John Leguizamo claimed Hollywood should focus on proper representation and inclusivity to keep up with the world. The industry has recently started taking steps toward building a more diverse and inclusive environment.
Although those steps are proving to be way too slow as even in 2023, people are still throwing racist remarks, objectifying women, and harassing minorities just as much.
This was exactly what distressed Leguizamo as he claimed during an interview on his Amazon Prime series The Power last March.
John Leguizamo wants Hollywood to be more inclusive
John Leguizamo’s series was based on a 2016 novel by Naomi Alderman of the same name, where teenage girls start developing the ability to electrocute people. Leguizamo’s character, Rob, and his wife, the mayor of Seattle, played by Toni Collette happen to be parents to one of those girls.
The series not only shows the teenagers dealing with their new powers but also brings the somewhat unconventional relationship between Rob and his wife to the forefront. Speaking on this in an interview, he noted,
“Hollywood is grappling with the fact that white people are only 59 per cent of the population of the US but they have 100 per cent of the roles and the executives… And now they have to start divvying up power and this series encapsulates that.”
He added further, “You see you teenage girls in South Africa, Atlanta, Seattle, and London; white girls, black girls, Latin girls, Asian girls; getting power and being able to take charge of their lives in a way that needs to exist in the real world, but doesn’t really exist in the real world yet.”
According to him, this is exactly the system that needs to be changed. Not only in Hollywood but everywhere in the world.
John Leguizamo wants people to embrace a new type of masculinity
The John Wick star went into further detail about his character speaking on the matter of power dynamics in the world. John Leguizamo’s character, Rob, according to the actor is,
“A man who can support a woman who’s more powerful than him, more ambitious than him, whose career is more important than his and still be okay with himself.”
Although this is not exactly a never-before-seen situation, but still fairly rare to see. And that’s why he claimed that this is “a new type of masculinity” that people should start embracing. Although he is the bread earner in his household in real life, he added,
“I have friends who aren’t the money makers and they’re the Mr. Moms and they’re very content. They’re very happy and they’re cool, not jealous of their wives’ power or anything. They think they can do what they want, they can achieve as well.”
He also talked about the unfairness faced by many women in their careers. Something, that is very blatantly reflected in Hollywood. He noted, “I mean, look at the women who were nominated as directors this year at the Oscars, non-existent,” even with women taking the wheel in basically all aspects of filmmaking.
Be it direction, cinematography, production, and everything else. For him, it was especially felt during the shooting of this series as the directors, writers, production crew and even most of the producers were women. He noted,
“You’re surrounded by female empowerment. And yet, you’re treated with great respect. It’s no different. It was a beautiful experience all around, inside the story and outside the story.”
As such, according to him, it’s high time men should get used to giving up a little bit of their privileges and powers to create a better society for everyone.
The Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Source: PTI
