John Leguizamo Says He Avoided The Sun To Stay ‘Light Skinned’ For Casting
etcanada.comJohn Leguizamo is sharing his experience with casting as a Latino actor. The “Encanto” star told the Academy Award’s “Seen” that he “stayed out of the sun” so he would get more parts. “I definitely would not go in the sun for years.
It was a conscious thing because I could work,” Leguizamo said. He elaborated, “And all the Latinos that made it so far, a lot of them were all light-skinned.
What happened to all the Afro-Latinos and the majority of indigenous Latinos? They don’t get a shot, you know. So, there’s a lot of things we got to deal with in Hollywood, and we got to fix, and we got to speak out and we got to speak up.” READ MORE: John Leguizamo Says ‘Too Bad They Went All White’ With ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Movie Casting Leguizamo expressed the issues with the lack of diverse Latino representation in Hollywood. “How do you create a Latin star in America when the roles are one-dimensional and not worthy of awards?” he said. “The ugly question is, why are Latin people not succeeding?
What’s the ugly question? Are we not smart enough? Not talented enough? Not good-looking enough? Not hardworking enough? No, none of those stereotypes and racist ideas because nobody tries harder with less access.” The Colombian-born actor has stood up for Latinx performers before, boycotting the 2020 Emmys due to their lack of Latinx nominees. READ MORE: John Leguizamo Explains Why He’s ‘Boycotting’ The 72nd Emmys “So not only are we invisible, but when we are seen, it’s a negative portrayal,” he continued. “Things are improving.
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