Since the 1980s, John Leguizamo has been working as an actor in Hollywood, and he is best known for his roles in some of the most iconic films of all time, including “D.i.e. Hard 2,” “Romeo + Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge,” and “John Wick.”
However, he has recently become very outspoken about the lack of Latino representation in the industry. He recently told Insider that he gets frustrated by the fact that Latin actors are typically overlooked by major movie studio heads. In recent years, he has become very outspoken about the lack of Latino representation in the industry.
Fans may recall that Leguizamo played Luigi in the live-action adaptation of “Super Mario Bros.” that was released in 1993. Bob Hoskins played the role of Mario in the film. While the movie was not successful when it was first released, it has subsequently developed a devoted following among certain subcultures.
The actor, however, has no interest in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the new animated take on the series that is being developed by Universal and Illumination.
Leguizamo told TMZ after taking photographs with fans on the street that he won’t be viewing the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” due to its lack of representation of people of color.
He said: “I won’t be watching, that’s for sure. They could have included a Latin character if they wanted to. They put a halt to the groundbreaking, which I was performing at the time.”
Leguizamo blasted the casting decisions made by the producers and added: “They made a mistake. They botched the inclusion, and some people were left out of it.”
The celebrity went on to say that while Latinos make up a sizable portion of the population, they are often underrepresented in media outlets such as film and television.
Leguizamo added: “Just choose the people of Latino descent. We Latinos make up twenty percent of the population and are the biggest group of persons of color, yet we are grossly underrepresented. Nonetheless, they are overrepresented in the most undesirable types of occupations.”
Fans have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the hiring of Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario in the film, with many pointing out that he is an American portraying the role of an Italian plumber. Recently, the actor who plays Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy” said that he “absolutely” understands the response and realizes that “people don’t want something like this to be messed up.”
The question of whether or not Leguizamo would see “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was posed to him twice in the TMZ video, and each time he responded with the same straightforward phrase: “Hell no!”
The comments made by the 62-year-old actor follow his open letter to Hollywood that was published in the Los Angeles Times in November 2022. In that letter, he pointed out that white actors are frequently cast in roles that should have been given to people of color. The star’s comments come after his letter was published.
It was said that “In the film “Scarface,” Al Pacino portrayed a Cuban by donning tan makeup, getting stoned, and acting crazy. The studios were so impressed by it that they cast him in the role of a Puerto Rican man from Spanish Harlem in the film Carlito’s Way. They cast a number of Hispanic performers in supporting roles, but none of us were given a leading part. Even in our own narratives, we were only ever minor characters or supporting cast members.”