| “ | The way that he’s written and the way that it ended up unfolding, it just ended up being such a charming and fun guy to be around and to see on screen. It was fun to be able to throw in a smile once in a while before you kill somebody, you know?
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| ― Tony Dalton on playing Lalo Salamanca |
Álvaro Luis Bernat Dalton (born February 13, 1975), known professionally as Tony Dalton, is a Mexican-American actor, screenwriter, and producer.
For much of his career, Dalton has acted in Mexican films, television shows, and stage plays. He is best known in the United States for his portrayal of Lalo Salamanca in Better Call Saul, a role he has gained recognition for.
History[]
Having studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City, Tony Dalton began his career in several off-Broadway productions, including The Ballad of the Sad Café, A Streetcar Named Desire, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
After foraying into television and film, his first major feature appearance was in Matando Cabos, where he both starred and co-wrote the screenplay. He later was the lead in Sultanes del Sur, which he also wrote; he later appeared in Colombiana, and Luis Estrada’s The Perfect Dictatorship, among other roles. Simultaneously, he continued to perform in theatre, playing the roles of ‘George’ in Bernard Slades' Same Time Next Year and as ‘Paul Zara’ in Beau Willimon's Farragut North. Recent films include La Boda de Valentina and Ni tuyo ni mía.
In television, he led the hit series Los Simuladores, playing the role of ‘Mario Santos,’ the logistics and planning specialist and leader of the elite con artist team. He played a series regular role in Duenos del Paraiso, followed by a role in Netflix’s Sense8. He was the lead of the International Emmy®-winning HBO Latin America series Sr. Avila as the titular ‘Robert Avila’, a middle-class life insurance salesman who secretly operates as an experienced hit man and, ultimately, ruthless mob boss.
Dalton was cast as Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca, a nephew of Hector Salamanca, in Better Call Saul. He first appeared as Lalo in the show's fourth season, before becoming the central antagonist of Seasons 5 and 6. Dalton has received critical acclaim and recognition for his role as Lalo. In 2021, Dalton was casted in the Marvel miniseries Hawkeye as Jack Duquesne, after the show's producer was impressed with Dalton's role as Lalo.[1]
Appearances[]
Better Call Saul[]
| Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | |||||||||||||
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| Season 3 | |||||||||||||
| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||
| Season 5 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||
| Season 6 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- According to Dalton, Lalo Salamanca was not originally meant to be very charming; he felt the series needed someone "kind of smiling and carefree and a little bit mischievous" like Jimmy but "in the bad guy's part".
- Dalton took inspiration from Samuel L. Jackson's character Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction to create this "[k]ind of this smart ass, sort of scary but kind of carefree, kind of cool guy", as well as the negative characters portrayed by Jack Nicholson. He also sought to move away from his role in the TV series Sr. Ávila as a hitman with "zero personality" whom he likened to a wall.
- Dalton toned down Lalo's Mexican accent because of his belief that the character, given his wealth, was educated in a "good school" in the United States. Instead, he went for an accent that he had developed from growing up around Laredo, Texas.
- Dalton gave Lalo a more upbeat personality to show the character's normally easy take on life and distance him from the typical portrayal of cartel members as serious about their work.
- Dalton did his own stunt in "Winner": Lalo's jump through the TravelWire store roof before he kills the manager, Fred Whalen. While Dalton wanted to do other stunts, such as jumping onto Jimmy's car in "Bad Choice Road" and from the roof of his house in "Something Unforgivable", the producers insisted on stunt performers.
External links[]
- Tony Dalton at Wikipedia