Benicio del Toro Almost Couldnāt Star in āOne Battle After Anotherā: 'There Were Many Obstacles'
- - Benicio del Toro Almost Couldnāt Star in āOne Battle After Anotherā: 'There Were Many Obstacles'
Tommy McArdle, Raven BrunnerJanuary 27, 2026 at 6:37 AM
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Benicio Del Toro as Sensei St. Carlos in One Battle After Another.
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Benicio del Toro noted that he almost did not appear in One Battle After Another when he spoke at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Jan. 6
Del Toro portrays a karate sensei named Sergio St. Carlos in the movie; he won the event's Best Supporting Actor award
The Academy Award winner was recently Oscar nominated for his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's film
As surprising as it sounds, Benicio del Toro almost did not appear in One Battle After Another.
Del Toro, 58, referenced the work that went into ensuring his schedule aligned with the movie's filming schedule when he spoke at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 6, as he was presented with the event's Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the movie as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos.
"I think that's how this movie was made and perhaps why I'm here, because there were many obstacles with the schedule and at moments it felt like I wasn't going to be able to be a part of One Battle After Another," del Toro said, after he credited director Paul Thomas Anderson with instilling a mindset of "persistence" on the movie's set.
"But there were a lot of people that were very persistent. They felt that I had to [do the movie], that Sensei had to come for me," he added in his speech.
Benicio del Toro on Jan. 6, 2026
Cindy Ord/Getty
Del Toro appears as a karate instructor who teaches Bob Ferguson's (Leonardo DiCaprio) daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), martial arts; Bob seeks out Sergio after he learns that government agents led by villain Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) are seeking to capture him and Willa in retribution for Bob's past work with a revolutionary militant group. Sergio, a community leader in the fictional city of Baktan Cross, Calif., proves a capable ally to Bob throughout the movie as he evades law enforcement and fights to reunite with his daughter after she is kidnapped.
DiCaprio, 51, shared in a September interview with ScreenRant that the movie ceased production while they waited for del Toro's schedule to open up so he could play the character.
"I have to say that both of these actors have inspired me my whole career," del Toro said of DiCaprio and Penn, 65, at the Jan. 6 event. "But it's kind of a little crazy for me, because I'm a fan. And so to have these two guys put in their heads that I had to play Sensei [was] pretty impressive, and they were very persistent."
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Leonardo Di Caprio as Bob Ferguson and Benicio Del Toro as Sensei St. Carlos in One Battle After Another.
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
"They didn't sit there and let the stars align with this. They really fought very hard to create time so that I could be in One Battle After Another," del Toro added.One Battle After Another is streaming on HBO Max now.
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Source: āAOL Entertainmentā
