John Leguizamo: a short biography of the actor

John Leguizamo is an American actor. He is best known for the performance of negative roles in films, as well as the voice acting of Sid in the successful animated film "Ice Age".

Childhood. Youth

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

Senior Leguizamo was once a budding filmmaker, he studied in his profile at the Rome Film Studio, founded by Mussolini. But because of the lack of finance, the matter did not finish completely. When John was four years old, his parents moved to the US, to New York. He spent most of his childhood in Queens. The future actor studied in Jackson Heights, where he was the first Hispanic. It was there that he was first noticed by his acting talent, which he began to develop successfully.

John Leguizamo remembers that his school years were difficult for him. He lived not 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 hardened the guy and surprisingly did not harden him, but, on the contrary, helped to develop an already excellent sense of humor, a comic beginning.

John often wrote the texts of speeches, which he tested on his classmates. At school he was considered the most talkative and ridiculous. After graduation, John entered the School of Arts at the theater faculty. After studying a bit, he realized that he wanted to do humor, in particular, to perform in the stand-up genre. In the same year, Leguizamo transferred from New York to the University of Long Island.

Carier start

The first official work of the actor was his performances in a nightclub as a stand-up comic. A few years later, in 1986, he made his debut on television. His first works include films "Mixed Blood", "Miami Police", "Die Hard 2".

In 1992, it was decided to launch in production a picture based on the video game "Super Mario". John Leguizamo was invited to the main role. Films in those years did not often bring tangible income to their creators, and this picture was no exception. The box office did not cover even 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 to glory. He began to get good offers. For example, he played with Leo DiCaprio in the film "Romeo + Juliet".

Selected filmography

In 1997, the company "New Line Cinema" launched a film-screening of the next comic. The main negative role was given to John Leguizamo. "Spawn" was released in the same year and justified the expectations of both viewers and creators. The fees exceeded the budget by half.

The actor got the role of the evil demon clown, who dreams to destroy the world. He does his best to do this, but with the hands of the protagonist Ed. The character turned out to be really creepy, characteristic. The villain brilliantly played John Leguizamo. The clown, according to the rules of the genre, dies at the end, helping the protagonist to find his way in this life.

In 2001 John took part in the project "Moulin Rouge", which received many positive reviews. He got the role of the artist Toulouse-Lautrec. The actor prepared in a rather peculiar way for filming, visiting nightclubs and using absinthe during working hours.

During the twelfth season of the cult series "First Aid", John performed the role of Dr. Victor Clemente. This once again attracted the attention of fans, the number of which increased every year. John Leguizamo, whose films amaze with their range, works almost without stopping. To date, his filmography ninety-two works. Among the latter - "She does it for money," "Experimenter," "Ultramanians."

Other activities

In 1998, the actor made his debut on Broadway. Despite his employment in film, John does not stop taking up stand-ups, he often writes scripts for a comic show.

Personal life

John Leguizamo was married twice. His first wife was the little-known actress Yaelbe Osorio. Since 2003, he is married to real estate agent Justin Morer. The couple have two children who were born before the marriage. This is the daughter of Allegra Skye (born in 1999) and son of Ryder Lee (born in 2000).

In 2008, the actor was awarded an association of Latin American actors for his contribution to art.

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

Repeatedly the actor was detained by the police for his violent behavior (beating windows in public places, disturbing the order in the metro, etc.).

John is proficient in kung fu skills. The actor was engaged in teaching this martial art to Jennifer Lopez and Wesley Snipes.