Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actor.

Biography

Early life

Bratt was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Eldy (née Banda), a nurse, and a father who was a sheet metal worker. Bratt's father was an American of German and English descent and his mother is a Quechua Native American activist; she was born in Peru and moved to the U.S. at age fourteen. Bratt's paternal grandfather, George Cleveland Bratt, was a Broadway actor.

Schooling

In San Francisco, California, 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 Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Although accepted into the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, California, he left before receiving his degree (to star in the television series, Juarez, which never aired).

Career

Bratt's best-known role was 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.

Personal life

Bratt dated Julia Roberts for three years. On April 13, 2002, in San Francisco, he married actress Talisa Soto, whom he 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.

As a child, Bratt's mother took Bratt along with his siblings to participate in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz. Today Bratt is an active supporter of Native American causes such as the American Indian College Fund.

His brother, Peter Bratt, wrote and directed Follow Me Home, casting Benjamin as Abel.

Filmography

Movies

• Shadowhunter (TV ) (1993)
• Demolition Man (1993)
• Blood In Blood Out (1993)
• Clear and Present Danger (1994)
• Texas (1994)
• Bound By Honor (1994)
• The River Wild (1994)
• Follow Me Home (1996)
• Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998) (TV)
• The Next Best Thing (2000)
• Red Planet (2000)
• Miss Congeniality (2000)
• Traffic (2000)
• After the Storm (2001)
• Piñero (2001)
• Abandon (2002)
• The Woodsman (2004)
• Catwoman (2004)
• Thumbsucker (2005)
• The Great Raid (2005)
• Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
• Guerrilla (2008)
• Trucker (2008)

Television series

• Nasty Boys(1989-1990)
• Law & Order (1990, 1995-1999)
• E-Ring (2005)
• The Andromeda Strain (2008 miniseries)
• The Cleaner (2008-)

References

External links

• Benjamin Bratt profile at NNDB
• Rare 1989-1990 Footage of Benjamin Bratt Behind the Scenes of Dick Wolf's "Nasty Boys"
• Article "Emmy-Nominated Actor Benjamin Bratt"