Leguizamo secures role by refusing to take no for an answer
Here’s some fun casting news for film fans. John Leguizamo has seen many ups and downs throughout his long career on camera, and with recent news breaking that he’s secured the role of Pablo Escobar in the upcoming biopic King of Cocaine from Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) no one can the man isn’t dedicated to the craft. Or, maybe he’s just destined to play Escobar on screen. Deadline is reporting that Leguizamo got the role through some unconventional persuasion that included prosthetics and convincingly Esbobarian good looks.
Not only is it great to see someone like Leguizamo snag such an iconic role, but the method with which he did so is impressive in an industry where actors pass on big roles left and right. Read a bit more about how he landed the part after the jump.
According to the Deadline article, Leguizamo was Furman’s original choice for the role. Unfortunately for them both, and as the Hollywood business goes, the powers the be wanted an actor that was more bankable to embody Esbobar in the biopic. Names like Benicio del Toro and Oscar Isaac were thrown into the hat instead, and it looked for a while like Isaac was going to pick up the part. When that didn’t happen Leguizamo once again tried in vain to convince producer and financier Scott Steindorff that he belonged in the role.
What Leguizamo and Furman did next is inspired:
After Inside Llewyn Davis star Isaac dropped out, Leguizamo was once again told no by producer/financier Scott Steindorff, with whom he had just worked in the Jon Favreau-directed Chef. Leguizamo then went out and spent upwards of $15,000 of his own money for a fat suit and prosthetic makeup that rendered him a dead ringer for Escobar at his prime. Leguizamo and Furman filmed a screen test, and got it to Steindorff, who once again said no. Furman fought for it and got the producer to submit it to Relativity execs, without disclosing the identity of the actor. It not only showed him portraying Escobar, it even had a split screen comparison to the actual drug kingpin.
Their effort paid off. The Relativity execs were impressed with the test, and when they found out it was Leguizamo behind the makeup they started thinking he could be the man behind the man. Leguizamo was hired shortly after.
Again, in an industry that sees actors pass up iconic roles for more personal projects it’s nice to see Leguizamo go that extra mile to secure both. Bravo, sir.
Here’s a sneak peak Lequizamo shared from his screen test back in July:
Read a more in-depth article about Leguizamo’s struggle to play Escobar over at Yahoo! Movies.