Benicio del Toro won his first Oscar 25 years ago for "Traffic."
This year, he is once again in the Academy Award conversation for his soulful turn as karate dojo owner -- and part-time savior of immigrants -- Sergio St Carlos in "One Battle After Another," a role he says reflects his own sensibilities.
"There is a lot of me in there," Del Toro told AFP ahead of the Oscars gala on March 15, where he will vie for best supporting actor honors with co-star Sean Penn, Swedish veteran Stellan Skarsgard, Jacob Elordi ("Frankenstein") and Delroy Lindo ("Sinners").
In Paul Thomas Anderson's high-octane, politically charged thriller about leftist revolutionaries, white supremacists and immigration raids, Sensei Sergio provides a sense of calm at the film's heart.
Most of Del Toro's scenes come opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Bob Ferguson, a highly strung, and somewhat strung out, former militant who must hunt for his missing daughter (Chase Infiniti) when the past comes back to haunt him.
The 59-year-old Puerto Rican actor acknowledged he was surprised by the reception he has received for his role, which accounts for less than 15 minutes of screen time.
"It feels good, and it also can make you a little bit uncomfortable too," he said in a Zoom conversation. "I'm proud of it."
"One Battle After Another" -- which earned 13 Academy Award nominations -- is the front-runner to take the best picture Oscar.
"I did enjoy the film, and I felt that the film did have a lot of potential," Del Toro said, noting that he felt his co-stars were "really the protagonists," with his to a lesser extent.
"Perhaps there's something in a movie that is so dark... since it brings a little bit of a sense of hope," he added of his character -- though he admits he did not initially see him that way.
- 'There's a heart there' -
Del Toro was initially studying business at a university in California when he dropped out to pursue acting.
After some small television roles, an appearance in a Madonna music video and a few big screen appearances, his major breakthrough came in 1995 with "The Usual Suspects."
And then in 2001, he won the Oscar for best supporting actor for Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," in which he played a Mexican border cop who tries to remain honest amid the drug wars. He bested a stacked field that included Willem Dafoe and Jeff Bridges.
A second Academy Award nomination followed for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams."
Del Toro, who has worked with top directors from Soderbergh to Inarritu to Denis Villeneuve, says he was immediately drawn to "One Battle" for the chance to work with Anderson for a second time, after "Inherent Vice" (2014).
The director "just creates a real comfortable place for creativity, for collaboration," he said.
Anderson asked him if would play a karate instructor and sent him a photo of a tiger... in a martial arts kimono.
But as time passed, the character evolved from someone just helping Ferguson on his search into more of a "fighter for the underdog, a protector of these migrants who were looking for the American dream," he said.
In one scene, Sensei Sergio introduces Ferguson to his extended family -- and to some of the migrants he hides so they can avoid arrest.
"I felt very, very, very, very strong about it," Del Toro said. "I felt like it needed to be treated with humanity... with respect."
He says he is happy his work has been honored because of what his character represents.
"There's a heart there... I think that's why people are gravitating towards Sensei," he said.
