Benicio Del Toro is potentially looking at another Best Supporting Actor Oscar statue next month at the Academy Awards, for is fun character of Sensei in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “One Battle After Another.” However, the chill karate instructor who tried his best to keep things zen wasn’t always going to be a peaceful fella, as he nearly got caught up in a murder plot in the original version of the script.
In a new piece from The Hollywood Reporter, speaking with both Del Toro and Anderson, it’s been revealed that the original path for Del Toro’s Sensei was going to be a much more violent one, rather than non-violent resistance. As an early draft of the film’s script had ex-revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Sensei (Del Toro) participating together in a double murder in his dojo, but that ultimately didn’t happen after the Oscar-nominated actor shared his objections with Anderson, leading to a more meaty performance, and creating a new fictionalized version of a modern underground railroad.
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Instead of instigating violence and death, which Del Toro didn’t see as a logical move, the actor suggested to Anderson that he envisioned his take on Sensei would quietly move these vulnerable families through this state-sponsored danger, becoming a protector rather than a troublemaker looking to harm others. Sensei’s dojo turned into a place of refuge for folks in need rather than a place of carnage. There was even an unused idea of blowing up the dojo using a controlled demolition (DiCaprio’s Bob being an established bomb expert), but it was another notion that was scrapped for logistical reasons.
“Benny planted this idea with me and Leo,” Anderson explained that the pivot wasn’t about downplaying violence but about a more logical take on events. “It was a very good idea that led to significantly more dramatic possibilities with his character and the overall shape of the film.”
That morphing of Del Toro’s character/narrative switch helped Anderson with a frustrating section of the film set in Baktan Cross (a fictional border town set in the real El Paso), culminating in a raid. “It was constantly changing and never found its target. Until Benny suggested the ‘Latino Harriet Tubman situation,’” the director said of the pivot, referring to Sensei’s epic migrant smuggling operation fleshing out the version we saw on screen. “That made everything fall into place.”
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Del Toro walks away with the statue, but he has plenty of stiff competition, including against co-star Sean Penn. Others vying for the award include Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”), Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”), and Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”). “One Battle After Another” has thirteen nominations in total, so it has better than normal shots at major awards on March 15.
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