EXCLUSIVE: First Details on Benicio del Toro's Role in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 22 Jun 2009, 3:10 PM



When the pop band Rooney recently blogged that some of its members would be appearing in Somewhere, the next film directed by Sofia Coppola (the lead singer, Robert Schwartzman, is Coppola's cousin), an intriguing bit of potential scoop was let out of the bag. Focus Features has already announced the film's eclectic cast - Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, and Jacka$$ stuntman Chris Pontius are its topliners - but the blog post seemed to reveal that Somewhere also starred Benicio del Toro. Movieline can now confirm that del Toro is indeed in the film, as well as shed light on his role.

Somewhere stars Dorff as a bad-boy actor holed up in the Chateau Marmont who gets a reality check when he's unexpectedly visited by his daughter (played by Fanning). We already noted that del Toro's own bad-boy lore includes a certain pit stop at the Chateau, and it looks like he'll be putting in a return appearance: his Somewhere role involves a brief run-in with Dorff's actor at the historic hotel.

Still, the Oscar winner's A-list star wattage won't throw the film's unlikely casting out of whack, as we hear his part is a mere cameo.

Somewhere is Coppola's first film since 2006's Marie Antoinette, while del Toro is awaiting the release of his delayed passion project The Wolf Man later this year.

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Sofia Coppola Comes Out of Hiding:

After four years female director Sofia Coppola is finally in production of her latest project: Somewhere. Somewhere is centered around a hard-living Hollywood actor (Stephen Dorff) re-examines his life after his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) surprises him with a visit (IMDB).

Benicio del Toro has joined the cast and had already completed his cameo appearance within production. Toro's part was completed at Chateau Marmont, where Coppola's latest film is set. Focus Features CEO James Schamus describes Somewhere as "witty, moving and empathetic qualities that characterize all [of Sofia's] work."

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