Del Toro Weighs Success

Academy award winner Benicio del Toro is best known for gritty, powerful performances in such films as "Traffic" and "The Usual Suspects."

In his latest movie, the critically acclaimed "21 Grams," he plays an ex-convict who clings to religion as a desperate means of turning his life around after being involved in a terrible incident.

In his research to prepare for the role, Del Toro tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler he found out about "survival guilt."

His character's depression is survival guilt, which he explains is what people who survive a catastrophe sometimes go through when the person right next to them does not make it. He says, "They go into this depression of being like why me? Why am I living? Why am I breathing? Why am I enjoying life? And they go into a massive, massive depression. And it can be very dangerous to themselves or to others so that's basically the bottom line of the character."

In "21 Grams," del Toro's is just one of three stories told. His life becomes intertwined with the lives of characters played by Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and all their lives are turned upside down.

Music is what Del Toro says he used as a trick to leave his emotionally charged role behind at the end of his workday and transition into his regular life.

"Music is a great pacifier," he says, "The minute I finish shooting, I would basically get in the car and have a tape or some music that I like."

One of the songs he was listening at the time was "Shake, Rattle And Roll." And it ended up in the CD for "21 Grams," where Del Toro, who says can barely whistle, offers his own rendition.

He says. "We were shooting in Memphis. And I stopped by Sun Records. And I was so moved by the place. It's just a tiny record studio where Howlin' Wolf came out from, did some of the first recordings of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash. And then we found out that you can still rent the space and listen to music or record music. So the guys that were doing the music for the movie, they came down to play some of the music. And they said, 'Why don't we record something?' And I had been listening to Elvis Presley, one of his records. And I said, 'Well, I can't sing, but I can read."

Next for Del Toro is, "The Rum Diary" in which he'll be acting and directing, Samuel Bayer's "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" and "Che Guevara."

Some Facts About Benicio Del Toro

• Born Feb. 19, 1967, in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
  
• Moved to a farm in Mercersburg, Pa., at age 13, when his mother died.
  
• He studied at a boarding school and went on to major in business at the University of California, San Diego.
  
• He then moved to New York and attended Circle in the Square Professional Theater School and Stella Adler Conservatory.
  
• Moving back to Los Angeles, he made appearances on episodic TV series, such as "Miami Vice, Hard Copy," and "Shell Game."
  
• In 1989, made his feature film debut in "Big Top Pee-Wee" as Duke, the dog-faced boy.
  
• In 1999, he appeared in the Emmy-winning TV miniseries "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story." He starred as a brutally menacing drug lord.
  
• In 1995, he wrote and directed the short film "Submission," starring Matthew McConaughey in the tale of a drug deal. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival.
  
• In 1995, he gave a breakthrough performance as Fred Fenster in "The Usual Suspects," directed by Bryan Singer. The film won two Academy Awards: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Kevin Spacey.
  
• In 1997, he had one role as a leading man of "Excess Baggage" starring Alicia Silverstone. He played a car thief who unwittingly becomes a kidnapper in the critical and commercial disappointment. It was notable for the fact Silverstone was the producer of the film and fought for del Toro to get the leading man role.
  
• Other notable films include: Sean Penn's directorial debut "The Indian Runner" (1991); "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" (1992); Rosie Perez's confused husband in "Fearless" (1993); "The Fan", starring Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro, "The Funeral", and "Basquait" (1996); "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998).
  
• In 2000, he released three films: "The Way of the Gun" co-starring Ryan Phillippe, "Traffic," and "Snatch" (which was released in one theater in Los Angeles to qualify for Academy Awards).
  
• Del Toro's performance in "Traffic" won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as well as similar awards from the Golden Globes, the New York Film Critics Circle, Toronto Film Critics, San Diego Film Critics Association, Las Vegas Film Critics, On-Line Film Critics, and National Society of Film Critics.