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Benjamin Bratt

 
Who2 Biography: Benjamin Bratt, Actor

  • Born: 16 December 1963
  • Birthplace: San Francisco, California
  • Best Known As: Hunky star of Law & Order and The Cleaner

After several years of small roles in movies and on TV, Benjamin Bratt made his name in the late 1990s as lean and hunky detective Reynaldo Curtis on TV's Law & Order. He left the show in 1999 to work in feature films, playing clean-cut straight men in movies such as Red Planet (2000, with Carrie-Anne Moss), Miss Congeniality (2000, starring Sandra Bullock) and Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000, with Benicio Del Toro). He received critical raves and surprised fans with his portrayal of junkie-poet Miguel Piñero in the 2001 film Piñero (co-starring Talisa Soto, his wife since 2002), and proved his versatility as a supporting player in The Woodsman (2004, with Kevin Bacon), Catwoman (2004, starring Halle Berry) and Thumbsucker (2005, with Keanu Reeves). He returned to series television with Dennis Hopper in 2005's Jerry Bruckheimer's E-Ring, but the show was short-lived. Bratt appeared in the 2007 film version of Love in the Time of Cholera (starring Javier Bardem), then began another series, the cable drama The Cleaner, in 2008.

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Actor: Benjamin Bratt
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  • Born: Dec 16, 1963
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Action
  • Career Highlights: Miss Congeniality, Demolition Man, The Next Best Thing
  • First Major Screen Credit: Blood In Blood Out (1993)

Biography

Benjamin Bratt was already an experienced film and TV actor by the time his four-year stint as Det. Reynaldo "Rey" Curtis on NBC's long-running hit Law and Order made him famous. Born and raised in San Francisco, Bratt studied acting at UC-Santa Barbara and in his hometown. After roles in two short-lived 1980s TV series, Bratt made his film debut as John Travolta's foe in the shelved, then straight-to-cable Chains of Gold (1991). Concentrating on building a movie career, Bratt played supporting roles in the action films Demolition Man (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and The River Wild (1994), as well as one of the lead roles in Bound by Honor (1993), about Chicano gang life. After joining Law and Order in 1995 as the coolly-passionate Curtis, the half-Peruvian Indian, half-Caucasian Bratt's chiseled looks received positive notices along with his acting, but rather than rest on his laurels, Bratt used his hiatus time to produce (with his director brother Peter Bratt) and star in the indie film Follow Me Home (1997). After leaving the show in 1999 (girlfriend Julia Roberts guest-starred in one of Bratt's last episodes), Bratt moved back to San Francisco to be closer to his family and focus on making movies. He costarred as Madonna's paramour in The Next Best Thing (2000).

Untouched by The Next Best Thing's failure, Bratt joined the prestigious ensemble cast of Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed, Oscar-winning narcotics drama Traffic (2000), becoming nearly unrecognizable in a brief appearance as a sleazy drug dealer. Scoring his second Christmas 2000 hit, Bratt played off his smooth, sexy law enforcement officer image as Sandra Bullock's FBI ally-turned-love interest in the comedy Miss Congeniality (2000).

Though the first half of 2001 was marked by his well-publicized break-up with Roberts, Bratt was poised to leave his days as tabloid fodder behind with his lead performance in the independent biopic Piñero (2001). Winning the title role over such high profile Latino actors as Jimmy Smits, Bratt's uncanny evocation of troubled Nuyorican writer and drug casualty Miguel Piñero attracted early dark horse Oscar buzz. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Benjamin Bratt
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Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt at the premiere of The Great Raid, 2005
Born Benjamin Bratt
December 16, 1963 (1963-12-16) (age 46)
San Francisco, California
Spouse(s) Talisa Soto (2002-present)

Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Traffic, and Piñero. He currently stars on the A&E Network drama The Cleaner.[1]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Bratt was born in San Francisco, California, the son of nurse Eldy (née Banda) and a sheet metal worker father.[2][3] Bratt's mother is a Peruvian Indigenous activist; born in Peru, she moved to the U.S. at age 14.[4][5][6] His father was an American of German and English descent.[7] They married December 30, 1960 in San Francisco,[8] but divorced in September 1967.[9] Bratt's paternal grandfather, George Cleveland Bratt (March 5, 1893-March 29, 1984), was a Broadway actor who married his grandmother Wiltrude Hildner on August 6, 1920 in Detroit, Michigan.[10][11][12]

As a child, Bratt went with his mother and siblings to participate in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz.[13] Today Bratt is an active supporter of such Native American causes as the American Indian College Fund[13] and We Shall Remain, a mini-series and multi-media project, narrated by Bratt, that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history from PBS' acclaimed series American Experience.[14]

His brother, Peter Bratt, wrote and directed Follow Me Home, casting Benjamin as Abel.

Bratt has been a strong supporter and board member of San Francisco Bay Area's Friendship House Association of American Indians and Native American Health Center for years.[15]

Schooling

In San Francisco, Bratt attended Lowell High School, where he developed his dramatic and oratory skills as a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Although accepted into the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he left before receiving his degree to star in the television series Juarez.

Personal life

In 1998, he began dating actress Julia Roberts. He escorted her to the March 25, 2001 Academy Awards ceremony, at which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Three months later, in June 2001, they announced that they were no longer a couple.[16]

Less than a year later, he married his pregnant girlfriend, actress Talisa Soto, on April 13, 2002, in San Francisco. The two met while filming Piñero. 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, in Los Angeles.

Career

Bratt's best-known role has been that of Det. Rey Curtis on the television show Law & Order. In 1999, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the series. His more popular films include Miss Congeniality, Blood in Blood out and Traffic. On June 23, 2009, Bratt appeared on The View to promote The Cleaner. He also appeared in an episode of the hit series Charmed as a demon.

On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Benjamin Bratt will guest-star on ABC's hit comedy, Modern Family, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bratt will play the ex-husband of Sofia Vergara's Gloria.[17]

On October 23, it was announced that Bratt will return as Detective Reynaldo Curtis on Law & Order, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Curtis reunited with his former boss, Lt. Anita van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), which aired on December 11, 2009. Bratt was nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy for the role in 1999. After four seasons, he left the show that same year to pursue a film career.[18]

Awards and nominations

>ALMA Awards

2009 Category: Best Actor in Drama (Year in Television) for The Cleaner (2008) (TV)

2002 Category: Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for Pinero (2001)

1999 Category: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990)

1999 Category: Outstanding Actor in Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series for Exiled (1998) (TV Movie)

1998 Category: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990)

>Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

2001 Category: Favorite Supporting Actor - Comedy for Miss Congeniality (2000)

>Emmy Awards

1999 Category: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990)

>Imagen Foundation Awards

2009 Category: Best Actor - Television for The Cleaner (2008) (TV)

>NCLR Bravo Awards

1996 Category: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990)

>PRISM Awards

2009 Category: Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline for The Cleaner (2008) (TV)

>Razzie Awards

2005 Category: Worst Screen Couple for Catwoman (2004) shared with Halle Berry; Sharon Stone

2001 Category: Worst Screen Couple for The Next Best Thing (2000) shared with Madonna; Rupert Everett

>Screen Actors Guild Awards

2001 Category: Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for Traffic (2000) shared with Steven Bauer; James Brolin; Don Cheadle

2000 Category: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990) shared with Angie Harmon; Steven Hill; Jesse L. Martin

1999 Category: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990) shared with Angie Harmon; Steven Hill; Carey Lowell

1998 Category: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990) shared with Steven Hill; Carey Lowell; S. Epatha Merkerson

1997 Category: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990) shared with Jill Hennessy; Steven Hill; Carey Lowell

1996 Category: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Law & Order (1990) shared with Jill Hennessy; Steven Hill; S. Epatha Merkerson

Filmography

Movies

Television series

References

External links


 
 

 

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Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Benjamin Bratt biography from Who2.  Read more
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