Few directors inspire the kind of reverence in Hollywood that Paul Thomas Anderson does. Known for crafting richly layered characters and weaving chaos and poetry into the same frame, Anderson’s films have often been considered actor’s playgrounds. For Benicio Del Toro, who steps into the role of Sensei Sergio St. Carlos in the upcoming One Battle After Another, the experience of collaborating with Anderson was nothing short of exhilarating.
EXCLUSIVE: Benicio Del Toro on the joy of working with Paul Thomas Anderson in One Battle After Another
“Well, first of all, Paul writes a script that is really—it sounds a little cliché—but it’s a page turner. It charges. That script charged, you know?” Del Toro said in an exclusive conversation. “And the characters are well developed. They contradict themselves. They can be funny, and dangerous, and friendly all at the same time. There’s a lot of contradictions in his characters, which makes them fun for any actor to play with.”
Del Toro described Anderson as a filmmaker deeply invested in the collaborative process. Far from the stereotype of the untouchable auteur, Anderson created a dialogue with his cast.
“Paul wants to hear your concerns or your thoughts about the characters. We had several meetings before I showed up in El Paso. We talked about the journey of the character and the relationship between Sensei and Bob. Paul won’t shy away from a good idea, he’d go for it, and he would explore stuff, and eventually change some stuff along the way. He will collaborate, he will encourage, and he creates a safety net that allows actors to take chances.”
For Del Toro, that freedom led to moments of pure spontaneity on set—moments that often tipped into unexpected humour.
“All I can remember was laughing. Really. Before the takes and then laughing while doing it. And then really laughing after, really enjoying the process, but keeping an eye on the story,” he recalled. “I knew the purpose of my character, which was to allow Leo’s character to get to his objective, and to protect him as well.”
He points to one scene in particular, set inside a dojo, as emblematic of the Anderson touch.
“It was chaotic. We were trying to choreograph police cars driving by while I’m talking on the phone trying to put on my boots, while Leo crawls on the ground, hiding from being seen through the window,” Del Toro explained. “All I was trying to do was be in the moment—perhaps that’s where the humor came from, you know? And I think if anyone, Paul knew it would be funny.”
The marriage of chaos and control, of danger and levity, seems to be at the heart of One Battle After Another, which pairs Leonardo DiCaprio’s desperate father, Bob, with Del Toro’s disciplined yet unpredictable Sensei. For Del Toro, the Anderson-directed experience reinforced why great filmmakers continue to matter in an industry often dominated by spectacle.
“Paul creates that space where actors can fail and fly in the same breath,” Del Toro said. “And that’s when the best kind of storytelling happens.”
One Battle After Another opens [insert release date], bringing together Paul Thomas Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Benicio Del Toro for what promises to be one of the year’s most unique cinematic rides.
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