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Benicio del Toro tells PEOPLE his honest reaction to Chelsea Handler flirting with him at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards
"I need you in more movies, in more TV shows, in room 708 at the Andaz Hotel tonight," Handler said to Benicio at the awards show
Del Toro has received awards buzz for his role in One Battle After Another with Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn
Benicio del Toroenjoys being admired.
TheOne Battle After Anotherstar, 58, exclusively tells PEOPLE his honest reaction toChelsea Handlerflirting with him at the2026 Critics Choice Awardswhile attending the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 6 in New York City.
"I thought it was pretty funny," del Toro says, before adding that he also thought "it was pretty sexy."
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The actor has received awards buzz for playing sensei Sergio St. Carlos inOne Battle After Another, oppositeLeonardo DiCaprioandSean Penn.
On Jan. 4, thePaul Thomas Anderson-directed movie won Best Picture and Best Director at the Critics Choice Awards, where del Toro was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
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Handler, who hosted the award show, flirted with del Toro duringher opening monologue. "I love Leo and Benicio together, getting s---faced to get s--- done," she said.
"I respect that," Handler, 50, continued. "Benicio, where are you? You've had a phenomenal year this year, and we need to see more of you." In response, the actor nodded along, while glancing over to his seatmate DiCaprio.
But the host wasn't done talking to him from the stage. "Stop being so selective about what you do," she said. "I need you in more movies, in more TV shows, in room 708 at the Andaz Hotel tonight."
The Oscar winner kept his cool in the hot seat and simply flashed a smile.
Critics Choice/Youtube
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Del Toro is alsonominated for a Golden Globefor his latest role, 25 years after he won for the crime dramaTraffic.
He took home the award for Best Supporting Actor at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and said in his acceptance speech that his costars DiCaprio and Penn "have inspired me my whole career."
"It's kind of a little crazy for me, because I'm a fan. So to have these two guys put in their head that I had to play Sensei was pretty impressive, and they were very persistent," del Toro said. "They didn't sit there and let the stars align with this. They really fought very hard to create time so that I could be inOne Battle After Another."
"It's an honor to be in a film with those two guys," he added.
Read the original article onPeople
