Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is an Academy Award-winning Puerto Rican actor and film producer.

Del Toro grew up in Santurce, Puerto Rico; his parents, Gustavo Adolfo del Toro Bermúdez and Fausta Sánchez Rivera, were both lawyers. He has an older brother, Gustavo, who is a pediatric oncologist. Del Toro's childhood nickname was "Skinny Benny". He attended Academia del Perpetuo Socorro (The Academy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), a Roman Catholic school in Miramar, Puerto Rico.

When he was nine years old, his mother died of hepatitis. At the age of 13, del Toro's father moved his two sons to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was enrolled at the Mercersburg Academy. He spent his adolescence and high school there.

After graduation, del Toro followed the advice of his father and pursued a practical degree in business at the University of California, San Diego. Success in an elective drama course encouraged him to drop out of college and 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. Del Toro hid his new career goals from his family until roles began to come his way.

His career gained momentum in 1995 with his breakout performance in The Usual Suspects, where he stole scenes from his more seasoned costars as the mumbling, wisecracking Fred Fenster. The role won him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor and firmly established him as "the guy to watch". The heat from Suspects led to more strong roles in independent and major studio films. He also played Gaspare in Abel Ferrara's The Funeral (1996) and won a second consecutive Best Supporting Actor Independent Spirit Award for his work as Benny Dalmau in Basquiat (1996), directed by his friend, artist Julian Schnabel. Del Toro also shared the screen with Robert De Niro in the big budget thriller The Fan, in which he played Juan Primo, a charismatic Mexican baseball star.

For Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's famous book, he packed on more than 40 lbs. (about 18 kg) to play Dr. Gonzo (a.k.a. Oscar Zeta Acosta), Thompson's lawyer and drug-fiend cohort. Del Toro's performance divided critics and audiences. Even though del Toro has told interviewers this was a low point in his career, Terry Gilliam's surrealistic film has earned a cult following over the years.

In 2001, del Toro became the fourth Oscar winner whose winning role was a character who speaks predominantly in a foreign language (most of del Toro's dialogue is in Spanish). Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, and Roberto Benigni are the other three. He is the third Puerto Rican actor to win an Oscar. The other two were actors Jose Ferrer and Rita Moreno. The night he won his Oscar, it was the first time that two actors born in Puerto Rico were nominated in the same category. (The other actor was Joaquin Phoenix for his role in Gladiator).