Benicio Del Toro's profile has risen over the year. However, the Puerto Rican thespian is about to raise his level to that of a superstar after joining the cast to the highly anticipated "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Empire reports, "Del Toro has signed a Samuel L. Jackson-style multi-film contact, the sort that most of Marvel's main actors have been locked into, but one that, like Jackson, will let him pop up across various films without having to carry the main acting load. Is he a hero? A villain? Place your bets now and make your suggestions in the comments or on Twitter."
Del Toro is famous for his leading performance as Ernesto Che Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's two part film "Che." He also performed Soderbergh's "Traffic," for which he won an Academy Award. His turn in "21 Grams" also received an Oscar nomination. He also had performances in such major Blockbusters as "Sin City," The Wolfman," and "Savages."
Del Toro is currently linked to a number of high profile projects including an untitled Terrence Malick film. He will also portray drug lord Pablo Escobar in "Paradise Lost" and will also star alongside Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice."
The news comes days after Karen Gillan and Glenn Close were confirmed to play major roles in the upcoming series. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace and Michael Rooker are already cast in the film. James Gunn has been hired to direct the movie, which will be released on August 1, 2014. Gunn directed "Slither" and a segment from "Movie 43." He is also known for his work on the TV series "PG Porn" and "Humanzee!"