Over 3 decades, Latin American actor John Leguizamo has been a talisman for his community by carving a niche for himself as a bonafide star in Hollywood while also paving the way for other Hispanic actors to make their mark. Starting with acerbic one-man shows like Mambo Mama, Freak, and Latin History for Morons, Leguizamo then took his Latino roots to mainstream Hollywood.
But the road to stardom has not always been easy for The Menu actor. In a recent interview, John Leguizamo spoke about the difficulties of being a Latin American actor in Hollywood while also acknowledging his own privilege as a light-skinned star of Hispanic descent.
John Leguizamo Calls Out Hollywood For Colorism
In a chat with Nick Barili for The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ interview video series, Seen, Hollywood actor John Leguizamo revealed many controversial realities of being a Hispanic actor in Hollywood. The star who is of Columbian and Puerto Rican descent spoke about the industry’s disturbing obsession with light-skinned actors and the extent he went to, for a role.
“I’ve benefitted from being light skin, and I stayed out of the sun so I could work. I definitely would not go in the sun. For years I was so pasty so I could work. All the Latinos who’ve made it so far, a lot of them were light-skinned. What happened to all the Afro Latinos and the majority of the indigenous Latinos? They don’t get a shot.”
Leguizamo realized very early on that it wasn’t an equal playing field for people of color, and spoke about the challenges he faced to break into Hollywood. This included landing fewer auditions compared to his white counterparts, despite being graded higher than them in film school.
John Leguizamo Talks Of Hispanic Stereotyping In Hollywood
While there has been a radical shift in the opportunities that Latin American actors get in Hollywood today, John Leguizamo feels that there is still a long way to go before they are considered equal to their white counterparts. Leguizamo in a 2022 interview called out the industry for stereotyping Hispanic actors in films. Talking of his early auditions, the star said that he was always called to play a killer, drug dealer, gardener, or someone in the service industry, which was the biggest stereotype that actors of his culture faced. He also spoke of another disturbing trend that got him fired from films and one producer’s shocking claim.
“They couldn’t have two Latin people in the movie because then it becomes a Latin movie. He meant he can only have one token at a time. He said “Too bad John you’re Puerto Rican, ‘cause you’re so talented. Otherwise, you’d be so much further along.”
Despite many obstacles that stood in his way, John Leguizamo has risen above these barriers to become a role model for other actors of Latin American heritage to succeed in Hollywood. Leguizamo has taken his crusade a step further by starring in his own TV show Leguizamo Takes America, where he travels through the length and breadth of the country talking to Latin Americans with a view to bring their culture and history to the fore.
Source: AV Club
