--- description: Find out why Benicio Del Toro is one of the 100 most influential people of 2026. title: Benicio Del Toro: The 100 Most Influential People of 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c7005b798843a73/69d7cf56f1020159ed3dead5/T100-2026-Web-Benicio-Del-Toro.JPG?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 15, 2026 # Benicio Del Toro by Paul Thomas Anderson  Justin Bettman—BAFTA2026/Contour/Getty Images I used to bemoan the fact that I’d never get to work with Humphrey Bogart or Spencer Tracy or John Garfield or Charles Laughton. Then one day I woke up and realized I had Benicio Del Toro. If I were a movie screen, each year I would make a national holiday celebrating Benicio Del Toro and thank him for showing up and blessing me with soul, humor, charisma, and mystery. I have had the pleasure of working with Benicio twice. My time with him in El Paso, Texas, making [_One Battle After Another_](https://time.com/7318569/one-battle-after-another-review-paul-thomas-anderson/ "undefined") is the highlight of my career. There isn’t a moment from that experience that I don’t remember and cherish. My man is as funny as he is deep. He’s as wide as the world and as vast as the ocean. Working with him is rewarding, hilarious, fun, and thrilling. How many people fit that description?!? Happy Benicio Del Toro Day 2026. _Anderson is an Oscar-winning director, writer, and producer_ Benicio Del Toro Is on the 2026 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/benicio-del-toro/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/benicio-del-toro/"},"headline":"Benicio Del Toro","datePublished":"2026-04-15T11:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:50.995Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/benicio-del-toro/","keywords":["TIME 100","list","franchise","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c7005b798843a73/69d7cf56f1020159ed3dead5/T100-2026-Web-Benicio-Del-Toro.JPG?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Thomas Anderson"}],"creator":"Paul Thomas Anderson","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c7005b798843a73/69d7cf56f1020159ed3dead5/T100-2026-Web-Benicio-Del-Toro.JPG?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/benicio-del-toro/","name":"Benicio Del Toro"}}]}] ```