Benjamin Bratt

Versatile film and television actor Benjamin Bratt came to prominence during the 1990s, with his Emmy Award-nominated work on TV’s “Law & Order” (NBC, 1990- ). But far from being typecast as the conservative Latin-American family man of his character Rey Curtis, Bratt enjoyed an impressive and varied film career as a smoldering romantic lead (“Love in the Time of Cholera”), a dangerous outlaw (“Traffic”), and a streetwise poet (“Pinero”). While he made a few appearances in lighter comedic films like “Miss Congeniality” (2000), Bratt’s thoughtful, composed screen presence was best used in high-stakes dramas, in between supporting roles in big budget thrillers. Bratt’s roles on TV’s Pentagon-set “E-Ring” (NBC, 2005-06) and gritty addiction serial “The Cleaner” (A&E;, 2008- ) established the actor’s significant depth and appeal as a television leading man.

Bratt was born Dec. 16, 1963. His paternal grandfather was Broadway actor George Bratt, but the grandson was raised in San Francisco, CA – mainly by his mother, a Peruvian-born nurse and Native American activist. His metalworker father was less a figure in Bratt’s younger days, though he was the one who encouraged his son to try out for a school play at Lowell High School, where Bratt was a member of the forensic society. But it was not until his four years at U.C. Santa Barbara, that he began to develop a serious interest in acting. He was cast in his first television gig while studying at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, cutting his Masters Degree program short to act fulltime. His first two pilots – "Juarez" and "Lovers, Partners & Spies" – did not sell, but he was on the air by 1988 in the short-lived "Knightwatch" (ABC), portraying an ex-gang leader who had become the leader of an anti-crime patrol loosely based on NYC's Guardian Angels. He followed with another short-lived series, Dick Wolf’s "Nasty Boys" (NBC, 1990).

Bratt's early work generally consisted of supporting roles as Latinos or Native Americans, and this was the case for his feature film debut in "Bright Angel” (1990) and the bigger hit, "Chains of Gold" (1990), where he portrayed a vicious drug dealer who keeps young Joey Lawrence in a cage in order to lure hero John Travolta to his den. He raised his profile further with roles in "One Good Cop" (1991), "Bound by Honor" (1993), and the Sylvester Stallone actioner "Demolition Man" (1993). Bratt garnered a lead in Taylor Hackford’s East L.A. neighborhood chronicle “Blood In, Blood Out” but found a much wider audience for his supporting role as a Native American ranger doomed in his attempt to help Meryl Streep in “The River Wild” (2004) and an American officer sent by the CIA to infiltrate the Colombian countryside in the Tom Clancy-based "Clear and Present Danger" (2004). The increased exposure led to a lead in the ABC miniseries "James A. Michener's Texas" (1995), and he developed his role as the proud, impatient Mexican Benito Garza as far as the subject material allowed.

In 1995, Bratt landed what would become one of the best-known roles of his career, joining the hit NBC series "Law & Order" in its sixth season. His character Reynaldo 'Rey' Curtis shared Bratt’s Latino-Indian and German background, and his family-oriented, youthful conservatism provided a marked contrast to the older, more liberal and cynical Det. Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). Bratt's insertion into the long-running series went smoothly, and audiences stuck by Rey even when he fell into the arms of another woman. The actor returned to film as the star and co-producer of "Follow Me Home" (1997), his brother Peter Bratt’s acclaimed filmmaking effort that explored issues of race and identity through four ethnically diverse bohemians who embark on a road trip to the nation’s capital. The film found an enthusiastic reception at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. In 1998 and 1999, Bratt’s role on “Law & Order” earned him awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series from American Latino Media Arts, and in 1999, when he decided to leave the series, he went out on a high note with a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination and favorite American actress Julia Roberts on his arm.

While the couple’s romance became an unrelenting target of Hollywood paparazzi, Bratt focused on resuming his film career and appeared in a number of significant films in 2000, including the Oscar nominee for Best Picture, Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” in which he portrayed the leader of a powerful Mexican drug cartel. On the other side of the law and exploring his range with comedy, Bratt also co-starred in “Miss Congeniality” as the partner of an FBI agent who goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant (Sandra Bullock). His less-successful efforts that year also included the sci-fi offering “Red Planet” (2000) and the critically lambasted Madonna vehicle “The Next Best Thing” (2000). Bratt's relationship with Julia Roberts ended in the spring of 2001 amid a flurry of media speculation, with the actor offering a dignified and tasteful explanation that "I've moved on.” He moved on in his career, as well, giving an incredible performance in John Leguizamo’s directorial debut “Pinero” (2001), a biopic of important New York literary figure Miguel Pinero, which earned Bratt an Award for Outstanding Actor from the American Latino Media Arts Awards.

In 2002, Bratt married his “Pinero” co-star Talisa Soto and starred in the panned college-set thriller "Abandon" (2002), playing opposite Katie Holmes as a detective investigating the disappearance of her boyfriend. The indie character-based drama “The Woodsman” (2004) earned substantially more critical accolades including multiple Independent Spirit Awards and a string of successful festival screenings. Bratt gave a strong supporting performance in the film as an understanding relative of a newly released ex-convict (Kevin Bacon) adjusting to life on the outside. His next high-profile film appearance was in the lackluster comic book adaptation "Catwoman" (2004), in which Bratt demonstrated a healthy dose of leading man charm and an enviable lack of ego that allowed him to be physically dominated on screen by Halle Berry and villainous Sharon Stone. Bratt had a small role as a suave movie star in the quirky indie comedy “Thumbsucker” (2005) and followed up with the lead in the big budget WWII picture “The Great Raid” (2005), which unfortunately was a financial flop.

The folks at NBC apparently admired Bratt’s performance as an Army Lieutenant, so promptly cast him to play a career military man and top-ranking Pentagon official alongside Dennis Hopper in the series “E-Ring” (NBC, 2005-06). Bratt resumed his film career by playing one point of the infamous lovers’ triangle in “Love in the Time of Cholera” (2007), a film adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ book, which most critics agreed reduced the grand story to an overwrought melodrama. On the small screen, Bratt starred as a scientist on a mission to eradicate a deadly virus from space in the Michael Crichton-based “The Andromeda Strain” (2008) which garnered excellent ratings and an Outstanding Miniseries Emmy Award nomination for the A&E; network. Bratt experienced continued success in television with A&E;’s series “The Cleaner” (2008-), where he starred as a reformed drug addict dedicated to helping others free themselves from addiction.

• Born:
  December 16, 1963 in San Francisco, California, USA
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Producer, Bus driver

Family

• Brother: Peter Bratt. Born Nov. 14, 1962; directed Follow Me Home (1997), produced by and starring Bratt
• Daughter: Sophia Rosalinda Bratt. Born Dec. 6, 2002; mother Talisa Soto
• Grandfather: George Bratt. Appeared on Broadway
• Mother: Eldy Bratt. Peruvian-born Quechua Indian; born 1937; immigrated to USA at age 14; divorced Bratt s father in 1968
• Sister: Georgia Bratt. Born in 1965
• Sister: Nadya Bratt. Born in 1961
• Son: Mateo Bravery Bratt. Born born Oct. 3, 2005 in Los Angeles; mother, Talisa Soto

Significant Others

• Companion: Jennifer Esposito. Met when she made guest appearance on Law & Order in 1996; had eight-month relationship
• Companion: Julia Roberts. Began dating in November 1997; acted together in historic 200th episode of Law & Order (NBC) in 1999; Split in 2001
• Companion: Jennifer Esposito. met when she made guest appearance on Law & Order in 1996; had eight-month relationship
• Companion: Julia Roberts. dating from November 1997; acted together in historic 200th episode of Law & Order in 1999; separated in spring 2001
• Companion: Monika McClure. began relationship c. 1990; separated c. 1996

Education

• Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA, 1982
• University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, BFA, 1986
• American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, CA, acting

Milestones

• 1969 At age five, participated with mother and other Native American activists in occupation of Alcatraz Island
• 1987 Made professional debut at Utah Shakespeare Festival
• 1988 Cast in title role of busted ABC pilot, Juarez
• 1988 Played lead in Knightwatch, a short-lived ABC series
• 1990 Feature film debut in Bright Angel ; followed with supporting role in Chains of Gold
• 1990 Starred as a Ninja-style Las Vegas cop in NBC series Nasty Boys , produced by Dick Wolf
• 1993 Drew praise for his work in Bound by Honor and Demolition Man
• 1994 Gained Hollywood s attention with supporting turns as the ranger doomed for trying to help Meryl Streep in The River Wild and as the field officer for American troops sent to infiltrate the Columbian countryside in Clear and Present Danger
• 1995 Appeared in the regular role of Det. Reynaldo Rey Curtis on NBC s Law & Order ; received Emmy nomination in 1999
• 1995 Starred in the ABC miniseries, Texas
• 1997 Produced and starred in brother Peter Bratt s Follow Me Home
• 2000 Cast opposite Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality
• 2000 Co-starred in Red Planet , about a space colony on Mars in the feature directorial debut of commercial helmer Antony Hoffman
• 2000 Made cameo appearance as a drug lord in Traffic
• 2000 Played the man Madonna is smitten with after conceiving a child with her gay best friend (Rupert Everett) in The Next Best Thing
• 2000 Starred in After the Storm , a film based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway
• 2001 Portrayed poet and playwright Miguel Pinero in biopic Pinero
• 2002 Co-starred with Katie Holmes in Abandon
• 2004 Played Det. Tom Lone, the love interest of Halle Barry s character in Catwoman
• 2004 Portrayed Lt. Col. Henry A. Mucci who lead the liberation of over 500 American prisoners-of-war from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the true story of The Great Raid
• 2004 Starred with Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick in The Woodsman ; premiered at sundance
• 2005 Portrayed Che Guevara in Andy Garcia s The Lost City, centered around a club owner in Havana, Cuba, during the 50 s
• 2005 Starred in the World War II drama The Great Raid, based on an incredible true story of the rescue of American prisoners of war held by Japanese enemy forces in the Philippines
• 2007 Played a lovesick romantic in Mike Newell s adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera
• 2008 Cast as an ex-addict who has become an extreme interventionist on the A&E; drama series, The Cleaner