Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt
Bratt in 2022
Born	(1963-12-16) December 16, 1963 (age 60)
Education	University of California, Santa Barbara (BFA) American Conservatory Theater
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Talisa Soto ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2

Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American film and television actor. He is most known for playing Paco Aguilar in Blood In, Blood Out. He has also had supporting film roles in the 1990s in Demolition Man (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and The River Wild (1994). From 1995 to 1999, he starred as New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective Reynaldo Curtis on the NBC drama series Law & Order.

In the 2000s, Bratt appeared in Miss Congeniality (2000), Traffic (2000), Piñero (2001), Catwoman (2004), and Trucker (2008), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Snitch (2013), Coco (2017), among other films. On television, Bratt has portrayed Dr. Jake Reilly on ABC's Private Practice (2011–2013), Steve Navarro on 24: Live Another Day (2014), and Jahil Rivera on Star (2016–2018). He has also done voice acting in animated feature films.

Bratt has received four American Latino Media Arts Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Early life

Bratt was born on December 16, 1963, ^[1] the third of five children of Eldy (née Banda), a nurse and political activist, and Peter Bratt Sr., a sheet metal worker. ^[2] His mother was born in Lima, Peru, and is of Quechua descent. She moved to the United States with her family at age 14. ^[3] His father is American, and his paternal grandfather, George, was a Broadway actor. ^[4]

An activist for Native American rights, his mother took Bratt (age 6) and her other children to participate in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz. Led by young people from San Francisco, it raised national awareness of issues facing Native Americans, and attracted participants from across the country. ^[5] Bratt attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1986, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. ^[6] Enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he left before receiving his degree in order to star in the 1987 television film Juarez. ^[5]

Career

Early work

He started his professional acting career at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, where he starred in the television film Juarez. This received much critical acclaim, and he landed a supporting role in the television film Police Story: Gladiator School . Also, he played his first film role as Esteban in Lovers, Partners & Spies, which did not perform well at the box office. Bratt worked extensively in television, with roles in the Knightwatch and Nasty Boys series. In 1989, he starred in the film Nasty Boys, based on the television series.

Hollywood breakthrough and success

After several low-budget films and television films, including One Good Cop and Shadowhunter, in 1993, Bratt appeared in two Hollywood films. He portrayed a gang member turned LAPD officer named Paco Aguilar in Blood In, Blood Out, and Officer Alfredo Garcia from the year 2032 in Demolition Man.

The following year, he played supporting roles in the popular films of The River Wild , Clear and Present Danger, and James A. Michener's Texas.

Returning to television, he played Detective Reynaldo Curtis in the popular series Law & Order replacing Chris Noth, which gained him international recognition. He reprised the role in Homicide: Life on the Street and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie . For his role, he received three American Latino Media Arts Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

In 1999, Bratt decided to leave Law & Order. "I've felt like it was time to get back home to my family," Bratt said. "How do you walk away from the best job in the world and a group of people that you've grown to love? It's not easy, and it was an extremely difficult decision that I had to make." ^{[7] [8]} On May 26, 1999, Bratt's final episode was aired. In 2009, Bratt returned as the now-retired Curtis on Law & Order, where he was reunited with his former boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), in the episode that aired on December 11, 2009. He returned to his film career that same year.

Later work

Bratt at 2010 San Francisco Memorial Day parade Grand Master

In 2000, Bratt co-starred with Madonna and Rupert Everett in The Next Best Thing . That same year, he played opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy Miss Congeniality and had a small role in the ensemble work Traffic , which included Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 2004, the actor co-starred in Catwoman with Halle Berry and Sharon Stone. Bratt often portrays Hispanic characters, especially in his later work. Bratt said, "I've played 'Latin-looking spiv, third from the right so many times I can't count." In 2001, he starred in the biopic film Piñero , for which he received an American Latino Media Arts Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. He played Puerto Rican actor and poet Miguel Piñero. Piñero was bisexual and when talking about Bratt having to portray his bisexuality, Bratt stated that this was "certainly something I wasn't afraid of." He went on to say, "Whether you're talking about Miguel's sexuality or his time spent in jail or his petty crime or his drug addiction, each one of those things is a component that makes up the entirety of the man." ^[9] In 2009, Bratt performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. That year also saw him starred in and produced the film La Mission , directed by his brother, Peter Bratt. His later popular films include The Woodsman , Thumbsucker , The Great Raid , Trucker , Snitch , Ride Along 2 , The Infiltrator , and Doctor Strange .

Bratt has appeared in several television shows since 2000, including starring as William Banks in The Cleaner, Dr. Jake Reilly in Private Practice, and Jahil Rivera on Star. He also appeared in such notable series as Frasier, Modern Family , 24: Live Another Day , DMZ , and Poker Face .

Bratt has featured in five animated feature films, which include El Macho, the main antagonist, in Despicable Me 2 . He played Manny the cameraman in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and reprised his role in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 . Also, in 2015, he voiced Superman in Justice League: Gods and Monsters. In the 2017 film Coco , Bratt voiced Ernesto de la Cruz, the main antagonist who was a Mexican folk legend and main character Miguel's idol. Bratt sings "Remember Me", a popular song in the film that is sung by many other characters throughout. "Remember Me" won Best Original Song at the 2018 Academy Awards; Coco won Best Animated Feature.

Activism and philanthropy

He has been active in the American Indian Movement and supports such causes as the American Indian College Fund. ^[5]

He narrated We Shall Remain (2009), a PBS mini-series about Native Americans, and part of its American Experience . ^[10]

Bratt has for years supported and served as a board member of the San Francisco Bay Area's Friendship House Association of American Indians and the Native American Health Center. ^[11] Bratt also has supported area organizations such as the Tribal Athletics Program, and United Indian Nations. ^[5]

In 2002, he and Priscilla López received the Rita Moreno Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). ^[12]

In 2017, he served as consulting producer for the film Dolores , which explores the life of Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist. The film received critical acclaim and several awards.

In 2023, he co-executive produced Wings of Dust, a documentary about contamination of water in the Peruvian community of Espinar.

Personal life

From 1998 to 2001, Bratt dated actress Julia Roberts. ^[13]

In 2002, he began dating actress and former Bond girl Talisa Soto; they married on April 13 in San Francisco. The two had met ten years earlier during a casting audition. During the filming of Piñero (2001) they began to develop a relationship. Their first child, daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, was born on December 6, 2002; their second child, son Mateo Bravery Bratt, was born on October 3, 2005. ^{[14] [15]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Lovers, Partners & Spies	Esteban
1990	Bright Angel	Claude
1991	One Good Cop	Detective Felix
	Chains of Gold	Carlos
1993	Blood In Blood Out	Paco Aguilar
	Demolition Man	Officer Alfredo Garcia
1994	Clear and Present Danger	Captain Ramírez
	The River Wild	Ranger Johnny
1996	Follow Me Home	Abel	Also producer
2000	The Next Best Thing	Ben Cooper
	The Last Producer	Damon Black
	Red Planet	Lieutenant Ted Santen
	Miss Congeniality	FBI Agent Eric Matthews
	Traffic	Juan Obregón
2001	Piñero	Miguel Piñero
2002	Abandon	Detective Wade Handler
2004	The Woodsman	Carlos
	Catwoman	Detective Tom Lone
2005	Thumbsucker	Matt Schramm
	The Great Raid	Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci
2007	Love in the Time of Cholera	Dr. Juvenal Urbino
2008	Trucker	Leonard 'Len' Bonner
2009	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs	Manny (voice)
	The People Speak	Himself
	La Mission	Che Rivera	Also producer
2013	Snitch	Juan Carlos 'El Topo' Pintera
	The Lesser Blessed	Jed
	Despicable Me 2	Eduardo Perez / El Macho (voice)
	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2	Manny (voice)
2015	Justice League: Gods and Monsters	Lor-Zod / Hernan Guerra / Superman (voice)
2016	Ride Along 2	Antonio Pope
	Special Correspondents	John Baker
	The Infiltrator	Roberto Alcaino
	Doctor Strange	Jonathan Pangborn
2017	Shot Caller	Sheriff Sanchez
	Coco	Ernesto de la Cruz (voice)
	Dolores	—	Consulting producer
2019	A Score to Settle	Q / San Quentin
2020	Best Summer Ever	Daphne's Dad
2022	Wings of Dust	—	Short film; executive producer
	Dead for a Dollar	Tiberio Vargas
2024	Mother of the Bride	Will	Post-production

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Juarez	Sergeant Rosendo Juarez	Television film
1988	Police Story: Gladiator School	Officer Dave Ramirez	Television film
1988–1989	Knightwatch	Tony Maldonado	9 episodes
1989	Nasty Boys	Eduardo Cruz	Television film
1989–1990	Nasty Boys		13 episodes
1990	Capital News	Carlos Torres	Episode: "Pilot"
1993	Shadowhunter	Nakai Twobear	Television film
1994	Texas	Benito Garza	Television film
1995–2009	Law & Order	Detective Reynaldo Curtis	95 episodes
1996	Late Night with Conan O'Brien		Episode: "Jim Breuer/Matt Frewer/Spacehog"
	Woman Undone	Jim Mercer	Television film
1996–1999	Homicide: Life on the Street	Detective Reynaldo Curtis	3 episodes
1998	Exiled: A Law & Order Movie		Television film
2001	After the Storm	Arno	Television film
2003	Frasier	Kevin, The Caller (voice)	Episode: "The Doctor Is Out"
2005–2006	E-Ring	Lieutenant Colonel Jim Tisnewski	23 episodes
2008	The Andromeda Strain	Dr. Jeremy Stone	2 episodes
2008–2009	The Cleaner	William Banks	26 episodes; also producer
2009	American Experience	Narrator	3 episodes
2010–2020	Modern Family	Javier Delgado	6 episodes
2011–2013	Private Practice	Dr. Jake Reilly	36 episodes
2014	24: Live Another Day	Steve Navarro	Television miniseries
2016–2018	Star	Jahil Rivera	33 episodes
2021	Corazón de América - Celebrating Hispanic Culture	—	Director
2022	DMZ	Parco Delgado	Television miniseries
2023	Poker Face	Cliff LeGrand	5 episodes
	Skull Island	Cap (voice)	7 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1996	NCLR Bravo Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Law & Order	Nominated	[16]
1997	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated	[17]
1998	Screen Actors Guild Awards			Nominated	[18]
	American Latino Media Arts Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series		Won	[19]
1999	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated	[20]
	American Latino Media Arts Awards	Outstanding Actor in Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series	Exiled: A Law & Order Movie	Won	[21]
		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Law & Order	Won	[21]
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated	[22]
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Traffic	Won	[23]
	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Screen Combo	The Next Best Thing (shared with Madonna)	Nominated
	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy	Miss Congeniality	Won	[24]
2002	American Latino Media Arts Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Piñero	Won	[25]
	Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors Awards	Rita Moreno Award for Excellence	—	Won	[26]
2005	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Screen Combo	Catwoman (shared with Halle Berry)	Nominated
2009	Imagen Awards	Best Actor/Television	The Cleaner	Nominated
	Prism Awards	Performance in a Drama Multi-Episode Storyline		Nominated	[27]
	American Latino Media Arts Awards	Actor in Television - Drama		Won	[28]
2010	Audie Awards	Audiobook of the Year	Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales	Won	[29]
		Multi-Voiced Performance		Won	[29]
	Imagen Awards	Best Actor - Film	La Mission	Won	[30]
	Oaxaca FilmFest	Best Actor		Won
2012	American Latino Media Arts Awards	Favorite TV Actor - Leading Role	Private Practice	Nominated	[31]
	Red Nation Film Festival	Outstanding Supporting Actor in Television Mini-Series/MOW/ Television Show		Nominated
2013	Imagen Awards	Best Actor/Television		Nominated	[32]
2019	News and Documentary Emmy Awards	Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary	Dolores	Nominated	[33]
2020	Audie Awards	Multi-Voiced Performance	Daisy Jones & The Six	Nominated	[34]
2022	Imagen Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Drama (Television)	DMZ	Nominated	[35]
2023	Imagen Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Comedy (Television)	Poker Face	Won	[36]
2024	Hollywood Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Comedy Series		Nominated	[37]

References

1. Last, Eugenia (December 16, 2023). "Horoscopes Dec. 16, 2023: Benjamin Bratt, trust your instincts". The Mercury News . San Jose, California . Retrieved January 8, 2024.
2. Vanity Fair. 2002 – via Google Books.
3. "How Hollywood Gave 'Cholera' a Delicate Treatment". The Washington Post . November 11, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
4. Encyclopaedia of Latino Popular Culture, vol. 1, Cordelia Candelaria, Peter J. Garcia, Arturo J. Aldama, Greenwood Press, 2004, p. 90
5. "Benjamin Bratt". Native Networks. December 2, 2001. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
6. "Law and Order Comes to UCSB". Coastlines. Summer 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
7. Anderson, Hayley (February 17, 2022). "Law and Order exit: Why did Benjamin Bratt leave Law and Order as Rey Curtis?". Express . ProQuest   2629526033. In a statement via the New York Post, Bratt said: "After four years I've felt like it was time to get back home to my family. "How do you walk away from the best job in the world, and a group of people you've grown to love?" He said it was an "extremely difficult decision" and hoped he would be able to work with his Law and Order co-stars again.
8. "Bratt leaving Law & Order". The StarPhoenix . Associated Press. May 4, 1999. p. D2. ProQuest   348451137. Benjamin Bratt is leaving the show at the end of the season to be replaced by Jesse L. Martin, who plays Calista Flockhart's doctor- boyfriend on Ally McBeal, producer Dick Wolf said. "How do you walk away from the best job in the world and a group of people that you've grown to love?" Bratt said. "It's not easy, and it was an extremely difficult decision that I had to make."
9. Graham, Bob. "Bratt's break / S.F. actor takes challenging turn as addict poet in 'Pinero'". SFGATE. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
10. "We Shall Remain". PBS. April 13, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
11. "Friendship House". Friendshiphousesf.org. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
12. "HOLA Awards 2003". hellohola.org. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
13. Silverman, Stephen M. (July 11, 2001). "Julia Roberts Lays It on the Line – David Letterman, Julia Roberts". People . Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
14. Silverman, Stephen M. (December 17, 2002). "New Bratt in the House for Ben, Talisa". people.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
15. "Benjamin Bratt & Wife Have a Boy". people.com. October 7, 2005. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
16. "1996 NCLR BRAVO AWARDS NOMINEES" (PDF). ALMA Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
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19. "1998 NCLR ALMA AWARDS RECIPIENTS" (PDF). ALMA Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
20. "The 5th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
21. "1999 NCLR ALMA AWARDS RECIPIENTS" (PDF). ALMA Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
22. "Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series - 1999". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
23. "The 7th Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
24. "2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards". Blockbuster Entertainment Awards . Archived from the original on June 17, 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2002.
25. "2002 recipients" (PDF). ALMA Awards . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
26. "Past Winners". Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors . May 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
27. Diorio, Carl (April 23, 2009). "Anne Hathaway among Prism winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
28. "Alma Awards 2009". CBS News . September 18, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
29. "2010 Audie Awards". Audio Pub. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
30. "2010 Imagen Awards Winners & Nominees". Imagen Foundation . Retrieved March 13, 2024.
31. "NOMINEES FOR THE 2012 NCLR ALMA AWARDS ANNOUNCED". Hispanic Lifestyle. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
32. "2013 Imagen Awards". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
33. "NOMINEES FOR THE 40th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED". National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences . July 25, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
34. "2020 Audie Awards". Audio Pub. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
35. "Imagen Awards Film & Television Nominees Announced Celebrating Latino Excellence for 37 Years!". Imagen Foundation. August 15, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
36. "Flamin' Hot Takes Home Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actor at 38th Annual Imagen Awards". Imagen Foundation. December 3, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
37. Anderson, Erik (July 11, 2023). "'The Boys,' 'Yellowjackets,' 'Abbott Elementary' lead 2023 HCA TV Awards nominations". AwardsWatch. Retrieved March 13, 2024.

External links

• Benjamin Bratt at IMDb  
• Benjamin Bratt at the Internet Off-Broadway Database