Aunque nació en Bogotá, Colombia, el actor John Leguizamo es un consumado neoyorquino. Criado enJackson Heights, Queens y actualmente residente de Greenwich Village, Leguizamo representa la marca distintiva de los cinco boroughs de inteligencia y perezosa callejera, ya sea jugando a sí mismo, a un gánster o, como sucede, a un perezoso animado.
Julio es un mes ajetreado para Leguizamo, que reprendió su papel como Sid (el perezoso de dibujos animados antes mencionado) en la Edad deHielo: Continental Drift, la cuarta entrega de la exitosa franquicia de cine familiar, que se realizará el 13 de julio, y que es el tema del documentalTales From a Ghetto Klown, debutará en PBS el mismo día.
Cuando el actor habla sobre sus proyectos y sus lugares favoritos de Nueva York, está claro que aporta a cada aspecto de su vida la misma energía maníaca que distingue sus actuaciones; su entusiasmo por la diversidad de la ciudad es palpable.
Your character in Ice Age, Sid, is an animated sloth. How do you relate to him?
John Leguizamo:
Sid the Sloth rules!
Laughs
I just love the character, because he's vulnerable, you know? He's a goofball, and he's OK with that. I like being very self-deprecating and being able to laugh at myself and play the fool. I don't mind. And I like other people who are like that.
You're also the focus of the soon-to-debut Tales From a Ghetto Klown. What's the story there?
JL:
It's a documentary of what it took me to get to Broadway with [the one-man show]
Ghetto Klown
. All the ups and the many, many downs. Because it's never as easy as it looks. It took a battle to get there.
You grew up in Jackson Heights. What makes the neighborhood special?
JL:
It's the most eclectic melting pot in the world. Since I was a kid, there were Germans, Irish, Jews, Italians. Then we came—you know, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Chileans, Argentineans. And now you've got Indians, Koreans, Chinese and Mexicans. It's awesome, man. That's what's beautiful about that area. You go one block and hit those Mexican stands that have mango with salt and hot pepper, and then you go to
and get the best homemade Indian food you ever had. Then you go to Pollos Mario for the best Colombian food in Queens.
How about your current neighborhood, Greenwich Village?
JL:
I can just roll out of bed and I'm in
, or I can go to
—that famous, crazy restaurant—and then I can go to
or
. You can go to the best, high-end, where-to-be-seen spots, or you can duck that nonsense and go right to my favorite Ethiopian restaurant,
, or to Asean—they have the best Asian food. Or take the train and go to
. It's all right there.
What's the one New York City spot that a visitor shouldn't miss?
JL:
I'm a people-watcher—I love people-watching. So I would go to Washington Square Park, Central Park, and Union Square, because those three parks are ideal for people-watching. That's where you see what this city is about. All these artists, all these writers. You see intellectuals, the average Joe, the average Jane. It's magic. Sunday in the Park with George. Washington Square Park, I love it. I used to perform there myself. Or tried, anyway.
Did you put on a show in the fountain?
JL:
I tried. I really failed. [
Laughs
]
What happened?
JL:
My girlfriend at the time and I used to do improv a lot. We went in there and tried to do our act, just like the famous Rick Aviles and Charlie Barnett. We did some improv, the old “Can I have an object that you can hold in your hand that wouldn't offend your mom, a city in America and a profession?” And you try to do sketches based on whatever people give you. [
Laughs
] And we failed miserably. A pigeon pooped on my head. It was terrible. I didn't get paid. We lost our voices after something like half an hour. It was the worst.