Benicio Del Toro first appeared in the Episode: "The Upstairs Gardener" of the American comedy-drama television series ‘Shell Game’ in 1987. The following year, he made his big-screen debut in the American comedy film ‘Big Top Pee-wee’ directed by Randal Kleiser. The film received a lukewarm response from critics. In 1989, he starred as ‘Dario’ in the spy film and the sixteenth in the James Bond series, ‘Licence to Kill.’ The film opened to a positive reception and did well at the box office. He continued to star in films like ‘The Indian Runner’ (1991), ‘Christopher Columbus: The Discovery’ (1992), ‘Fearless’ (1993), ‘Money for Nothing’ (1993), and ‘Swimming with Sharks’ (1994). The year 1995 saw the release of the neo-noir mystery thriller film ‘The Usual Suspects,’ where Toro was seen playing the role of ‘Fred Fenster.’ The film was widely praised by critics and was a major box office success, grossing over $51 million on a $6 million budget. In 1996, he starred as ‘Juan Primo’ in the American sports psychological thriller film ‘The Fan’ directed by Tony Scott. The film was marred by negative reviews from critics and was a commercial failure.
After appearing in films like ‘Excess Baggage’ (1997) and ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ (1998), Toro joined the cast of the 2000 American crime drama film ‘Traffic’ where he portrayed Javier Rodriguez Rodríguez. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a major financial success. Toro also became a recipient of the ‘Academy Award’ for his performance in the film. In 2001, he appeared in the American neo-noir mystery thriller film ‘The Pledge’ directed by Sean Penn. Despite opening to positive reviews, the film failed to perform at the box office. Toro received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his performance as ‘Jack Jordan’ in the 2003 American psychological drama film ‘21 Grams’ directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film saw positive reviews upon release and was a financial success. He next starred in films like ‘Sin City’ (2005), ‘Things We Lost in the Fire’ (2007), ‘Che’ (2008), ‘The Wolfman’ (2010), ‘The Upsetter’ (2011), ‘Savages’ (2012), ‘Thor: The Dark World’ (2013), ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014), ‘Escobar: Paradise Lost’ (2014), ‘Sicario’ (2015), ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ (2017), ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018), and ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ (2020). He was last seen in the 2021 American anthology comedy-drama film ‘The French Dispatch’ where he played the role of ‘Moses Rosenthaler.’ The film earned praise from critics and scored an approval rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes.