John Leguizamo

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John Leguizamo
Leguizamo, November 2008
Born	Johnathan Alberto Leguizamo July 22, 1964 (1964-07-22) (age 45) Bogotá, Colombia
Other name(s)	Johnny Legs
Occupation	Actor, comedian, voice actor, producer
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Justine Maurer (2003-present) 2 children

Johnathan Alberto Leguizamo (born July 22, 1964) is an Alma and Emmy Award winning Colombian-American comedian, actor, voice actor and producer.

Early life

Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia, to a Puerto Rican father, Alberto Leguizamo, and a Colombian mother, Luz.^[1][2] According to Leguizamo, his paternal grandfather was of Italian descent^[3] and his maternal grandfather was Lebanese.^[4] He has also described himself as being of Amerindian and Mestizo heritage.^[2][5] Leguizamo's father was once an aspiring film director and studied at Cinecittà but eventually dropped out due to lack of finances.^[6] When Leguizamo was four years old, his family emigrated to the United States^[7] and lived in various neighborhoods of Queens in New York City, including Jackson Heights.^[8][2] 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 and became one of his memorable roles, it was universally considered a critical and financial failure, and was even heavily disliked by Leguizamo himself due to his experience working on it, however, it boost his career to appear in better comedic roles in the following years which helped the film reached its cult film status among his fans. That same year, he had a prominent role in Brian DePalma's Carlito's Way as Carlito Brigante's (Al Pacino) nemesis "Benny Blanco from the Bronx," which also boost his career to appear in serious roles.

He also played Pestario 'Pest' Vargas in the 1997 movie "The Pest".

(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: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. In 2003, he voice-acted Globox from Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. 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 co-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 2002, he wrote and participated in Sexaholix... A Love Story 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 is a practicing Roman Catholic.^{[citation needed]}

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

See also

Puerto Rico portal

Colombia portal

• Colombian American
• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Leguizamo

• John Leguizamo at the Internet Movie Database
• John Leguizamo at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Leguizamo at TV.com
• "Official Broadway Site" Website for the 2008 Broadway Production of American Buffalo starring John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer, and Haley Joel Osment.
• / Q&A Sessions: John Leguizamo on The Happening [nocheLatina.com]