An Academy Award winning actor will speak at a private academy commencement in Mercersburg.
Benicio Del Toro, who graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1985, will return to the academy to deliver the commencement address at the school's 125th commencement on May 26.
Del Toro earned an Academy Award, as well as a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Away for his role in the 2000 film "Traffic." He received another Oscar nomination for his role in 2003's "21 Grams."
Other roles include the title character in the film "Che," as well as appearances in "The Usual Suspects," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Snatch," "Sicario," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
Del Toro is the second Academy Award winning actor to have attended Mercersburg Academy: James Stewart, of "Vertigo" and "It's a Wonderful Life" fame, graduated from the school in 1928. Steward won an Oscar for "The Philadelphia Story" and received an Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985.
According to the school's website, Del Toro attended Mercersburg for four years, during which time he was a member of the Marshall Society and and co-captain of the boys' basketball team.
Del Toro also visited the academy in 2006, for the grand opening of the Burgin Center for the Arts. From the Mercersburg Academy website:
... Del Toro fondly remembered his time at the school and shared how he felt the school prepared him for acting. "For me, acting is like putting elements of painting and sports together," he said. "And I think a sense of composition from painting class here played out in what I do now on more levels than one. Basketball is a team sport, and there is an element of team when you do movies."
The commencement event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on May 26, and simulcast live at www.mercersburg.edu. More details on Mercersburg Academy's commencement weekend can be found on their official website.