An actor or artist changing their names to hit start their career has been a common practice in the world of entertainment. While many oblige with it, actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and John Leguizamo have refused to do the same. While the John Wick actor was suggested to opt for a new name at a significant age, the Titanic star got the advice to change his name at the age of 11, with the claim that Leonardo DiCaprio sounded “too ethnic.”
DiCaprio was told to change his name to Lenny Williams. After not following up with that suggestion, the actor struggled to land jobs for two years until he found an agent who did not have issues with his real name. The 63-year-old American actor also did the same when he was told to opt for an Italian name to make it in the film industry.
John Leguizamo Was Advised to Change His Name
John Leguizamo started his acting career with small roles in music videos and TV shows. Slowly making his way into the industry, the actor started landing roles alongside stars like Harrison Ford and Al Pacino. However, he also believes that the industry has been unfair to him for being Latin.
During his recent interview, Leguizamo shared that he was often offered thug roles in TV shows and movies. After constantly having similar offers, his agent suggested changing his name from Latin to Italian, which would have potentially established him as an Italian actor instead of a Latin actor.
However, he refused to do so, saying that he did not want to pretend to be someone else, like many others. The Gamer actor revealed that one of his Latin friends submitted her pictures with Latin and American names, and she only got callbacks for her profile with an American name.
However, he was not interested in following the same path as many others. So he turned down his agent’s suggestion, saying, “I would never do that. I would rather not find a job than pretend to be someone else.” He did what he said and is now a successful actor with three Primetime Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Performance in a Variety Special.
John Leguizamo Was Surprised With Leonardo DiCaprio’s Talent
John Leguizamo starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1996 romantic drama Romeo + Juliet. He portrayed Juliet’s cousin Tybalt in the movie and shared that he was surprised by his co-star’s undeniable talent. The actor shared that he couldn’t stand how good DiCaprio was in his role.
“I just hated Leo. I’d walk in front of the camera, and he would do my line, ‘Thou or I must go!” he shared. Leguizamo even claimed that sometimes it made him “self-conscious” as it all seemed too easy for the 48-year-old Oscar winner. “He’d smoke a cigarette, do some laps, do a Michael Jackson impersonation, go on the set, and there it was,” he said as he recalled working with him on Romeo + Juliet.
Source: El País
