But the pain has paid off. Wong Foo is a hit, capturing the No. 1 spot at the box office for two weeks after its Sept. 8 release. As for Leguizamo, he has been hailed by critics as being far prettier than his costars, Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes, making him the victor in an improbable rivalry that astonished the movie's director, Beeban Kidron. "I've never heard women be competitive about their looks the way these three guys were," she says. But even she concedes, "The best thing about the movie is John Leguizamo's legs."
About the only one not charmed is Chi Chi Rodriguez, 59, the professional golfer with the same name as Leguizamo's character, who has filed suit against Universal Pictures. The golfer's lawyers say the Leguizamo character "engages in numerous disreputable acts and is portrayed as sexually promiscuous." Because the lawsuit is ongoing, Universal wouldn't comment. But, in defense of his character, Leguizamo says, "I wasn't promiscuous. I was curious."
Speaking up has always been Leguizamo's style. He was voted most talkative at Murray Bergtrum High School in Manhattan, and once, when he was 14, he and a friend were arrested after they broke into an empty conductor's compartment on a subway and launched into a goofball travelogue over the public address system. Leguizamo's parents (Alberto is a Realtor; Luz is involved in Latin causes), who had divorced the previous year, sent John to live with relatives in his native Bogotá, Colombia, as punishment. Leguizamo was livid. "[In New York City] I was having one of the best times of my life," he says. "I lost my virginity. I tasted pot."
Back home a year later, he continued to make trouble, and school officials forced him into counseling. He credits the experience with changing his life. "Therapy made me appreciate myself," he says. When a guidance counselor suggested acting as an outlet for his energy, Leguizamo picked a school from the Yellow Pages and paid for classes by working at Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 1981 he entered New York University but dropped out after three years to join Off Center Theater, a comedy troupe. "He got onstage and just stayed there," recalls the group's creative director, Abigail Rosen. "We needed a broom to get him off."
Before long he had the stage to himself as the writer and star of two award-winning one-man off-Broadway shows, Mambo Mouth in 1989 and, three years later, Spic-O-Rama. The lowlight of his career, he says, came in 1993 with his role in the flop Super Mario Brothers. Then came "one of the highlights," he says, playing gangster Benny Blanco opposite Al Pacino in Carlito's Way. More disappointment came this year when Leguizamo's Fox TV comedy show, House of Buggin', was canceled after just 10 episodes.
Fortunately that left more time for movies. Leguizamo's next film, Brother's Kiss, a drama with Rosie Perez and Marisa Tomei, will debut in January, followed by Executive Decision, a thriller starring Steven Seagal and Kurt Russell. "After Wong Foo," Leguizamo says, "it's a pleasure to be carrying guns and killing people."
The kidding around notwithstanding, Leguizamo is no macho tough guy, says his wife, actress Yelba Osorio, 23. When they met four years ago at a comedy workshop, "I thought he was kind of shy," she says. "But he looked good in racing shorts." The couple, who are renovating a Manhattan brownstone, eloped last year but had a big church wedding in July. Osorio made sure she was the only one wearing a gown. After all, on film, boasts Leguizamo, "I was a hoochie mama. I looked like Cindy Crawford."
SHELLEY LEVITT
TOBY KAHN in New York City
- Contributors:
- Toby Kahn.
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