Benicio del Toro’s Hilarious TSA Encounter Over Film Script
Benicio del Toro recently shared a surprisingly funny — and totally understandable — experience he had with TSA while traveling from Boston to Los Angeles. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Wednesday, June 4, the actor recounted how an innocent carry-on inspection turned into a full-blown security moment.
Del Toro explained that a TSA agent flagged his bag and asked to inspect it. Inside? A printed copy of the script for his upcoming Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme — in a very large font for easier reading. But what raised eyebrows were the scene titles.
“The opening scene is ‘Interior Airplane: Bomb,’” del Toro revealed, prompting laughter from the audience. “The second scene is ‘Interior Cockpit: Eject the Pilot,’ and the third scene is ‘Crash.’”
Understandably alarmed, the TSA officer wasn’t reassured when del Toro explained it was just a movie script. The agent asked him to wait and soon returned with backup — five TSA officials surrounded the script.
Eventually, a supervisor appeared, eyeing both the script and del Toro. “I think he recognized me, maybe from Sicario or Traffic,” the actor said. “He just sat there and looked at it — and then they let me go.”
Though the delay was inconvenient, del Toro praised the agent’s vigilance: “I give that guy a thumbs up because he was paying attention.”
Seth Meyers agreed: “Let’s say he let you go and something terrible happened… ‘He told me it was a movie!’ ‘And you believed him?!’”
Del Toro laughed, “It was a checklist!”
In The Phoenician Scheme, del Toro stars as Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda, a wealthy businessman with a rather chaotic history involving airplanes — perhaps making the scene titles even more unfortunate in an airport setting.
Del Toro isn’t the only celebrity with TSA stories. Hugh Grant recently took to social media after a less amusing incident at London’s Heathrow Airport. The actor accused an immigration officer of being “intrusive, insulting and creepy” after reportedly whispering to his children, “Are these your Mum and Dad?” despite all their passports having the same last name.
Meanwhile, Channing Tatum shared in a 2024 interview that he’s often delayed at security — not due to any suspicion, but because agents frequently ask him to quote his infamous “My name is Jeff” line from 22 Jump Street. “It happens every single time,” he said.
Winona Ryder has also encountered playful TSA demands. In August, she revealed she’s missed flights because agents insist she recite “Beetlejuice” three times — referencing her iconic role in both the original film and its reboot.
Apparently, TSA lines are where pop culture meets real-life security — and sometimes, the scripts write themselves.
