John Alberto Leguizamo
(born July 22, 1964) is a Colombian-American comedian, actor, voice actor and producer.
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Biography
Early life
Leguizamo was born in
Bogota, to a
Puerto Rican father, Alberto, and a
Colombian mother, Luz Leguizamo.
[1] According to Leguizamo, his paternal grandfather was of
Italian descent
[2] and his maternal grandfather was
Lebanese.
[3] He has also described himself as being of
Amerindian and
Mestizo heritage.
[4] Leguizamo's father was once an aspiring
film director and studied at
Cinecittà but eventually dropped out due to lack of finances.
[5] When Leguizamo was three years old, his family immigrated to the
United States [6] and lived in various neighborhoods of
Queens in
New York City, including
Jackson Heights, Queens.
[7] [8] Leguizamo attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and later the
Murry Bergtraum High School. As a student at
Murry Bergtraum High School, Leguizamo wrote comedy material and tested it out on his classmates. He was voted "Most Talkative" by his fellow classmates. After graduating from high school, Leguizamo enrolled at
Long Island University C.W. Post Campus where he took theater classes.
Early career
Leguizamo started out as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit. In 1984, he made his
T.V. debut with a small part in
Miami Vice
. His other early roles include: an extra in Madonna's
Borderline
video (1984), as a friend of
Madonna's boyfriend;
Mixed Blood
(1985);
Casualties of War
(1989);
Die Hard 2
(1990);
Hangin' with the Homeboys
(1991); the robber in
Regarding Henry
(1991) and
Night Owl
(a.k.a.
Nite Owl
) (1993), which was filmed from 1991-1992.
Film
In
1993 Leguizamo was offered the lead part as
Luigi in the film
Super Mario Brothers
. Although it started his acting career in Hollywood, it was universally considered a critical and financial failure, and was even heavily disliked by Leguizamo himself.
(In 2000, Leguizamo played two genies in the
Emmy Award winning
miniseries Arabian Nights
.)
To promote the 2001 movie
Moulin Rouge!
, he appeared on a celebrity edition of
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
with
Kelly Ripa,
Kevin Sorbo,
Alfre Woodard,
Martin Short and
Chevy Chase. Appearing as the first celebrity to sit in the hot seat, he eventually tried for $125,000, but got the answer wrong. (Later in 2002, on the syndicated version, a question about the movie featured his character and
Meredith Vieira mentioned that Leguizamo had played Lautrec and had been on the show.)
In
2002 he voiced
Sid the Sloth for the film
Ice Age
, eventually repeating it for the sequels
Ice Age: The Meltdown
and
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
. In 2003, he voice-acted
Globox from
Rayman 3
. The game versions of the films used his voice were used for
PlayStation 2,
GameCube,
Xbox,
PC, and
Mac.
Television
In 1995 Leguizamo was given the unique opportunity to create, executive produce, write, and star in the 1995
Latino-oriented variety show called
House of Buggin'
on
Fox Television. The show showcased Leguizamo's well-known ability to assume a wide variety of colorful, energetic characters, but due to poor ratings the show ran less than one season.
During the 2005-2006 television season, Leguizamo joined the cast of the show
ER
, playing the emotionally disturbed Dr.
Victor Clemente, a new attending who is keen on introducing the staff of County General to better ways of treating patients and cutting-edge technology. Clemente, however, was plagued with personal problems and was fired from the hospital near the end of the season. Dr. Clemente's departure from the show was a blessing for Leguizamo. He revealed to
CraveOnline that he was not happy working on the television program. "I was depressed doing
ER
," he admitted, "I started gaining weight, I was eating donuts, I started smoking again. I’m eating McDonald's, things that I know when I’m depressed I do. I tried to kill myself internally."
[9]
In
2005 he guest starred on
Dora the Explorer
as Captain Pirate Piggy. In
2006 Leguizamo starred in the
television pilot for
Edison,
a 2006
CBS drama about an
Los Angeles detective (played by Leguizamo) who relied on impersonations and disguises to solve crimes. Other cast members included
Currie Graham and
Deidrie Henry.
Kevin Rodney Sullivan directed from a script by
Ron Milbauer and
Terri Hughes. Leguizamo and
David Hoberman also served as executive producers.
In July 2007,
Spike TV aired their drama series
The Kill Point
, starring Leguizamo,
Donnie Wahlberg and
Michael Hyatt. The show was an eight part series revolving around ex war veterans whose bank robbery went wrong, thus ending in a hostage situation. Despite high ratings,
The Kill Point
was not renewed for a second season.
Broadway
In
1991, he also wrote and took part in the
Off-Broadway production
Mambo Mouth
, where he played seven different characters.
Mambo Mouth
won an
Obie Award and an Outer Critics Award. He was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1991" in "John Willis' Screen Worlds Vol. 43".
In
1993, Leguizamo wrote and participated in
Spic-O-Rama
, where he made fun of the stereotyping of
Latinos in the United States. The production won a
Drama Desk Award and four
Cable ACE Awards.
In 1998, he debuted on
Broadway in the production of
Freak
, which was also turned into an
HBO film by director
Spike Lee. The show won him the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show.
In 2000, he wrote and participated in
Freak
, which was basically about his whole life experience with his family, how he had a troubled family, and a messed up life.
In 2003, he wrote and participated in
Sexaholix
which explained his love life and how he started his own family.
Personal life
Leguizamo married
Justine Maurer in 2003. They have two children, daughter Allegra Sky (born 1999) and son Ryder Lee (born 2000), and live in
Venice, California. Commonly referred to in and around Hollywood circles as "Johnny Legs", Leguizamo himself is a practicing
Roman Catholic.
Memoirs
In October 2006, Leguizamo's memoir,
Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life
, was released. During an interview on
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, Leguizamo stated that his memoir was very frank about odd experiences involving other celebrities and co-stars he had worked with. He claimed that working with
Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the most enjoyable experiences he had as an actor. He also said that Arnold's accent let him say things that others would think were
sexist or
homophobic if said by someone else, that
Steven Seagal was an egotist with
diva tendencies, and that
Leonardo DiCaprio was a "patron of prostitutes."
[10]
As of
2009 Leguizamo has produced over 10 films (including the film
Piñero
), starred or co-starred in over 75 films, starred on
Broadway in several productions winning several awards, made over a dozen TV guest appearances and has helped produce or star in many other similar television shows.
Filmography
- Mixed Blood
(1985)
- Miami Vice
(1986) (TV series)
- Casualties of War
(1989)
- Street Hunter
(1990)
- Revenge
(1990)
- Die Hard 2: Die Harder
(1990)
- Hangin' with the Homeboys
(1991)
- Regarding Henry
(1991)
- Poison (film)
(1991)
- Whispers in the Dark
(1992)
- Night Owl (a.k.a. "Nite Owl")
(1993)
- Super Mario Bros.
(1993)
- Carlito's Way
(1993)
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
(1995) (Nomination: Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture)
- A Pyromaniac's Love Story
(1995)
- Executive Decision
(1996)
- The Fan
(1996)
- Romeo + Juliet
(1996)
- A Brother's Kiss
(1997)
- Spawn
(1997)
- The Pest
(1997)
- Freak
(1998)
- Dr. Dolittle
(1998)
- Frogs For Snakes
(1998)
- Summer of Sam
(1999)
- King of the Jungle
(2000)
- Titan A.E.
(2000) (voice)
- Arabian Nights
(2000) (TV)
- What's The Worst That Could Happen?
(2001)
- Moulin Rouge!
(2001)
- Spun
(2002)
- Empire
(2002)
- Point of Origin
(2002) (HBO film)
- Collateral Damage
(2002)
- Ice Age
(2002) (voice)
- Undefeated
(2003) (HBO film)
- Sexaholics
(2003)
- Crónicas
(2004)
- Assault on Precinct 13
(2005)
- The Honeymooners
(2005)
- Land of the Dead
(2005)
- Sueño
(2005)
- ER
(2005) (TV series)
- The Alibi
(2006)
- Ice Age: The Meltdown
(2006) (voice)
- The Groomsmen
(2006)
- My Name Is Earl
(2006) (TV series)
- The Kill Point
(2007) (TV series)
- The Babysitters
(2007)
- Love in the Time of Cholera
(2007)
- Where God Left His Shoes
(2007)
- The Take
(2008)
- Paraiso Travel
(2008)
- The Happening
(2008)
- Righteous Kill
(2008)
- Miracle at St. Anna
(2008)
- Nothing Like the Holidays
(2008)
- Surviving Sid
(2008) (voice)
- Rage
(2009)
- Gamer
(2009)
- The Ministers
(2009)
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
(2009) (voice)
See also
- Colombian American
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
References
- John Leguizamo Biography
- Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, And All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life
- Leguizamo, p. 11
- THEATER; In Town, on the Edge: Listening In on Solo Acts
- Leguizamo, p. 9
- Leguizamo, p. 12
- Leguizamo, p. 16
- Zook, Kristal Brent. "Comedy That Hits Close to Home; Now a Father, John Leguizamo Looks Back Without Anger", ''The Washington Post'', July 19, 2001. Accessed June 11, 2009. "Born in Bogota, Colombia, to a Puerto Rican father and a Colombian mother of Indian ancestry, Leguizamo was raised in the multiethnic Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens."
- Kill Point: John Leguizamo
- Fresh Intelligence : Radar Online : John Leguizamo Trashes Everyone He's Ever Worked With