John Leguizamo is an American actor. He is best known for playing negative roles in the movie, as well as the voice acting of Sid in the successful cartoon "Ice Age".
Childhood. Youth
John was born in the capital of Colombia (Bogota) in 1964. His father was Puerto Rican and his mother a Colombian. In one of the interviews, the actor said that his ancestors were Italians on the part of his father, and Lebanese on the part of his mother.
The elder Leguizamo was once a novice director, he studied according to his profile in the Roman film studio founded by Mussolini. But due to lack of finance, the matter was not completed. When John was four years old, his parents moved to the United States, to New York. The boy spent most of his childhood in Queens. The future actor studied at Jackson Heights, where he was the first Hispanic. It was there that he first noticed his acting talent, which he began to successfully develop.
John Leguizamo recalls that his school years were difficult enough for him. He did not live in the most favorable area of the city, he was often beaten. The reason for the attacks was his skin color, which is not nonsense for America. However, these unpleasant situations tempered the guy and surprisingly did not harden him, but, on the contrary, helped develop an already wonderful sense of humor, a comic start.
John often wrote texts of performances, which he tested on his classmates. At school, he was considered the most talkative and funny. After graduation, John entered the School of Arts at the theater department. After studying a little there, he realized that he wanted to engage in humor, in particular, to perform in the stand-up genre. In the same year, Leguizamo transferred from New York to Long Island University.
Carier start
The first official work of the actor was his performance in a nightclub as a stand-up comedian. A few years later, in 1986, he made his television debut. Among his first works are the films "Mixed Blood", "Miami Police", "Die Hard 2".
In 1992, it was decided to launch a production based on the Super Mario video game. John Leguizamo was invited to the lead role. Films in those years did not often bring tangible income to their creators, and this picture was no exception. Cash collection did not cover even half of the money spent. However, for John, this role has become one of the most memorable.
Despite the failure of this picture, she served John fame. He began to receive good offers. For example, he played with Leo DiCaprio in the movie Romeo + Juliet.
Selected Filmography
In 1997, the company "New Line Cinema" launched a film adaptation of the next comic book. The main negative role was given to John Leguizamo. “Spawn” was released in the same year and met the expectations of both viewers and creators. Fees exceeded the budget twice.
The actor got the role of the evil clown demon who dreams of destroying the world. He is doing his best to do this, but with the hands of the main character Ed. The character turned out to be really creepy, characteristic. The villain was brilliantly played by John Leguizamo. A clown, by the rules of the genre, dies at the end, while helping the main character find his way in this life.
In 2001, John took part in the Moulin Rouge project, which received many positive reviews. He got the role of the artist Toulouse-Lautrec. The actor was quite peculiarly preparing for the shoot, visiting nightclubs and consuming absinthe during working hours.
During the twelfth season of the cult TV series Ambulance, John played the role of Dr. Victor Clemente. Thus, once again, he attracted the attention of fans, the number of which increased every year. John Leguizamo, whose films amaze with his range, works almost without stopping. To date, in his filmography, ninety-two works. Among the latter - "She does it for money", "Experimenter", "Ultra-Americans."
Other activities
In 1998, the actor debuted on Broadway. Despite his busyness in cinema, John does not stop doing stand-ups, he often writes scripts for comedy shows.
Personal life
John Leguizamo was married twice. His first wife was a little-known actress Ielbe Osorio. Since 2003, he is married to real estate agent Justin Morer. The couple has two children who were born before marriage. This is the daughter of Allegra Sky (born in 1999) and the son of Ryder Lee (born in 2000).
In 2008, the actor was awarded the Association of Latin American Actors for his contribution to art.
Two years before, John Leguizamo published his memoirs, in which he frankly talked about the experience of filming with different celebrities. In particular, he touched on work with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stephen Seagal, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kurt Russell.
Repeatedly the actor was detained by the police for his violent behavior (glass breaking in public places, disorderly conduct in the subway, etc.).
John is proficient in kung fu skills. The actor was teaching this martial art to Jennifer Lopez and Wesley Snipes.