
John Leguizamo
Department: Acting
Biography
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (born July 22, 1960) is a Colombian-American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced various television projects. He has also written and performed for the Broadway stage receiving four Tony Award nominations for Freak in 1998, Sexaholix in 2002, and Latin History for Moronsin in 2018. He received a Special Tony Award in 2018. Leguizamo began his career as a stand-up comedian in New York City. After several years of doing supporting roles in film and television, he rose to fame with significant roles in the fantasy adventure Super Mario Bros. portraying Luigi Mario and the crime drama Carlito's Way portraying Benny Blanco (both from 1993), followed by a role as drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in the road comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. Other films Leguizamo has since appeared in include Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Pest (1997), Summer of Sam (1999), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Empire (2002), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Righteous Kill (2008), The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), The Counselor (2013), John Wick (2014), John Wick 2 (2017), and The Menu (2022). As a voice actor, he narrated the sitcom The Brothers García (2000–2004). He played Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age franchise and Bruno Madrigal in Encanto (2021). Leguizamo is also known for his television roles including Freak (1998) for which he received the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. This historic win made Leguizamo the first Latino to win this award in Emmy history. He received further Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the miniseries Waco (2018) and the Netflix limited series When They See Us (2019). He has also appeared on ER, The Kill Point, Bloodline, and The Mandalorian. In 2023, he hosted the MSNBC series Leguizamo Does America.
Known For

Ice Age
2002

Romeo + Juliet
1996

Ice Age: The Meltdown
2006

Casualties of War
1989

Die Hard 2
1990

Moulin Rouge!
2001

A Pyromaniac's Love Story
1995

Executive Decision
1996

Summer of Sam
1999

Spawn
1997

Crónicas
2004

Surviving Sid
2008

The Honeymooners
2005

Body Count
1998

Land of the Dead
2005

Night Owl
1993

Carlito's Way
1993

Titan A.E.
2000

Love in the Time of Cholera
2007

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
2009

Spun
2003

The Happening
2008

Assault on Precinct 13
2005

Miracle at St. Anna
2008

Nothing Like the Holidays
2008

The Fan
1996

Super Mario Bros.
1993

The Babysitters
2008

Rage
2009

Encanto
2021

Empire
2002

Collateral Damage
2002

The Ministers
2009

Righteous Kill
2008

Where God Left His Shoes
2007

What's the Worst That Could Happen?
2001

Revenge
1990

The Alibi
2006

The Groomsmen
2006

John Leguizamo: Freak
1998

Vanishing on 7th Street
2010

Undefeated
2003

The Pest
1997

Gamer
2009

The Take
2008

The Lincoln Lawyer
2011

Joe the King
1999

One for the Money
2012

Hangin' with the Homeboys
1991

John Leguizamo: Sexaholix... A Love Story
2002

Ice Age: Continental Drift
2012

Street Hunter
1990

The Puerto Rican Mambo (Not a Musical)
1992

Violent Night
2022

Kick-Ass 2
2013

Walking with Dinosaurs
2013

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
2011

King of the Jungle
2000

Sueno
2005

Ballplayer: Pelotero
2011

John Leguizamo Live at Rikers
2022

John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry
2015

Mambo Mouth
1991

John Leguizamo: Spic-O-Rama
1993

Ride Along
2014

Fish N Chips: The Movie
2013

Bob Trevino Likes It
2025

Tin Soldier
2025

Chef
2014

The Trip 2
2012

Cymbeline
2014

Zig Zag
2002

The Hollow Point
2016

John Leguizamo: Ghetto Klown
2014

Whispers in the Dark
1992

American Ultra
2015

Sisters
2015

Fugly!
2014

John Wick
2014

Super Mario Bros: This Ain't No Video Game
2014

Frogs for Snakes
1998

Experimenter
2015

Out for Justice
1991

That Burning Question
1991

Ice Age: Collision Course
2016

Meadowland
2015

Repo Men
2010

Time Expired
1992

Stealing Cars
2016

The Crash
2017

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2007

Kids Are Punny
1998

Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe
2015

Poison
1991

The Infiltrator
2016

Point of Origin
2002

John Wick: Chapter 2
2017

The Latin Explosion: A New America
2015

Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
2016

A.C.O.R.N.S.: Operation Crackdown
2015

Porzingod
2016

11:55
2017

Regarding Henry
1991

A Brother's Kiss
1997

The Latino List
2011

Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2
2011

Perros
2016

Paraiso Travel
2008

NYPD Mounted
1991

Nancy
2018

The Night Club of Your Dreams: The Making of 'Moulin Rouge'
2001

The Night Clerk
2020

The Making of 'Spawn'
1997

John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons
2018

Gentille Alouette
1990

Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes
2001

The Sun Is Also a Star
2019

The Survivor
2022

The Counselor
2013

Playing with Fire
2019

It Takes a Lunatic
2019

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
1995

Doctor Dolittle
1998

Critical Thinking
2020

Visions of 'The Happening'
2008

The Happening: Elements of a Scene
2008

Tales From a Ghetto Klown
2013

Madonna: The Immaculate Collection
1990

Waiting for Godot
2021

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
2019

Dark Blood
2021

Mixed Blood
1984

The Menu
2022

Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
2016

Ice Age: Boiling Point
2027

Dr. Dolittle 2
2001

Scrat: Spaced Out
2016

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories
2002

The Sid Shuffle
2012

Ice Age: No Time for Nuts 4-D
2015

The Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest
—

Zootopia 2
2025

This Ordinary Thing
2025

A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music
2025

The Odyssey
2026

Untitled The Exorcist Film
2027

All Day & All Night
—

The Brothers García
2000

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003

The Daily Show
1996

Miami Vice
1984

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

The View
1997

The Power
2023

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993

ER
1994

The Three Friends and Jerry
1999

House of Buggin'
1995

The Kill Point
2007

Unxplained Latam
2021

The Daily Show
1996

Inside with Jen Psaki
2023

Leguizamo Does America
2023

VOCES American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos
2024

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence
2008

Santiago of the Seas
2020

Bloodline
2015

Waco
2018

The Oscars
1953

Waco: The Aftermath
2023

Arabian Nights
2000

Sherri
2022

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009

When They See Us
2019

Smoke
2025

The View
1997

The Green Veil
2024

BoJack Horseman
2014

The Adventures of Puss in Boots
2015

The Adventures of Puss in Boots
2015

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

American Dad!
2005

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009

My Name Is Earl
2005

Real Time with Bill Maher
2003

The Mandalorian
2019

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014

Miami Vice
1984

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

Dear Killer Nannies
2026

Late Show with David Letterman
1993

Tony Awards
1956

Tony Awards
1956