Laid-back ladies man

As anyone familiar with his on-screen performances will confirm, Benicio Del Toro takes the concept of laidback cool to a whole new level. But when he shuffles into the Covent Garden Hotel, his heavy-lidded eyes looking like he's just gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson, I can't help thinking of a grizzly bear recently emerged from hibernation. "The jetlag really hit me this time," he says by way of explanation. "It's five in the morning LA-time. And I usually go to bed at four."

Del Toro, 37, cuts an imposing figure. Six foot two, his topheavy frame is further accentuated by an unruly mane and a bulky pin-striped suit teamed with surprisingly dainty Oxford lace-ups. His shirt is unbuttoned to mid-chest, and he is sporting an array of chunky, silver jewellery. The overall impression is a genetic splicing of Brad Pitt and singer Tom Waits.

In spite of the jetlag (though he insists those dark rings under his eyes have been a permanent fixture since he was a child), it's easy to see why the Puerto Rican-born star is such a favourite with female audiences. "Being called a ladies' man is just a cross us Latin men have to bear," he says of his lothario reputation.

"Yes, some girls throw themselves at you, but it's not as peachy as one might think," he continues. "There's a big sense of responsibility. It's almost like you've been entrusted with tons of money and the temptation to spend it is huge. I might borrow a little here and there, but you have to keep it in check because it can lead to problems."

Is he currently in a relationship? "Yeah sure, I'm a sexy guy. But I'm not engaged or anything. I've been linked with people" - he is rumoured to have dated Alicia Silverstone, Minnie Driver and was recently spotted with Bafta-winner Scarlett Johannson - "but really when it comes to that kind of thing ... I'm pretty mellow."

Mellow is Del Toro's natural state. Like Marlon Brando, to whom he is frequently compared, his approach to Hollywood is almost suicidally nonchalant. He routinely passes on big-budget productionsin favour of quirkier, more challenging movies. But when he dives into a project it's with both feet, turning out performances which range from brave and uncompromising to bordering on the insane.

And yet pushing the thespian envelope hasn't stopped Del Toro strolling off with an impressive haul of gongs. In 2001 he bagged an Oscar for his portrayal of an embattled Tijuana policeman in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic.

Nominated again this year in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in 21 Grams, he lost out at Sunday's ceremony to Tim Robbins. But, as you would expect, he's not getting worked up about it, shrugging off any disappointment, saying, "You know, the Oscars ... well, it's a nice party". Del Toro adds that winning the Oscar for Traffic didn't change his life one iota, "except for people bringing it up all the time in interviews".

He claims to have no other films lined up (though, according to other sources, he has three projects in the pipeline, including a Che Guevara biopic and one with British director Jonathan Glazer).

He is toying with the idea of a future behind the camera. In 1995 he wrote and directed a short film called Submission, shown at the Venice Film Festival, and he's hoping to direct a screen version of Hunter S Thompson's The Rum Diaries.