Benjamin Bratt

Today we salute Benjamin Bratt! How you doin?  (Qechua descent - Peruvian tribe, on his mother's side)


Benjamin Bratt

Born: 16-Dec-1963
Birthplace: San Francisco, CA

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: Hispanic
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Hunk from Law & Order

In 1969, when Bratt was five years old, American Indian activists seized control of Alcatraz Island, an abandoned prison in San Francisco Bay. The prison had been closed for six years, but a long-ignored treaty stated that natives could claim any unoccupied federal land. Bratt's mother, a Quechua Indian from Peru, wasn't in the first landing party of Indians who took the island, but she arrived the next day, with Benjamin and his siblings. Before and after his time on Alcatraz, Bratt grew up in San Francisco, where he still lives. His parents were divorced, and Bratt was mostly raised by his mother, but as a teenager he lived with his father for several years. Bratt studied acting for six years, and eventually landed the role of Detective Reyaldo "Rey" Curtis in the cop drama Law and Order. The character's mestizo ancestry, a mix of Latino-Indian and German backgrounds, was the same as Bratt's.

Bratt was terrific in Red Planet, directed by his brother and touching on Native American issues both Bratts clearly feel strongly about. He was also excellent as poet Miguel Pinero in the 2002 film Pinero, but almost nobody saw either film. His more popular films include Miss Congeniality and Traffic.
His grandfather, George Bratt, was a semi-famous Broadway actor in the 1920s and 30s, appearing with James Cagney and Sydney Greenstreet in The Dybbuk and The Little Clay Cart.


Mother: Eldy Bratt (nurse, native American activist)
Brother: Peter Bratt (writer-director,)
Girlfriend: Monika McClure (documentary film production assistant, dated 1990-96)
Girlfriend: Jennifer Esposito (actress, dated in 1996)
Girlfriend: Julia Roberts (actress, dated 1998 to Jun-2001)
Wife: Talisa Soto (actress, m. 13-Apr-2002, one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Sophia Rosalinda Bratt (b. 6-Dec-2002)
Son: Mateo Braverly Bratt (b. 3-Oct-2005)


High School: Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA (1982)
    University: BFA Theater, University of California at Santa Barbara (1986)
    Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity
    Peruvian Ancestry
    TELEVISION
    Private Practice Dr. Jake Reilly (2011-)
    The Cleaner William Banks (2008-09)
    E-Ring Maj. Jim Tisnewski (2005-06)
    Law & Order Det. Reynaldo Curtis (1995-99)
    Knightwatch Tony Maldonado (1988-89)
    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (16-Sep-2009) [VOICE]
    La Mission (19-Jan-2009) · Che Rivera
    The Andromeda Strain (11-May-2008)
    Trucker (24-Apr-2008) · Len
    Love in the Time of Cholera (4-Oct-2007)
    The Great Raid (10-Aug-2005)
    Thumbsucker (23-Jan-2005)
    Catwoman (19-Jul-2004) · Tom Lone
    The Woodsman (19-Jan-2004)
    Abandon (14-Oct-2002)
    Piñero (31-Aug-2001)
    After the Storm (2001)
    Traffic (27-Dec-2000)
    Miss Congeniality (14-Dec-2000)
    Red Planet (6-Nov-2000) · Lt. Ted Santen
    The Acting Class (16-Oct-2000) · Himself
    The Last Producer (22-Aug-2000)
    The Next Best Thing (3-Mar-2000)
    Exiled (8-Nov-1998)
    Follow Me Home (1996)
    The River Wild (30-Sep-1994) · Ranger Johnny
    Clear and Present Danger (3-Aug-1994)
    Texas (1994) · Benito Garza
    Demolition Man (8-Oct-1993) · Alfredo Garcia
    Blood In, Blood Out: Bound by Honor (16-Apr-1993)
    Shadowhunter (1993)
    Chains of Gold (25-Jul-1991)
    Bright Angel (7-Jun-1991)
    One Good Cop (3-May-1991)

SOURCE: http://www.nndb.com/people/306/000031213/