Benicio del Toro reveals what it was REALLY like to work with all-star cast featuring Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch for Wes Anderson film
Benicio del Toro has revealed what it was really like to work with such an all-star cast on the latest Wes Anderson film.
The Puerto Rican actor, 58, stars in The Phoenician Scheme alongside Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton.
But as with most Wes Anderson flicks it also features a star-studded ensemble, with cameos from the likes of Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Appearing on the Soundtracking with Edith Bowman podcast, Benicio lifted the lid on how it feels working with half of Hollywood.
'You know, you work with an incredible cast from Michael, Sarah, and Mia Threapleton,' he said. 'It's just, I mean, and then all these cameos, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson.
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'I mean, it's like Tom Hanks and Brian Cranston. Rupert Friend. It's just an incredible group of talent that it just, as you're going through this experience of filming it, they just make you stronger and funnier and smarter.'
Benicio gushed over how intricate Michael and Mia's abckstories were before he added: 'I think that it's a testament to Wes's Vision and his skill as a writer. His imagination and vision, you know.
'I mean and directing and everything else, you know and humour I mean, he's just a funny guy and you know.
'I think I'm much funnier in this movie than I've ever been in my life.'
Elsewhere in the podcast, Benicio said that a signed copy of David Bowie's film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' is one of his most treasured possessions.
The actor is a Bowie super-fan and he was once lucky enough to work with the late rock legend on the 1996 film Basquiat, which is about the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Benicio owned the 1976 science-fiction film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' - which stars Bowie as alien Thomas Jerome Newton who is on a mission to transport water back to his drought-suffering home planet - and had to get his musical hero to add his signature to his copy.
He said: 'My introduction to Bowie was 'Let's Dance' and on the other album that had 'Blue Jean', the follow-up, but I've always admired him.
'But I do remember, you know, I had a laser disc of The Man Who Fell to Earth, I love that movie.
'Well, he did sign the laser disc for me. And I, I really treasure that, you know?
'It was like, I don't know, I had this thing of going, like, 'Hey, you gotta sign this.' And it was just very gentle.
'I just love that album Live Santa Monica '72 and Station to Station, Low.
'He had a lot of, like, you know crowd rock with Brian Eno. They had a lot of stuff going on.'
When working on 'Basquiat' with Bowie - who played pop artist Andy Warhol in the movie - Benicio admits it was a surreal moment being face-to-face with his idol.
In a previous interview with UPROXX, Benicio said of Bowie: 'I remember walking into the makeup trailer, and there he was. And he just sat right next to me.
' He was very normal. Very normal, very polite. I was just like beside myself sitting there looking at myself and going like, "Can you believe it?"
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