For the past few months, actor-comedian John Leguizamo has been speaking out on the underrepresentation of Latin actors in the industry. While taking over as the guest host of The Daily Show, the Violent Night pointed out how Hollywood usually casts white actors for Latin roles. Prior to that, he criticized Chris Pratt and Charlie Day’s animated feature, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in October of last year.
And Leguizamo has once again expressed his issues with the animated film for not including a Latin character. Along with his criticism, he also claimed that he wouldn’t be watching the film as it messed up the inclusion.
John Leguizamo Will Not be Watching The Super Mario Bros.
In October last year, John Leguizamo took to Twitter to share his disappointment with The Super Mario Bros. Movie for not having any Latin actors. He said that a reboot of Super Mario Bros. was a good idea, but it’s disappointing that “they went all white! No Latinx in the leads!”
His criticism has followed the film to its release, as he once again talked about the lack of diversity in the cast of the film. During an interaction with TMZ, the actor once again weighed on why he wouldn’t be watching Chris Pratt’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. “No, I will not. They could’ve included a Latin character,” Leguizamo said.
He then went on to claim that he gave a “groundbreaking” performance in the 1993 film, Super Mario Bros. The 62-year-old actor further added that the makers of the film could have opted for a diverse cast for the film, but they “messed up the inclusion.” He also claimed that the Latins are “underrepresented” in the industry.
When asked if he would be watching the film, Leguizamo said, “Hell no!” The John Wick actor voiced Luigi in the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. and considers his performance in the film “groundbreaking.” He also believes that his groundbreaking performance was stopped.
John Leguizamo Calls The Super Mario Bros. Backward
During an interview with Indiewire in November last year, John Leguizamo called Chris Pratt’s The Super Mario Bros. “backward.” Claiming that the 1993 film had “groundbreaking color-blind casting,” he criticized the film for casting only white actors in the lead roles.
He also shared that during Comic-Con in New York and Baltimore, most people told him that they loved the original film and were “not feeling the new one.” The Ice Age actor also claimed that the directors of the original film, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton, fought really hard to cast him as Luigi. He claimed that he considered the film backward because the makers did not attempt to cast a Latin actor in the lead role.
Source: TMZ
