Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an
American actor. He is most famous for his role as
Rey Curtis on the TV series
Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies
Blood in Blood Out,
Miss Congeniality,
Traffic, and
Piñero. He currently stars on the
A&E Network drama
The Cleaner.
[A&E's The Cleaner website]
Biography
Early life
Bratt was born in San Francisco, California, the son of nurse Eldy (née Banda) and a sheet metal worker father.
[Benjamin Bratt Biography (1963-)][[1]] Bratt's mother is a
Peruvian Indigenous activist; born in
Peru, she moved to the U.S. at age 14.
[How Hollywood Gave 'Cholera' a Delicate Treatment, washingtonpost.com][USA WEEKEND Magazine][edmontonsun.com - MovieNews - A rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches family story] and his father was an American of German and English descent
[Benjamin Pratt - Brief Article] They married December 30, 1960 in
San Francisco,
[Caliornia Marriage Index 1960-1985] but divorced in September 1967.
[Caliornia Divorce Index 1966-1984] Bratt's paternal grandfather, George Cleveland Bratt (March 5, 1893-March 29, 1984), was a Broadway actor who married his grandmother Wiltrude Hildner on August 6, 1920 in
Detroit, Michigan.
[Benjamin Bratt gets personal][Benjamin Bratt Biography on Yahoo! Movies][Michigan Marriages 1868-1925]
As a child, Bratt went with his mother and siblings to participate in the
1969 Native American occupation of
Alcatraz.
[Benjamin Bratt -Native Networks] Today Bratt is an active supporter of such Native American causes as the
American Indian College Fund[Benjamin Bratt -Native Networks] 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 Experience.
[We Shall Remain]
His brother,
Peter Bratt, wrote and directed
Follow Me Home, 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.
[www.friendshiphousesf.org/news.html]
Schooling
In
San Francisco, Bratt attended
Lowell High School, where he developed his dramatic and oratory skills as a member of the
Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also joined the
Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Although accepted into the M.F.A. program at the
American Conservatory Theater 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 Roberts. He escorted her to the March 25, 2001
Academy Awards ceremony, at which she won the
Academy Award for Best Actress. Three months later, in June 2001, they announced that they were no longer a couple.
[Julia Roberts Lays It on the Line - David Letterman, Julia Roberts]
Less than a year later, he married his pregnant girlfriend, actress
Talisa Soto, 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 Curtis on the
television show Law & Order. In 1999, he was nominated for an
Emmy Award for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the series. His more popular films include
Miss Congeniality,
Blood in Blood out and
Traffic. On June 23, 2009, Bratt appeared on
The View to promote
The Cleaner. He also appeared in an episode of the hit series
Charmed as a
demon.
On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Benjamin Bratt will guest-star on ABC's hit comedy,
Modern Family, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bratt will play the ex-husband of
Sofia Vergara's Gloria.
On October 23, it was announced that Bratt will return as Detective Reynaldo Curtis on Law & Order, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Curtis will reunite with his former boss, Lt. Anita van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), on an upcoming episode. Bratt was nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy for the role in 1999. After four seasons, he left the show that same year to pursue a film career.
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
Filmography
Movies
Television series
