Trivia

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.

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.

His parents encouraged him to maintain his Spanish, sometimes with bribes. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he usually replied in English.

Was voted "Most Talkative" in high school.

Mentioned on The Bob and Tom Show that he turned down the role of Tom Hanks' boyfriend in Philadelphia (1993) to do Super Mario Bros. (1993).

Majored in theater at New York University and was the only Latino in drama class.

Moved from Colombia to the United States with his family when he was three years old.

Last name is actually pronounced: leh-gee-ZA-mo.

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 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! (2001).

He is the son of Luz Marina Peláez and Alberto Rudolfo Leguizamo. His family is Colombian. His paternal grandfather, Martín Vargas Cualla, was a wealthy landowner, and his great-great-grandfather, Higinio Cualla, was Mayor of John's birth city of Bogotá, the country's capital, for sixteen years between 1884-1900, significantly modernizing it. (His surname comes from his paternal grandmother, María Emilia Leguizamo).

Grew up in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, New York.

Father of Lucas Leguizamo and Allegra Leguizamo with wife Justine Maurer.

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 was born in a Spanish-speaking country and has understood Spanish since childhood, Cronicas (2004) is his first Spanish-language acting performance.

Met wife Justine when she was a wardrobe assistant on Carlito's Way.

Began writing material for himself in high school, testing it out on classmates.

Was Considered for Desperado (1995) for the role of El Mariachi as he was a secondary choice if Antonio Banderas turned down the role.

While John had often stated that he has Puerto Rican, Italian, and Lebanese ancestry, research by the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012) disproved this. Within his Colombian roots, which go back centuries, he has Spanish, Indigenous, and Basque roots. His DNA test showed him to be of 59.4% European (mostly Spanish), 24.5% Indigenous, 3.1% North African, and 2.9% Sub-Saharan African, ancestry.

Was considered for the role of Det. Rey Curtis on Law & Order (1990).

First screen appearance was in the Madonna music video "Borderline".

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43.

John's parents divorced when he was in his teens.

Has the same birthday as SNL alum David Spade.

Nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for his role as Jacob Vazquez in Waco (2018), but lost to Jeff Daniels from Godless (2017).

Former student of acting teacher David Gideon.

Has a younger brother Sergio and two younger sisters, Maria and Emily.

Graduated from Murray Bergtraum High School in New York, New York.

Grew up at 44-07 74th Street in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. After his parents divorced when he was ten he split his time between his father and his mother who lived at 86-11 Whitney Avenue, Apt 4A which was nearby.