Born in San Francisco, California

December 16, 1963

Bratt was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Eldy (née Banda), a nurse, and a father who was a sheet metal worker. Bratt's father was an American of German and English descent and his mother is a Quechua Native American activist; she was born in Peru and moved to the U.S. at age fourteen. Bratt's paternal grandfather, George Cleveland Bratt, was a Broadway actor. In San Francisco, California, Bratt attended Lowell High School, where he developed his dramatic and oratory skills as a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt went on to earn a B.F.A. at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he also joined Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Although accepted into the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, California, he left before receiving his degree to star in the television series, Juarez, which never aired. His brother, Peter Bratt, wrote and directed Follow Me Home, casting Benjamin as Abel.

Blood in Blood out

April 16, 1993

Blood In Blood Out (also known as Bound by Honor) is a 1993 crime drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo (Damian Chapa), Cruz (Jesse Borrego) and Paco (Benjamin Bratt) from 1972 through to the mid 1980s. They start out as members of the street gang Vatos Locos "in East los" East Los Angeles, and as dramatic incidents occur, their lives and friendships are forever changed.

Demolition Man

October 8, 1993

The film is a story about two men, one an evil crime lord and the other a risk-taking police officer, who are cryonically frozen in the year 1996 and reawakened to face each other in 2032, by which point Los Angeles, now called San Angeles, has become part of a planned city.

Law & Order

September 20, 1995 - May 26, 1999

Bratt's best-known role was that of Det. Rey Curtis on the television show Law & Order. In 1999, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the series.

Dated Julia Roberts

January 1, 1997 - January 1, 2001

Bratt dated Julia Roberts for three years.

Red Planet

November 6, 2000

In A.D. 2045, the Earth is in ecologic crisis as a consequence of pollution and overpopulation. Meanwhile, automated interplanetary missions have seeded Mars with atmosphere-producing algae as the first stage in terraforming the planet. Twelve years later, when the oxygen quantity produced by the algae is inexplicably reduced, the crew of Mars-1 must learn why, and continue the mission of terraforming the red planet for human colonization.

Miss Congeniality

December 22, 2000

Miss Congeniality is a 2000 comedy/thriller film directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt.

Gracie Hart (Bullock) is an FBI agent who goes undercover in the fictional Miss United States scholarship program/beauty pageant in San Antonio, Texas on the lookout for a serial bomber. She is a feminist who is not traditionally attractive, and is turned into a more attractive woman going by the name of Gracie Lou Freebush, with the same tomboyish habits. She is seen overreacting to a gun-toting Texan, wearing a Tyrolean for her talent competition, much to the dismay of her mentor, Victor Melling (Caine) and the director of the competition and former queen, Kathy Morningside (Bergen), and using her on-stage talent to demonstrate self-defense techniques.

Traffic

January 5, 2001

Traffic is a 2000 crime/drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh. It explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, whose lives affect each other even though they do not meet.

Married to Talisa Soto

April 13, 2002 - Now

On April 13, 2002, in San Francisco, Bratt married actress Talisa Soto, whom he met while filming Piñero.

Sexiest Man in Hollywood

October 23, 2002

Bratt was named the Sexiest Man in Hollywood in a poll of cable channel E!

Daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt Born

December 6, 2002

Bratt's first child, with wife Talisa Soto, daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, was born on December 6, 2002.

Son Mateo Bravery Bratt Born

October 3, 2005

Bratt's second child, son Mateo Bravery Bratt was born on October 3, 2005, in Los Angeles.

Trucker

April 23, 2008

Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan) is a truck driver who leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking. One night her 11 year old son Peter (Jimmy Bennett) who she hasn't seen since he was a baby shows up at her door. Peter's father Len (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital and Diane is suddenly burdened with the responsibility of taking care of her son. Also appearing in Trucker are Nathan Fillion as Dianne's neighbour and Joey Lauren Adams.

The Andromeda Strain

May 26, 2008

The Andromeda Strain is a 2008 science-fiction miniseries, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin.