Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is an Academy Award actor and film producer. After spending his childhood in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Benicio Del Toro relocated to the farm country of Pennsylvania with his family. He left the farm after high school and moved to California, where he attended the University of California at San Diego. At UC San Diego, he studied business at the advice of his father and planned on becoming a lawyer, like both of his parents and other family members.

However, Benicio was fascinated with film during his childhood in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania, and after attending his first acting class, he enjoyed it so much that he decided to pursue it as his life's work. He dropped out of college to study with noted acting teachers Stella Adler and Arthur Mendoza, in Los Angeles, as well as at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, in New York City.

His acting career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects, where he played the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic (2000). He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects (1995), Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Franky Four Fingers in Snatch (2000), Jackie Boy in Sin City (2005), and Che Guevara in Che (2008).