‘Hi, is that the devil? Can I interest you in my soul…?’ We don’t know exactly what the conversation was that got Benicio Del Toro doing adverts for Magnum Gold, but we’re prepared to bet it was something similar.
We’ve always admired Del Toro. He put in the hard graft in nothing roles in the early ’90s before getting his big break as Fenster in Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects. He was incredible in that line up scene, spitting out the words ‘Hand me the’ keys you fuckin’ cocksucker, what the fuck?’ in a language that barely sounded human, never mind English.
That was the thing about Del Toro – he wasn’t prepared to compromise. A Puerto Rican native with Spanish and Italian blood, he was excitingly exotic and determinedly apart from the system. He never looked like he was trying to fit in. Even as his profile grew, he stuck to scripts and directors that had something different to offer, playing Dr Gonzo in Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or the overweight, exhausted-looking Javier Rodriguez in Traffic.
In 2008, he followed Steven Soderbergh into the jungle for his Che double-header, but that bruising experience seems to have wrought a change on everybody involved. Soderbergh described it to us as ‘fucking insane’, and ever since he got back, Del Toro seems to have lost his moviemaking marbles – and his credibility will be next to go.
Exhibit A is The Wolfman – a pure paycheck gig that the old Del Toro wouldn’t have touched with a shit-stick. Perhaps for the first time, all the fraught, muscular energy that has defined Del Toro’s best roles was boiled down to a simple schtick, brooding eyebrows and the trace of that accent taking the place of real acting.
But that was just the prelude to the ice-cream fiasco. Del Toro, formerly one of the most rugged and authentic actors of his generation, is the face of Magnum Gold. Taking the place of… Eva Longoria. A desperate fucking housewife.
The ad itself is a glossy, overlit and shambolic pastiche of Mr and Mrs Smith meets Entrapment in which an overweight looking Del Toro tarts around with some sub-Angelina Jolie look-a-like in a ridiculous black jumpsuit while breaking into a bank vault full of gold… Magnum Gold! It’s narrated by Voiceover Man with the kind of knowing irony that stopped being funny, um… Okay, it was never funny.
Why did he do it? Best case scenario: he likes the taste and thought, ‘Why not?’ But coupled with that Wolfman decision, it looks like something more pernicious. Like an actor resting on his laurels and cashing in on his reputation. Perhaps he’s just got divorced or wants to move house. But if this is the new Del Toro, his old fan base won’t be coming with him.
