John Leguizamo has plans for his future roles in Hollywood. In an appearance on The Daily Show, Leguizamo talked about representation and Latino actors, and how it’s still common for white actors to still take Latino parts. He joked that he’d like to play Gwyneth Paltrow whenever the movie of her ski trial comes out.
© GettyImagesLeguizamo was one of The Daily Show’s guest hosts and spoke about how representation has been an important element of his career. Still, he said he’s been considering his options after seeing Hollywood’s most recent casting decisions, where white actors were cast for Latino roles.
“Well guess what, if white people can take our roles, Imma take theirs,” said Leguizamo. “When they do the TV series based on Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski accident trial, Imma be Gwyneth Paltrow.”
He then made it cleat that there’s a lot of work to be done for Latinos in Hollywood. “I mean it’s crazy, Latinos are almost 20% of the country but we’re barely represented in film and television?” he said. “Especially since every movie last year took place in the Multiverse.”
Leguizamo’s statements come in the wake of James Franco cast as Fidel Castro in the biopic “Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde.” The casting announcement was made last year, with Leguizamo calling out the issue on his Instagram. “How is this still going on?” he asked his followers.
“How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement, which would be wrong! I don’t got a [problem] with Franco but he ain’t Latino!”
