John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo is an American actor, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and playwright, born on July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia. He is the son of Alberto and Luz Leguizamo. His family migrated to the US when John was young and he grew up in Jackson Heights, a rough neighborhood in Queens, New York. John’s father was once an aspiring film director. His parents divorced when he was 14. John started his career as a stand-up comedian in New York nightclubs in 1984. Also, he made his television debut in 1986 with a small role in Miami Vice. Furthermore, his other early film includes Mixed Blood (1985), Casualties of War (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), Regarding Henry as well as Super Mario Bros (1993) and Night Owl (1993).  Also, in the same year, he wrote and performed in the play Spic-O-Rama. Additionally, the play was filmed for HBO.

In 1998, John made his Broadway debut in John Leguizamo: Freak, a demi-semi-quasi-pseudo-autobiographical one-man show. In the same year, he voiced a pesky rat in Doctor Dolittle. John appeared in the dynamic Spike Lee-directed Summer of Sam as a guilt-ridden womanizer in 1999. In 2000, John appeared as the Genie of the Lamp in the exciting Arabian Nights and as Henri DE Toulouse Lautrec in the spectacular Moulin Rouge! (2001). He also voiced Sid in the animated Ice Age (2002), co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002). John also directed and starred in the boxing film Undefeated (2003). Afterward, John starred in the remake of the John Carpenter hit Assault on Precinct 13 (2005). He has opened many doors for his countrymen. A masterly and accomplished performer, movie audiences await John’s next exciting performance.