John Leguizamo is in a New York state of mind.
After appearing in such movies as Moulin Rouge and using his vocal talents in the animated Ice Age, the edgy, gifted actor who hails from the Big Apple returns to his roots to star in the gritty urban drama Empire. He plays Vic Rosa, a drug dealer from the streets of South Bronx who yearns to break out of the street life and become something more respectable even though he’s successful at his “business.” He sees his chance to go straight when he gets involved in a business deal with Wall Street investment banker Jack (Peter Sarsgaard), only to find out what is considered clean can be just as dirty as the streets.
Hollywood.com caught up with Leguizamo to talk to him about his new movie, what appeals to him about the gangster theme and what his take is on the American Dream.
Empire appeals to your inner gangster, right?
John Leguizamo: I dig gangster films. Some of my favorites are, of course, The Godfather. Scarface and the smaller ones like Dog Day Afternoon and even Bonnie and Clyde. But I knew the gangsters in Empire. I grew up with these guys in Jackson Heights [New York]. To me, [the dealers] were always the coolest and hippest, even though I knew what they were doing.
Did you want to hang out with them?
Leguizamo: Oh yeah. If my parents knew, they would have freaked out. But they didn’t know. The guys were funny, they were cool. They could dance. They were just amazing, man. Got all the girls.
Were you ever exposed to the kind of violence that’s in this film?
Leguizamo: No, not while I was around. I knew some of them got beat up and saw some of them get hurt. They were always running off somewhere, ya know, they were businessmen. Some of them went to jail, but it was still cool. They had a code of ethics. They were loyal to the people who worked for them. I saw that. I didn’t see the other side. Only when I started doing research for this movie did I see the other side. And the other side is really tough. They are all walking around in fear. I did a couple of runs with them and you actually are on the run. You can’t stand still in one spot because if you do, the cops will notice you and will arrest you or somebody will try and take over your territory. If you stand still, you’re a mark. You always had to keep walking, always walking. Walking at this crazy pace, all up and down. Everywhere.
Empire‘s director Franc Reyes also came from the same streets.
Leguizamo: From much tougher streets than where I grew up. He was a lot closer to it than me because he had family members involved. I meet this one guy when I was doing some research, he came from Washington Heights [a lower income area of New York] and was sending his kids to the best school in America, in the Upper East Side. The kids who go to this school go onto Harvard or Yale. They come from gangs, from another country, still have accents and the way the make their money to send their kids to these schools. It’s the American Dream upside down and twisted.
What’s your version of the American Dream?
Leguizamo: It’s such a trippy thing because America is such a great, great country in so many ways, but so messed up in so many other ways. Do we really have a democracy? Are the Democratic and Republican parties just a sham? Or are we really voting for corporations? Does everyone really have an opportunity in this country? I did, but there’s a hundred of my other friends who didn’t who ended up nowhere. Who ended up being eaten alive by drive and ambition. I love this country but I want it to be even better. It is such a utopia of the world but it’s also very tarnished and has done a lot of evil things that we’ve paid for in the end.
What do you like most about shooting in New York?
Leguizamo: I love shooting in New York. Some directors flourish there, some actors do
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too. Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen. There’s such a vibe. It’s the mix of people, class, religious beliefs, race. It’s great. There are so many fascinating people. I just love the mix of people.
What did you feel, seeing your beloved city attacked?
Leguizamo: It was horrible, a nightmare. I wasn’t in the city when it happened but I live pretty close to [the Twin Towers] and I could smell it when I came home. We felt so safe, so above the law. We were the untouchables and then all of a sudden, two of the biggest monuments knocked down before our very eyes. I could see them from my backyard and now I can’t see them. It’s horrible but a great wake-up call for America. It really unified New Yorkers too, we got over a lot of our differences. Unfortunately, things are back to normal now.
Tell us about working with a first-time director. No doubt Reyes was excited to have you on board.
Leguizamo: Yeah, it was really fun. I’ve worked with first-time directors and established directors. There’s good and bad points about being a first-time director. Franc was open enough and clever and savvy enough to be collaborative and I think that’s the magic of moviemaking. Directors I’ve worked with–Baz Luhrmann, Spike Lee–super collaborative. And that’s where you get the best work from everybody.
You’ve taken the directing reins as well [the HBO film Infamous]. What was the experience like?
Leguizamo: It’s still going on. I just can’t wait for it to finally be put together. It takes forever, man. Directing is a tough gig, I tell ya. But I tried to be as collaborative as I could. ‘Cause in the end, a great confident director knows that he’s got all the power. He’s in the editing room and he’ll cut out want he doesn’t want. But if he’s got a variety of stuff and choices, he can make an incredible film. And you got to get those choices. First-time directors don’t usually know that, they are more tentative and afraid. Franc wasn’t like that. He was fearless.
Do you find you have more freedom doing an independent film rather than a big studio picture?
Leguizamo: Definitely. Much more freedom. Big studio films unfortunately sometimes get very formulaic. So bogged down in clichés, and to escape that is half the work. Just to make that feel halfway OK is a tough gig. And you try to add complexity or duality or some kind of ambiguous character thing? They don’t fly with that. Everything has to be so by the book. Heroes. Villains. That’s not how great movies work, how real life is.
The indie film boom of late has been tremendous for many new filmmakers, don’t you think?
Leguizamo: Thanks My Big Fat Greek Wedding!
Empire opens in limited theaters Dec. 6.
