John Leguizamo calls out Hollywood's colorism, says he avoided the sun to continue getting roles

John Leguizamo is one of the most recognizable Latinx actors, with more than 100 credits, including major titles like Romeo + Juliet, John Wick, and Carlito’s Way. He even became the first Latino to play Luigi in 1993's Super Mario Bros. Leguizamo’s career has continued to thrive for over two decades, but in a new interview he discusses how difficult it was achieve his success while also acknowledging his own privilege as a light-skinned actor of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent.

In his chat with Nick Barili for The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new interview video series, Seen, Leguizamo talks about colorism in Hollywood, and he admits he would avoid tanning so he could continue to get roles.

“I’ve benefitted from being light skin, and I stayed out of the sun so I could work. I definitely would not go in the sun. For years I was so pasty so I could work,” he says. “All the Latinos who’ve made it so far, a lot of them were light-skinned. What happened to all the Afro Latinos and the majority of the indigenous Latinos? They don’t get a shot.”

Leguizamo also discusses how challenging it was for him to finally break into the industry, especially compared to his white counterparts. He reflects on his time at NYU, where he realized that he wasn’t getting the same opportunities as his white classmates. “All the white kids in my class were going to five auditions a day. I was going to one every five months. And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I’m working as hard as they are. I’ve got better grades.’ And then I realized, ‘Oh my god, I don’t have the same opportunities as they have. I realized it wasn’t an equal playing field,” he recalls.

“You’re disillusioned, you’re a young man and you realize, ‘Oh my god, life is not fair. Just because of how I look, how I sound, my economic class that I come from, it’s just not an equal playing field. No matter how talented you are, it doesn’t matter,” he adds.

He also says the auditions he landed were “always for a drug dealer, a murderer, a killer, or your gardener or somebody servicing your house.” He notes that, at the time, with very little opportunities in Hollywood, he turned to improv and writing, in order to find other avenues for his talents.

Leguizamo goes on to talk about being fired from a movie because a Latina was cast and they “couldn’t have two Latin people in the movie because then it becomes a Latin movie.” He adds, “He meant he can only have one token at a time.” He also shares that a producer told him, “Too bad John you’re Puerto Rican, ‘cause you’re so talented. Otherwise you’d be so much further along.”