Benjamin Bratt
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Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' The River Wild'' (1994). From 1995 to 1999, he starred as Detective Reynaldo Curtis on the NBC drama series ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'', for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In the 2000s, Bratt appeared in ''Miss Congeniality'' (2000), ''Traffic'' (2000), '' Piñero'' (2001), ''Catwoman'' (2004), ''Trucker'' (2008), ''Snitch'' (2013), among other films. On television, Bratt has portrayed Dr. Jake Reilly on ABC's ''Private Practice'' (2011–2013), Steve Navarro on '' 24: Live Another Day'' (2014), Jahil Rivera on ''Star'' (2016–2018) and Senator Bail Organa on '' Andor'' (2025). He has also done voice acting in the ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' film franchise (2009–2013), '' Despicable Me 2'' (2013) and ''Coco'' (2017).


Early life and education

Bratt was born on December 16, 1963, in San Francisco, California the third of five children of Eldy (née Banda), a nurse and political activist, and Peter Bratt Sr., a sheet metal worker. His mother was born in
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, Peru, and is of Quechua descent. She moved to the United States with her family at age 14. His father has English, German, and Austrian ancestry. His paternal grandfather, George, was a Broadway actor. An activist for Native American rights, Bratt's mother took Bratt (age 6) and her other children to participate in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz. Led by young people from San Francisco, it raised national awareness of issues facing Native Americans and attracted participants from across the country. Bratt attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the
University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
in 1986, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he left before receiving his degree to star in the 1988 television film ''Juarez''.


Career


Early work

Bratt started his professional acting career at the
Utah Shakespeare Festival The Utah Shakespeare Festival is a theatrical festival that performs works by Shakespeare as its cornerstone. The Festival is held during the summer and fall on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the ...
, where he played supporting roles in Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and The Comedy of Errors during their 1987 season. He starred in the 1988 television film ''Juarez'' which received critical acclaim. He then landed a supporting role in the television film ''Police Story: Gladiator School''. He had his first film role as Esteban in ''Lovers, Partners & Spies'', which did not perform well at the box office. Bratt worked extensively in television, with roles in the '' Knightwatch'' and ''Nasty Boys'' series. In 1989, he starred in the film ''Nasty Boys'', based on the television series.


Hollywood breakthrough and success

After several low-budget films and television films, including '' One Good Cop'' and ''Shadow Hunter'', in 1993, Bratt appeared in two Hollywood films. He portrayed a gang member turned LAPD officer named Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out'', and Officer Alfredo Garcia in ''Demolition Man''. The following year, he played supporting roles in the popular films '' The River Wild'', ''Clear and Present Danger'', and '' James A. Michener's Texas''. Returning to television, he played Detective Reynaldo Curtis in the series ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' replacing Chris Noth, which gained him international recognition. He reprised the role in '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and '' Exiled: A Law & Order Movie''. For his role, he received three American Latino Media Arts Awards, three
Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
nominations, and a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
nomination. In 1999, Bratt decided to leave ''Law & Order''. "I've felt like it was time to get back home to my family," Bratt said. "How do you walk away from the best job in the world and a group of people that you've grown to love? It's not easy, and it was an extremely difficult decision that I had to make." On May 26, 1999, Bratt's final episode was aired. In 2009, Bratt returned as the now-retired Curtis on ''Law & Order'', where he was reunited with his former boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren ( S. Epatha Merkerson), in the episode that aired on December 11, 2009. He returned to his film career that same year.


Later work

In 2000, Bratt appeared in '' The Next Best Thing''. That same year, he played opposite
Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
in the romantic comedy '' Miss Congeniality'' and had a small role in the ensemble work ''
Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
''. In 2004, the actor co-starred in ''
Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...
''. Bratt often portrays
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
characters, especially in his later work. Bratt said, "I've played 'Latin-looking spiv, third from the right so many times I can't count." In 2001, he starred in the biopic film '' Piñero'', for which he received an American Latino Media Arts Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. He played Puerto Rican actor and poet Miguel Piñero. Piñero was bisexual and when talking about Bratt having to portray his bisexuality, Bratt stated that this was "certainly something I wasn't afraid of." He went on to say, "Whether you're talking about Miguel's sexuality or his time spent in jail or his petty crime or his drug addiction, each one of those things is a component that makes up the entirety of the man." In 2009, Bratt performed in ''The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian
Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian and a veteran of World War II. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn ...
's ''A People's History of the United States''. That year he starred in and produced the film '' La Mission'', directed by his brother, Peter Bratt. His later films include '' The Woodsman'', '' Thumbsucker'', '' The Great Raid'', '' Trucker'', '' Snitch'', '' Ride Along 2'', '' The Infiltrator'', and ''
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
''. Bratt has appeared in several television shows since 2000, including starring as William Banks in ''The Cleaner'', Dr. Jake Reilly in ''Private Practice'', and Jahil Rivera on ''Star''. He appeared in such series as ''
Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
'', '' Modern Family'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', '' DMZ'', and '' Poker Face''. Bratt has been featured in five animated feature films, which include El Macho, the main antagonist of '' Despicable Me 2''. He played Manny the cameraman in ''
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' is a children's book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. It was first published in 1978 by Atheneum Books, followed by a 1982 trade paperback edition from sister company Aladdin Pap ...
'' and reprised his role in its sequel '' Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2''. Also, in 2015, he voiced
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters.'' In the 2017 film '' Coco'', Bratt voiced its main antagonist, Ernesto de la Cruz, who was a Mexican folk legend and the idol of the film's protagonist, Miguel. Bratt sings " Remember Me", a song in the film that is sung by many other characters throughout and won Best Original Song at the 2018 Academy Awards and the film won Best Animated Feature. In 2025, Bratt joined the cast of the
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' series '' Andor'' for its second season, portraying Senator Bail Organa, who had previously been played by Jimmy Smits in prior ''Star Wars'' productions.


Activism and philanthropy

Bratt has been active in the
American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...
and supports such causes as the
American Indian College Fund The American Indian College Fund is a nonprofit organization that helps Native American students, providing them with support through scholarships and funding toward higher education. The fund provides an average of 6,000 annual scholarships ...
. He narrated '' We Shall Remain'' (2009), a PBS miniseries about Native Americans, and part of its ''
American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
''. Bratt has supported and served as a board member of the San Francisco Bay Area's Friendship House Association of American Indians and the Native American Health Center. Bratt also has supported area organizations such as the Tribal Athletics Program, and United Indian Nations. In 2002, Bratt and Priscilla López received the Rita Moreno Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). In 2017, Bratt served as consulting producer for the film '' Dolores'', which explores the life of Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist. The film received critical acclaim and several awards. In 2023, Bratt co-executive produced ''Wings of Dust'', a documentary about water contamination in the Peruvian community of Espinar.


Personal life

From 1998 to 2001, Bratt dated actress Julia Roberts. In 2002, he began dating actress and former Bond girl Talisa Soto; they married on April 13 in San Francisco. The two had met ten years earlier during a casting audition. During the filming of '' Piñero'' (2001) they began to develop a relationship. 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 2024, Bratt was awarded an honorary doctorate by
San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bratt, Benjamin 1963 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American Conservatory Theater alumni American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Peruvian descent American people of Quechua descent Hispanic and Latino American male actors Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni Male actors from San Francisco Mission District, San Francisco University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners