Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is most famous for his role as
Rey CurtisReynaldo "Rey" Curtis is a fictional character on the TV drama Law & Order, created by Ed Zuckerman and played by Benjamin Bratt from 1995 to 1999.-Character Overview:...
on the TV series
Law & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, which premiered on NBC on September 13, 1990. Created by Dick Wolf, the series is set in New York City, and follows the professional lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in...
; and his appearances in the movies
Blood in Blood OutBlood in Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...
,
Miss Congeniality,
TrafficTraffic is a 2000 crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, whose lives affect each other even though they do not meet...
, and
Piñero. He currently stars on the
A&E NetworkA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
drama
The CleanerThe Cleaner is an A&E television series starring Benjamin Bratt. It debuted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm EST.It was produced by CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Network Television. It was then the company's only series not airing on a CBS-owned network.On September 25,...
.
Bratt was born in
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
, the son of nurse Eldy (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Banda) and a sheet metal worker father. Bratt's mother is a
Peruvian IndigenousIndigenous peoples in Peru comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500...
activist; born in
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
, she moved to the U.S.
Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is most famous for his role as
Rey CurtisReynaldo "Rey" Curtis is a fictional character on the TV drama Law & Order, created by Ed Zuckerman and played by Benjamin Bratt from 1995 to 1999.-Character Overview:...
on the TV series
Law & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, which premiered on NBC on September 13, 1990. Created by Dick Wolf, the series is set in New York City, and follows the professional lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in...
; and his appearances in the movies
Blood in Blood OutBlood in Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...
,
Miss Congeniality,
TrafficTraffic is a 2000 crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, whose lives affect each other even though they do not meet...
, and
Piñero. He currently stars on the
A&E NetworkA&E is a cable and satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. A&E stands for Arts & Entertainment, which, for many years, was in the channel's full title...
drama
The CleanerThe Cleaner is an A&E television series starring Benjamin Bratt. It debuted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm EST.It was produced by CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Network Television. It was then the company's only series not airing on a CBS-owned network.On September 25,...
.
Early life
Bratt was born in
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
, the son of nurse Eldy (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Banda) and a sheet metal worker father. Bratt's mother is a
Peruvian IndigenousIndigenous peoples in Peru comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500...
activist; born in
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
, she moved to the U.S. at age 14. and his father was an American of German and English descent They married December 30, 1960 in San Francisco, but divorced in September 1967. Bratt's paternal grandfather, George Cleveland Bratt (March 5, 1893-March 29, 1984), was a
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
actor who married his grandmother Wiltrude Hildner on August 6, 1920 in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
.
As a child, Bratt went with his mother and siblings to participate in the
1969 Native American occupationThe occupation of Alcatraz was an occupation of Alcatraz Island by the group Indians Of All Tribes . The occupation lasted for nineteen months, from November 20, 1969, to June 11, 1971, and was forcibly ended by the U.S. Government.-Background:...
of Alcatraz. Today Bratt is an active supporter of such Native American causes as the
American Indian College FundThe American Indian College Fund is an organization that helps Native American students, providing them with support through scholarships and funding toward higher education...
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 ExperienceAmerican Experience is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
.
His brother,
Peter BrattPeter Bratt is a Swedish journalist. For many years he worked for the national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter until he stopped there in 2003. Through he career he has written many critical texts on the Swedish Social Democratic Party....
, wrote and directed
Follow Me HomeFollow Me Home, directed by activist and filmmaker Peter Bratt, explores spiritual and intercultural race relations through the lives of four artists, one African American, one Native American and two latin-american cousins, who embark on a crosscountry road trip to paint a mural on the White House...
, 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.
Schooling
In
San FranciscoSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
, Bratt attended
Lowell High SchoolLowell High School, a public magnet school in San Francisco, is the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi in the continental United States. Lowell was ranked #54 by Newsweek's Jay Mathews Challenge Index of best high schools of the United States in 2008 and #39 on U.S...
, where he developed his dramatic and oratory skills as a member of the
Lowell Forensic SocietyThe Lowell Forensic Society, founded in 1892, is the oldest high school speech and debate team in the nation and also the largest organization at Lowell High School in San Francisco, California. The society occupies Room 135, also known as "Leland Room," named after former Deputy Under Secretary of...
. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the
University of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Santa Barbara, California, northwest of Los Angeles...
, where he also joined the
Lambda Chi AlphaLambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's general fraternities in North America, by its own count, having initiated more than 270,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole,...
fraternity. Although accepted into the M.F.A. program at the
American Conservatory TheaterAmerican Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T.was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by theatre and opera director William Ball...
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 RobertsJulia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became well known during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman opposite Richard Gere, which grossed $463 million worldwide...
. He escorted her to the March 25, 2001
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
ceremony, at which she won the
Academy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. Three months later, in June 2001, they announced that they were no longer a couple.
Less than a year later, he married his pregnant girlfriend, actress
Talisa Soto-Early life:Soto was born Miriam Soto in Brooklyn, New York, where her parents moved to from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. Her parents relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts when she was still just a child. Soto's family was one of the few Puerto Rican families that resided in her neighborhood...
, 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 CurtisReynaldo "Rey" Curtis is a fictional character on the TV drama Law & Order, created by Ed Zuckerman and played by Benjamin Bratt from 1995 to 1999.-Character Overview:...
on the
television showA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
Law & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, which premiered on NBC on September 13, 1990. Created by Dick Wolf, the series is set in New York City, and follows the professional lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in...
. In 1999, he was nominated for an
Emmy AwardThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the series. His more popular films include
Miss Congeniality,
Blood in Blood outBlood in Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...
and
Traffic. On June 23, 2009, Bratt appeared on
The ViewThe View is an American talk show broadcast on American Broadcasting Company as part of ABC Daytime. Created by Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, who both also serve as the show's executive producers, the program features a panel of women as co-hosts...
to promote
The CleanerThe Cleaner is an A&E television series starring Benjamin Bratt. It debuted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm EST.It was produced by CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Network Television. It was then the company's only series not airing on a CBS-owned network.On September 25,...
. He also appeared in an episode of the hit series
CharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
as a
demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
.
On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Benjamin Bratt will guest-star on ABC's hit comedy,
Modern FamilyModern Family is an American single-camera mockumentary comedy TV series. The series currently airs 9:00 Wednesdays in the 2009-2010 season. The half-hour series, which was created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, is produced by Fox Television Studios...
, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bratt will play the ex-husband of
Sofia VergaraSofía Margarita Vergara is a Colombian model, actress and entrepreneur. Since she was raised bilingual in English and Spanish, this has been an expedient in her making the transition from being a performer in Latin America in Spanish to becoming one in the United States in the English language...
's Gloria.
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
Movies
- One Good Cop
One Good Cop is a 1991 film starring Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia and written and directed by Heywood Gould.-Plot:Artie Lewis is an NYPD cop who believes in his work, loves his wife Rita , and stands by his partner Stevie Diroma .Stevie is a single parent, and when Stevie is killed...
(1991)
- Shadowhunter (TV ) (1993)
- Demolition Man
Demolition Man is a 1993 American dystopian action film directed by Marco Brambilla, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne and Denis Leary....
(1993)
- Blood In Blood Out
Blood in Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...
(1993)
- Clear and Present Danger
Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on the book of the same name by Tom Clancy. It is a 1994 sequel to the 1992 film Patriot Games and was followed by a 2002 sequel The Sum of All Fears....
(1994)
- Texas
Texas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
(1994)
- The River Wild
The River Wild is a 1994 American thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, John C. Reilly, and Joseph Mazzello...
(1994)
- Follow Me Home
Follow Me Home, directed by activist and filmmaker Peter Bratt, explores spiritual and intercultural race relations through the lives of four artists, one African American, one Native American and two latin-american cousins, who embark on a crosscountry road trip to paint a mural on the White House...
(1996)
- Exiled: A Law & Order Movie
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie is a 1998 television movie that is based on the Law & Order television series; it originally aired on NBC...
(1998) (TV)
- The Next Best Thing
The Next Best Thing is a 2000 comedy-drama film, the final film directed by John Schlesinger. It stars Rupert Everett, Madonna, and Benjamin Bratt.-Plot:...
(2000)
- Red Planet
Red Planet is a 2000 science fiction film directed by Antony Hoffman, starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Val Kilmer. It was released on November 6 2000.-Plot:...
(2000)
- Miss Congeniality (2000)
- Traffic
Traffic is a 2000 crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, whose lives affect each other even though they do not meet...
(2000)
- After the Storm
After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Monica, released by J Records on June 17, 2003 in North America.The record saw the singer active in songwriting and producing, with re-teaming with producers and rappers Jermaine Dupri and chiefly produced by Missy Elliott...
(2001)
- Piñero
Piñero is a movie about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt, Talisa Soto, Rita Moreno and Loraine Velez.It was directed and written by Leon Ichaso and co-produced by John Leguizamo....
(2001)
- Abandon
Abandon is an American thriller film released by Paramount Pictures in the US and Buena Vista Distribution internationally in 2002. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, Abandon stars Katie Holmes as a college student whose boyfriend disappeared two years previously...
(2002)
- The Woodsman
The Woodsman is a 2004 film directed by Nicole Kassell. The movie stars Kevin Bacon as a convicted child molester who must adjust to life after prison.-Plot:...
(2004)
- Catwoman
Catwoman is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Pitof and released by Warner Brothers & Village Roadshow Pictures on July 23, 2004. It is inspired by the DC Comics character of the same name, who is traditionally a supervillain and love interest of the superhero Batman...
(2004)
- Thumbsucker
Thumbsucker is a 2005 film directed by Mike Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel of the same name. The movie focuses on teenager Justin Cobb and how he copes with his thumb sucking problem, and his experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs....
(2005)
- The Great Raid
The Great Raid is a 2005 war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan, adapted from William B. Breuer's book of the same name. It tells the story of the January 1945 liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. It is directed by John Dahl and stars...
(2005)
- Love in the Time of Cholera
Love in the Time of Cholera is a 2007 motion picture directed by Mike Newell. Based on the novel of the same name by Gabriel García Márquez, it tells the story of a love triangle between Fermina Daza and her two suitors, Florentino Ariza and Doctor Juvenal Urbino which spans 50 years, from 1880...
(2008)
- Trucker
Trucker is produced by Plum Pictures and is an independently financed film. While he has previously directed documentary films, script writer James Mottern makes Trucker his first movie directing debut.-Plot summary:...
(2008)
- La Mission (2009)
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 computer-animated film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released on September 18, 2009, and is loosely based on the children's book of the same name by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett.The film features the...
(2009) (voice of Manny)
Television series
- Nasty Boys(1989-1990)
- Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, which premiered on NBC on September 13, 1990. Created by Dick Wolf, the series is set in New York City, and follows the professional lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in...
(1990, 1995-1999)
- E-Ring
E-Ring is a television military drama, created by Ken Robinson and David McKenna and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, that premiered on NBC on September 21, 2005...
(2005)
- The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain is a 2008 science fiction miniseries, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin.-Plot:...
(2008 miniseries)
- The Cleaner
The Cleaner is an A&E television series starring Benjamin Bratt. It debuted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm EST.It was produced by CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Network Television. It was then the company's only series not airing on a CBS-owned network.On September 25,...
(2008-present)
- We Shall Remain (2009)
External links