John Leguizamo is known for being vocal about his opinions and thoughts. The actor was recently in talks after he asked for the boycott of Chris Pratt and Charlie Day starrer The Super Mario Bros. for messing up with the concept of inclusion. Leguizamo, who portrayed Luigi in the 1993 film Super Mario Bros., claimed that the makers could have included a Latin character. He claimed that he would not be supporting the movie as they made it too white.
The 63-year-old actor once again opened up about having more Latino representation and recognition in Hollywood, as he talked about being typecast in stereotypical characters in the initial years of his career during a recent interview.
John Leguizamo Opens Up About Being Typecast
Typecasting has been one of the biggest issues that many successful actors have suffered in Hollywood. However, there are those who chose to do the right thing for them and proved that they have the potential to be so much more. John Leguizamo, who started his Hollywood career with the TV show Miami Vice, also went through something similar during the early years of his career.
He portrayed the character of a drug lord in the crime drama and started landing more offers. However, soon he realized that he was not only being typecast but he was typecast in stereotypical character. The actor often received offers for playing a drug dealer, a terrorist, or a gangster.
During his recent interview with El País, the John Wick actor shared that in the beginning, he did not mind having such offers, as it helped him to be financially stable. And then came a time when he simply refused to accept such parts in a movie or TV show.
“I remember that I walked out [of a meeting] when I was asked to play a terrorist [for the second time] in another hijacking movie,” he shared. The actor said that he has always spoken against such things and would continue doing the same in the future as well.
John Leguizamo Made a Shift to Theatre
During his recent interview, John Leguizamo revealed that he was advised to change his last name from Latin to Italian. However, The Menu actor denied doing so, as he claimed that he would “rather not find a job than pretend to be someone else.”
At one point in time, he also started losing hope as he saw his “incredibly talented Latino friends” not being able to land a single role. So he decided to make a shift to the theatre, where he was able to find his place and regain the confidence that he can be a successful actor.
“That’s why I shifted to the theater. There, in comedy clubs, in performance spaces, I was able to find my place,” he said before adding, “I experienced how I won over the white public; I knew that I was going to be successful!” He is returning to the screen with the sci-fi drama series The Power alongside Auliʻi Cravalho and Toni Collette.
The Power is available on Prime Video.
Source: El País
