, but the place most people probably saw the actor was in 1995's "The Usual Suspects." In the crime movie, he plays Fred Fenster, who's one of the career criminals who initially appears during the infamous police line-up. Fun fact: The reason all of the actors in that scene laugh incessantly is that del Toro couldn't stop farting while they were trying to film it. It turns out the laughter worked to the movie's advantage, as it shows how dismissive the criminals are of law enforcement when they're supposed to be cooperating with what the officer's saying.
Fenster meets an unceremonious demise in "The Usual Suspects," but the role was significant enough to launch the performer into bigger and better things. Of course, these days, the movie is best known for having one of the best twists in modern cinema. It works so well because, as an audience member, you can't really see it coming the first time around, and the story even threw del Toro for a loop initially. As he mentioned in an interview when the film first came out, "I didn't get it the first time. I had to read [the screenplay] twice. Seeing the movie was a different story. It was a little bit easier to do."
One of the things del Toro accomplished with the role is that it made Hollywood realize how great he was at playing criminals, which would define much of his later work.
He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Collector
It seems like every actor gets the chance to join the MCU at some point, and Benicio del Toro is no exception. He made his grand entrance into the superhero universe in the after-credits scene of "Thor: The Dark World" as The Collector. He receives a visit from friends of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who drop off the Aether on his doorstep. He gets a larger role in "Guardians of the Galaxy," where he gets the chance to explain exactly the true power behind the Infinity Stones.
He pops up again in "Avengers: Infinity War," but it's soon revealed that the entire scene was merely an illusion Thanos created via the Reality Stone. He wanted to lure Gamora into his trap so that she could lead him to the Soul Stone. The Collector was a mirage as well, so right now, it's unclear if he's alive or dead within the mainline continuity.
Outside of the movies, it's been established The Collector and The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) from Thor: Ragnarok are related, so a team-up could be a possibility for the future. The actor had this to say about the prospect, "It would be an honor for me to work with [Goldblum]. I've been a fan and you know, it'd be great. It'd be great" (via Screen Rant). With everything else Marvel has going on for Phase 4, hopefully, the collaboration ends up happening.
He brought shades of grey to the Star Wars universe
"Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" is arguably the most divisive film out of the long-running franchise. However, one of the most interesting concepts the film introduced was offering social commentary on the military-industrial complex. The film reveals how the ultra-wealthy in the galaxy become that way by selling spaceships to both the First Order and the rebels, and this information comes courtesy of DJ (del Toro). He's a hacker Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) find to help them get onto Snoke's (Andy Serkis) ship, but he quickly turns on them to buy his freedom.
He's a unique character who doesn't abide by concepts of "good" and "bad." He does whatever benefits him the most at the moment, and he spoke on those characteristics in an interview with Empire, "This character could come straight out of a Bob Dylan or Tom Waites song, or even a Dostoyevsky novel. He's like something out of Dickens; there have been characters like him in all kinds of literature."
No one embodies that grey area between good and evil as well as Benicio del Toro, and his presence is always welcome no matter where he pops up.