Benjamin Bratt has been a successful actor for over two decades, winning a Spirit Award for his work as producer and star of “La Mission,” written and directed by his younger brother Peter. The film also earned a Best Indie Film nomination from the NAACP and GLAAD, as well as multiple Imagen Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. His work in Piñero received high praise while “Traffic” received five Academy Award nominations and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast. Bratthas over 25 films to his credit some of which include: “The River Wild,” “Blood In, Blood Out,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Miss Congeniality,” “Love In The Time of Cholera,” “Snitch,” and did the voice of Manny in “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”
Bratt, the son of a Peruvian mother and a father of English, German, and Austrian descent, grew up in San Francisco where he attended Lowell High School, continuing his education at the University of California at Santa Barbara and receiving theatre training at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He is married to actress Taliso Soto, has two children, Sophia and Mateo, and resides in Los Angeles.
A most charming and fun Bratt recently sat down with a select group of journalists to discuss his latest film, “The Infiltrator,” along with other very personal topics.
The following has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.
Bratt: I see some familiar faces here.
We never leave. (Laughter)
Bratt: You’ve been here for a lot of years. (Laughter)
Server brings in cup of coffee.
Bratt: This is nice. Who’s picking up that tab? (Laughter)
How did you get involved with “The Infiltrator?”
Bratt: I was surprisingly quite unfamiliar with the story. I think most of us are, which is shocking if you consider that it is one of the largest drug busts ever put on record. Brad Furman is a long-time friend of mine. I knew Brad when he was a kid.
He was the 19-year-old assistant to my agent at ICM in New York when I was working on “Law & Order” back in the 1990s. He use to run scripts down to me and was kind of wet behind the ears, but very enthusiastic. Who knew that he would grow up into this very insightful, skilled, thoughtful director. I’m super proud of what he’s accomplished as a director, obviously starting with “The Lincoln Lawyer.” He’s still young and has clearly demonstrated to all of us that he has so much more potential that is still untapped.
Did you have to audition for the role of the drug lord Roberto Alcaino?
Bratt: (Laughing & Joking) Yes. Can you believe the bastard made me audition? (Laughter). No, of course not. One of the many things I appreciate about Brad is that he is deeply loyal and that is one of the themes we explore in the film. He’s worked with Yul Vazquez quite a few times as well as John Leguizamo and, of course, Bryan (Cranston) who was in “The Lincoln Lawyer.” So what you have is a pattern of mutual respect and loyalty playing out in a professional scenario. Who doesn’t want to work with people
Part 1: Creating the Character of a drug lord in his latest film, “The Infiltrator.”
Benjamin Bratt has been a successful actor for over two decades, winning a Spirit Award for his work as producer and star of “La Mission,” written and directed by his younger brother Peter. The film also earned a Best Indie Film nomination from the NAACP and GLAAD, as well as multiple Imagen Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. His work in Piñero received high praise while “Traffic” received five Academy Award nominations and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast. Bratthas over 25 films to his credit some of which include: “The River Wild,” “Blood In, Blood Out,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Miss Congeniality,” “Love In The Time of Cholera,” “Snitch,” and did the voice of Manny in “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”
Bratt first became most recognizable when he co-starred with Jerry Orbach in the iconic “Law & Order” series. Other television credits include: “The Cleaner,” “Private Practice,” “Modern Family,” and “24: Live Another Day.”
