John Leguizamo - Biography

Last Editor: terrysange				John Leguizamo Biography -   Name : John Leguizamo Profession : Actor/ Producer Birth Details : born July 22, 1964 in Bogotá, Colombia Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m) Personal quotes : On what was it like in the Clown suit while filming Spawn (1997): "Like a penis wearing a condom". "I see the new Latin artist as a pio Salary : Spawn (1997) $2,000,000 Spouse : Justine Maurer (5 July 2003 - present) 2 children Yelba Osorio (September 1994 - November 1996) (divorced)

John Leguizamo Trivia -

Was voted "Most Talkative" in high school. Moved from Colombia to the United States with his family when he was three years old. Was accepted into Lee Strasberg's actors' studio and studied with the master for one day before Strasberg died. "I have that affect on people". Leguizamo quipped. Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43. Dated Carolyn McDermott. [1986-1991] Daughter, Allegra Sky, born (with girlfriend Justine Maurer). [23 October 1999] John and Justine welcomed son Ryder Lee, weighing 8lbs 1oz. [5 December 2000] John's father, Alberto, is Puerto Rican. His mother, Luz is Colombian. They divorced when he was in his teens. Last name is pronounced "le-gwee-sa-mo" Grew up in The Jackson Heights area of Queens, New York. Began writing material for himself in high school, testing it out on classmates. Majored in theatre at New York University and was the only Latino in drama class. Son, Lucas For his role in Ice Age (2002), he tried a variety of different speaking voices for his character, Sid. After watching several hours of Discovery Channel footage of sloths, he developed the lisp, because sloths store food in their cheeks. Born on the same day as actor/comedian David Spade. He also shares a birthday with the following celebrities: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe and Alex Trebek. Was nominated for two Tony Awards in 1998: as Best Actor (Play) and as Author of Best Play nominee, his one-man show titled "Freak." Although he is about 5' 8" in reality, he has played two characters who are technically "little people" (under 4' 11"): the Clown in 'Spawn' (1997) and Toulouse-Lautrec in 'Moulin Rouge!' (2001). Although he was born in a Spanish-speaking country and has understood Spanish since childhood, Crónicas (2004) is his first Spanish-language acting performance. His parents encouraged him to maintain his Spanish, sometimes with bribes. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he usually replied in English.

John Leguizamo Detailed Biography -

John Leguizamo (born July 22, 1964 in Bogotá, Colombia), is a comedian, actor and producer of Puerto Rican descent working in the Hollywood film industry . John Leguizamo John was born in Bogotá, Colombia. His father, Alberto Leguizamo, was a Puerto Rican Realtor living in Colombia who met and married a young Colombian woman by the name of Luz. In 1968 the couple immigrated with their children to the United States and settled down in the Jackson Heights section of Queens in New York City. John received his primary and secondary education in Queens. As a student in high school, John would write comical material and test it out on his classmates. He was voted "Most Talkative" by his fellow classmates. After graduating from high school (Murry Bergtraum High School), John enrolled at New York University where he took theater classes. John started out as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit. In 1984, he made his T.V. debut with a small part in Miami Vice. In 1985, John landed a small uncredited part, making his movie debut, in Mixed Blood and in 1989 he also had a small part in Casualties of War. In 1991, John participated in Hanging with the Homeboys. That same year, he wrote and participated in the Off-Broadway production Mambo Mouth, where he played seven different characters. Mambo Mouth won an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Award. He was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1991" in "John Willis' Screen Worlds Vol. 43". In 1993, John wrote and participated in Spic-O-Rama, where he made fun of the stereotyping of Latinos in the U.S.. The production won a Drama Desk Award and four Cable ACE Awards. The 1993 movie production Super Mario Brothers where he played the role of "Luigi Mario", is considered to be the film which skyrocketed his acting career in Hollywood, even though the film bombed spectacularly. Since then, other movies followed, such as: Carlito's Way (1993) as "Benny Blanco" alongside Al Pacino, Romeo + Juliet (1996) as "Tybalt", The Fan (1996) as "Manny", Executive Decision (1996) as "Captain Rat", Doctor Dolittle (1998) as "Rat#2", Summer of Sam (1999) and Moulin Rouge! as "Toulouse Lautrec". In 2000, John played two genies in the Emmy Award winning miniseries Arabian Nights. John has participated in over 53 films, including The Alibi where he will play the role of "Hannibal" and which is in the post-production stages as of 2005. Leguizamo also created, executive produced, wrote for, and starred in the 1995 Latino-oriented variety show called House of Buggin'. The show showcased Leguizamo's well-known ability to assume a wide variety of colorful, energetic characters. The show ran less than a year on Fox. In 1998, he debuted on Broadway in the production of Freak, which was also turned into an HBO film by director Spike Lee. John has produced 10 films, including Piñero and made 13 TV guest appearances. Later, in 2003, he voice-acted Globox from Rayman 3. The game versions with his voice acting were PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PC, and Mac. In 2005, John joined the cast of the show ER, playing Dr. Victor Clemente, a new attending who is keen on introducing the staff of County General to ways of treating patients and cutting-edge technology.