Dario (Benicio Del Toro)

Datastream Actor: Benicio Del Toro Character: Dario Movie: Licence To Kill Date of Birth: 19th February 1967 Height: 6' 2" (1.88m) Distinguishing Feature: Youngest ever Bond henchman. Status: Terminated Appearance: Tall and wiry with dark matted hair, slight eyes and a toothy grin. Organisations & Alliances: Franz Sanchez, Truman-Lodge, Heller. "Don't worry, we gave her a nice honeymooooooon!" Profile As the young, rough and cynical sidekick to drug kingpin Franz Sanchez, Dario is more like a son than a henchman. Numerous South American crime syndicates rejected him before being "adopted" by Sanchez as his right hand man. Equally confident with a flick-knife over a pistol, Dario is physically fit as well as a clever and quick learner.

Personality
Dario often displays merciless psychopathic tendencies, notably in his extreme and twisted methods for assassinating Bond. Too rough and too bloodthirsty for many bosses, notably the right-wing Contras, Dario has found steady employment with Franz Sanchez who treats him as his protégée. He watches fearlessly as Franz has Bond's CIA-buddy, Felix Leiter thrown to the sharks and devises a similarly brutal death for Bond.

Involvement
Dario is part of the gang that rape and kill Felix Leiter's bride, Della Churchill, before Bond and the henchman face off in a Key West bar.

Here 007 is meeting with the lovely and resourceful Pam Bouvier. A bar-room brawl kicks off when when Dario and his goons try to silence Leiter's last contact and Bond barely escapes. Later, Bond successfully gains Sanchez's trust and infiltrates his operations, but Dario spots him and outs him as an informer. At the multi-million dollar drug-plant and Joe Butcher's Olimpatec Meditation Institute, Sanchez has set up, Dario oversees Bond's death; only to be brought to a brutal end at the point of Bouvier's pistol.

Biography
Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, in 1967; here Benicio spent much of his childhood before moving to Pennsylvania, aged 13. After high school he attended the University of California, planning to become a lawyer - a family tradition. He had a burning interest in films and filmmaking since his youth in Puerto Rico. In the midst of his legal degree, Del Toro changed his major to the arts in order to study drama with the hopes of landing a role in a local production. When he made the decision to peruse acting full time, Del Toro moved to New York City and won a place in the Square Theatre School.

Two years after moving to LA to become a lawyer, Toro made his on-screen debut after auditioning at an open casting call for "Miami Vice" (1987). The 1980s saw him on screen a series of bit parts, mostly as villains or their sidekicks: notably the miniseries "Drug Wars"

Very early into his career he got the call from 007: 1989's "Licence to Kill" would give Del Toro his first Hollywood feature film and introduce him on the world stage. At age 21, Del Toro took on the challenging role in a brutal and engaging James Bond adventure. Although the 16th entry to the James Bond franchise lacklustre box office figures, Del Toro's debut was not hampered by it.

His career in the 1990s saw him land a number of feature films, notably, "Christopher Columbus" (which he once again played alongside his mentor, Robert Davi), "Money For Nothing" and a memorable performance in "Swimming With Sharks". "La senorita Bouvier!" Benicio Del Toro put on 40lbs in order to appear in the road-trip-psychedelic-frenzy "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Here he worked with director Terry Gilliam and co-starred with Johnny Depp. This role brought Del Toro to the end of a string of parts that accentuated his looks and moody personality. Wary of being type cast and after a host of mediocre reviews, Del Toro slowed his filmmaking career and became very selective of his roles. By the turn of the century he was working with Steven Soderberg on "Traffic" and Guy Richie on "Snatch" - a memorable but no-less crazy role for Del Toro.

He appeared in "The Hunted" and "Sin City", developing his reputation as a character actor and building a cult following. More recently he has earned a honor at Cannes for his role in the South American biopic of the life of Che Guevara. Next, Del Toro is set to travel to New Zealand to work with Martin Scorsese on 2010's "Scilence".