LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- The decision to make `` Che '' was an easy one , Benicio Del Toro says . Filming the movie was anything but . Benicio Del Toro stars as Latin American revolutionary Ernesto `` Che '' Guevara . `` I have to say it probably is the most difficult movie I 've ever made , and I 've made a few , '' Del Toro says of his starring role in director Steven Soderbergh 's Spanish-language biopic . One of Hollywood 's most bankable stars , Del Toro has made a name for himself playing dark and brooding characters in movies like `` 21 Grams , '' `` The Usual Suspects , '' and `` Traffic , '' for which he won an Oscar . He now adds to that list the role of revolutionary Ernesto `` Che '' Guevara , an Argentine doctor whose role in the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s vaulted him to cult status where he remains today . To play the Latin American revolutionary , Del Toro says he had to start with the man himself rather than invent a character . He read what Che wrote and interviewed a range of people , including those who knew him when he was a child , as well as those who were there in his last days . And then there were the countless photos of the iconic and controversial leader which he pored over . Looking at the pictures , seeing the attitude that he had in the photographs , '' he says , `` I learned a lot from the photographs . '' The meticulous study pays off on screen . Del Toro delivers a soulful performance that has earned him accolades . He won the Best Actor award at Cannes this year and he is being hotly tipped for another Oscar nod . Which films and actors do you think are contenders for this year 's Oscars ? Share your picks in the SoundOff below . Che 's life `` is what movies are made of , '' Del Toro told CNN . The incredible story , along with the opportunity to work with Soderbergh , who directed him in 2000 's `` Traffic , '' for a second time drew him to the project . The 41-year-old bilingual actor was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in Pennsylvania . It was n't until he was in his early 20s and wandered into a bookstore in Mexico City that he discovered Che . `` I bought a compilation of his letters that he had written to his family and I read that book . I did n't know anything about this guy , so that started my journey , '' he recalls . See how the movie was received in Cuba » . `` Che '' is split into two parts -- `` The Argentine '' and `` Guerrilla . '' When shown in its entirety , the movie clocks in at a staggering 257 minutes . Part one charts Che 's rise from young idealist to revolutionary hero during the Cuban Revolution . Part two depicts his efforts to bring change to all of Latin America and focuses on his campaign in Bolivia , where he died . Shot in various locations ranging from the jungles of Bolivia to Mexico 's Yucatan Peninsula , filming was grueling . `` In this film , we went pretty fast , '' Del Toro says . `` We went really fast . '' Soderbergh wanted to film using only natural light , and production moved rapidly . On some days , Del Toro recounts , they only had 15 or 30 minutes to capture a scene . One day of filming felt like a whole week of work , he says . `` The way I felt on a Monday in this movie is the equivalent to how I felt at the end of the week of another movie . '' Del Toro , who also co-produced the movie , is n't complaining though . He speaks with pride about the effort the cast and crew put in to the moviemaking process , which he describes as `` hit and run . '' `` Che '' is being released in two parts , but the epic is best viewed in its entirety , Del Toro says . `` You 'll get the full experience of what we went through , of the two movies together as one . '' The full-length version of `` Che '' will have a limited opening in the U.S. on Dec. 12 . It is scheduled to be released in separate parts in the UK on Jan. 2 .
Steven Soderbergh Toro stars in ` ` Che , '' a biopic of the Toro revolutionary . His performance is generating Oscar buzz in England . Directed by Oscar , the two -part film is 257 minutes long . Del Toro on Che : His life `` is what movies are made of ''