Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt
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Name	Benjamin Bratt
Caption	Bratt in 2014
Birth date	16 December 1963
Birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Santa Barbara, American Conservatory Theater
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Talisa Soto, 2002

Benjamin Bratt is an American actor known for his versatile roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of Detective Rey Curtis on the long-running NBC drama Law & Order. His career spans acclaimed projects such as Traffic, Miss Congeniality, and the Pixar film Coco, alongside a leading role in the Starz series The Cleaner.

Early life and education

Benjamin Bratt was born in San Francisco, California, to a Peruvian mother and an American father of German and English descent. He was raised in the city's Mission District and attended Lowell High School, where he developed an interest in acting. Bratt pursued higher education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree before receiving a scholarship for graduate studies at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

Career

Bratt began his professional acting career with guest roles on television series such as Knight Rider and Miami Vice. His breakthrough came in 1995 when he was cast as Detective Rey Curtis on Law & Order, a role he played until 1999 and for which he received an Emmy nomination. During this period, he also appeared in films like The River Wild alongside Meryl Streep and Follow Me Home. In 2000, he starred in Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed ensemble drama Traffic and played the love interest in the hit comedy Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock.

He headlined the A&E drama series The Cleaner from 2008 to 2009 and later joined the cast of the Fox musical series Glee. Bratt's film work includes roles in Catwoman, Love in the Time of Cholera, and providing the voice of Pablo in Pixar's Coco. On television, he had a major recurring role as Javier Peña in the Netflix crime drama Narcos and starred in the CW series The Last Tycoon. More recently, he portrayed Doctor Strange's adversary Jonathan Pangborn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Personal life

Bratt married actress and former Bond girl Talisa Soto in 2002; the couple had met years earlier on the set of the film Piñero. They have two children together and reside in Los Angeles. He is an active supporter of various charitable causes, particularly those related to Native American rights and environmental issues, often working with organizations like the American Indian College Fund. Bratt is also a dedicated advocate for the Chicano arts movement and Latino representation in Hollywood.

Filmography

A selected list of his acting credits includes the film Blood in Blood Out (1993), the television movie James A. Michener's Texas (1994), and the feature The Next Best Thing (2000). He starred in the ABC drama The Court and later appeared in series such as Private Practice and 24. His voice work extends to animated series like American Dad! and video games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Recent projects include the film Clerks III and the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses.

Awards and nominations

For his role on Law & Order, Bratt received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1999. His performance in Piñero earned him an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film. He has also been honored with multiple awards from organizations such as the National Council of La Raza and the Imagen Foundation for his positive portrayals of Latino characters. In 2017, he won the Hollywood Film Awards for his ensemble work in Coco.

Category:American male television actors Category:American film actors Category:1963 births Category:Living people