Despite Being Worth $45 Million From His Acting Career, Benicio Del Toro's Parents Were Disappointed
Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro is an impressive man. He has tackled some of the most challenging roles and has proven his versatility as an actor on multiple occasions. This includes his work on Sicario, Traffic, and The Unusual Suspects. And to think, he may never have been a star had he gone into the family business instead of pursuing his dreams as an actor.
Del Toro's mother passed away when he was a child, and his father was a hard man. He initially disapproved of his son's career choice, but Del Toro looks back on this time now and realizes that it is incredibly difficult to make it as an actor. But made it; he has…
Benicio Del Toro's Parents Didn't Want Him To Become An Actor
Acting was not Benicio Del Toro's interest in childhood; that came later in life because he had initially shown promise as a basketball player. He actually had dreams of turning professional. "My dream was to play basketball in the NBA. I fell into acting almost accidentally during my freshman year at university in San Diego," he said, according to New Zealand Herald. "I wanted to make my schedule easy, so I took an acting class."
Unlike other celebrities from a household with an entertainment background, for example, Drew Barrymore, both of Del Toro's parents were lawyers. Even his godmother was a successful lawyer (so he was surrounded by people who practiced law).
Tragically, his mother passed away when he was a child, but there may have been some expectation for him to follow in their footsteps. Or at least not to pursue something in the creative field. He didn't, of course, and his decision was initially met with backlash.
"Initially, my father didn't want me to become an actor. At the time, I felt he was being small-minded, but now that I'm a parent, I understand him better. It's very difficult to make a career as an actor as there are so many variants that come into play," he said, according to New Zealand Herald.
"You have to have really thick skin, you've got to be flexible, you've got to be stubborn. It's weird. If you go to college, and you study law, you can become a lawyer. If you go to college, and you study medicine, you can become a doctor. But if you go to college and study acting, that doesn't mean you can make a living. So I've been lucky."
He has also spoken about how his ethnicity is often seen as a disadvantage in Hollywood. "I fought the stereotype, and I've also been able to use the stereotype to my advantage," he explained. "I've forced my will into my characters or worked with those people who have created interesting Latin characters."
What Has Benicio Del Toro Said About His Childhood?
Benicio Del Toro's father was strict, and Esquire notes that he did not always get on with him. This is also because Del Toro was more rebellious than his older brother, Gustavo.
"If you didn't think like him, there was a problem. He could get angry. Right now? His attitude? The neighbors would have called the police plenty of times," he told Esquire of his father.
"I got whupped by him many times, but I wasn't the only one getting whupped. All of my friends were getting whupped! That's how it was. He would get the belt or get in your f***ing face: 'Ra! Ra! Ra!' The thing about it, was that, had he done that and not been there, that could be a problem. But he was there for every dinner, every breakfast. And I knew that he was right 90 per cent of the time. I think there was a sense that I wanted some attention from him, and I got it in the rawest form. I got it right in the vein."
He moved away from home at 13 to go to school in Pennsylvania. It was his godmother who paid for him to attend the boarding school. He also credits her for letting him believe he could dream big. "I got really lucky with my godmother," he told Esquire. "She was the one who said: 'Go big. Why not go big?'"
Are Benicio Del Toro's Proud Of His Career Now?
Although Benicio Del Toro has not addressed how his father feels about his career now (including being in a position to turn down successful projects, like Star Trek), knowing his son has been incredibly successful may have softened his stance. He also uses language like "initially" to describe his father's feelings, suggesting that was in the past.
Acting is also something he has been doing for decades, and he's also accumulated millions. Celebrity Net Worth notes his estimated wealth to be $45 million.
Putting aside his relationship with his own father, Benicio Del Toro is a father himself. He has a daughter, Delilah del Toro, who he shares with Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of famed musician Rod Stewart (who has a massive family and is a father to eight). Delilah was born in 2011, but her parents were not in a relationship.
"Kimberly is pregnant. Benicio is the father and is very supportive," Del Toro's rep, Robin Baum, told Life & Style. "Although they are not a couple, they are looking forward to the arrival of the baby."
And Delilah's birth has impacted her father's life, including teaching him the importance of learning to compromise, as he revealed to Us Weekly.
It can be challenging for fathers to see their children after splitting with their mothers, but Del Toro and Stewart have figured out how to co-parent. He only has one child for now, but when asked if he would ever have another, he told Esquire, "I don't know what the future will bring. I'm not with the mother of my daughter, and we have a good understanding of what happened, and I'm grateful, but if I was having another kid, I would have to be with the mother. I don't want to have a kid just to have a kid. I don't think that's the right way to do it."
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