John Leguizamo: short biography of the actor

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

John Leguizamo is an American actor. He is best known for playing villainous roles in movies, as well as voicing Sid in the successful Ice Age cartoon.

Childhood. Youth

John was born in the capital of Colombia (Bogota) in 1964. His father was Puerto Rican and his mother was Colombian. In an interview, the actor said that his ancestors on his father's side were Italians, and on his mother's side - Lebanese.

The elder Leguizamo was once an aspiring director, having studied his profile at the Rome film studio founded by Mussolini. But due to lack of funds, the matter was not completed. When John was four years old, his parents moved to the USA, to New York. The boy spent most of his childhood in Queens. The future actor studied in Jackson Heights, where he was the first Hispanic. It was there that his acting talent was first noticed, which he began to successfully develop.

John Leguizamo recalls that his school years were quite difficult 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 in America. However, these unpleasant situations hardened the guy andmiraculously did not harden him, but, on the contrary, helped develop an already excellent sense of humor, a comic beginning.

John often wrote speeches that he tested on his classmates. At school, he was considered the most talkative and funny. After graduation, John entered the School of the Arts in the theater department. After studying there for a while, he realized that he wanted to do humor, in particular, to perform in the stand-up genre. That same year, Leguizamo transferred from New York to Long Island University.

Career start

The actor's first official job was his performances 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 Vice", "Die Hard 2".

In 1992, it was decided to put into production a picture based on the video game "Super Mario". John Leguizamo was cast in the lead role. Films in those years did not often bring tangible income to their creators, and this picture was no exception. Cash receipts did not even cover half of the funds spent. However, for John this role has become one of the most memorable.

Despite the failure of this picture, she served John well. He started getting good offers. For example, he played with Leo DiCaprio in the film "Romeo + Juliet".

Selected filmography

In 1997, New Line Cinema launched aproduction of a film adaptation of the next comics. The main negative role was given to John Leguizamo. "Spawn" was released in the same year and lived up to the expectations of both viewers and creators. The fees exceeded the budget twice.

The actor got the role of an evil clown demon who dreams of destroying the world. He tries with all his might to do this, but with the hands of the protagonist Ed. The character turned out to be truly creepy, characteristic. The villain was brilliantly played by John Leguizamo. The clown, according to 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 prepared for the shooting in a rather peculiar way, visiting nightclubs and drinking absinthe during working hours.

During the twelfth season of the cult series ER, 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 their range, works almost non-stop. To date, there are ninety-two works in his filmography. Among the latest - "She does it for money", "Experimenter", "Ultra-Americans".

Other activities

In 1998, the actor made his debut on Broadway. Despite his employment in the cinema, John does not stop doing stand-ups, oftenwrites scripts for comic shows.

Private life

John Leguizamo has been married twice. His first wife was the little-known actress Ielbe Osorio. He has been married to real estate agent Justine Maurer since 2003. The couple has two children who were born before marriage. This is daughter Allegra Sky (born 1999) and son Ryder Lee (born 2000).

In 2008, the actor was awarded by the Association of Hispanic Actors for his contribution to the arts.

Two years earlier, John Leguizamo published his memoirs, in which he candidly spoke about the experience of filming with various celebrities. In particular, he touched upon working with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kurt Russell.

The actor was repeatedly detained by the police for his violent behavior (breaking glass in public places, disturbing order in the subway, etc.).

John is a professional kung fu player. The actor taught this martial art to Jennifer Lopez and Wesley Snipes.