John Leguizamo, Patrick Swayze, and Wesley Snipes portrayed three drag queens in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everthing! Julie Newmar. The road movie follows the three New York City drag queens as they embark on a journey to Los Angeles to compete in the Miss Drag Queen of America Pageant. While all three lead actors gave praiseworthy performances, Leguizamo found the late Swayze difficult to work with during the film.
Leguizamo revealed that he improvised many of his lines in the film, which didn’t sit well with the Road House star. He also added that he and Wesley Snipes got along so well during the film since they were people of color, but didn’t share the same camaraderie with Swayze.
John Leguizamo Found It Difficult To Work With A ‘Neurotic’ Patrick Swayze
In To Wong Foo, Wesley Snipes‘ Noxeema Jackson and Patrick Swayze‘s Vida Boheme are drag queens tied for the win in New York City’s Drag Queen of the Year. When they get a chance to appear in a bigger event in Los Angeles, they decide to take along an inexperienced protégé Chi Chi Rodriguez, played by John Leguizamo.
The John Wick actor opened up about his role in the film during an interview with Andy Cohen on Radio Andy – SiriusXM 102. Leguizamo shared with Cohen that the Ghost actor was difficult to work with due to his neurotic behavior on set. While The Lincoln Lawyer actor admitted that he too was somewhat neurotic on the set, Swayze was a tiny bit insecure about his co-stars.
He revealed that he had a good relationship with Snipes on the set. Swayze’s biggest problem was that Leguizamo was constantly improvising his lines. Leguizamo shared with Andy Cohen:
“Rest in peace, I love him. He was just neurotic and I’m not… you know, I’m neurotic too but, I don’t know. He was just… it was difficult working with him. Just neurotic, I think maybe a tiny bit insecure. And then Wesley and I, we vibed because we’re people of color and we got each other. And I’m also an improviser, and [Patrick] didn’t like that.”
Leguizamo further shared that the Dirty Dancing actor got mad at set because he “couldn’t keep up” with the other two lead actors. Swayze would often question Leguizamo’s improvised lines during takes. He would then ask him to say the line the way it was in the script. The Waco actor would then refuse to do so, sharing that the director Beeban Kidron would want him to keep improvising the lines. He shared:
“He’d be like, ‘Are you gonna say a line like that?’ I’d go, ‘You know me. I’m gonna do me. I’m gonna just keep making up lines.’ He goes, ‘Well, can you just say the line the way it is?’ I go, ‘I can’t. And the director [Beeban Kidron] didn’t want me to.’”
The little conflict ultimately didn’t affect the movie at all. Swayze was one of the last actors to be considered for the role of Vida. Many A-listers were in the running for the role, including Robert Downey Jr., Gary Oldman, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, and Tom Cruise.
John Leguizamo Says To Wong Foo Is A Very Important Film In Gender Awareness
Patrick Swayze received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, while John Leguizamo was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor category. While they didn’t win the awards, another recognition is enough for Leguizamo to be proud of his film. He shared that To Wong Foo is a “very important film” as it helped a lot of transgender and LGBTQ+ kids to feel confident.
He shared that these people, who are a little older now, would share with him that the film gave them the confidence to come out to their parents. Leguizamo shared that the film was a success as an art since it gave people courage and taught them empathy. He shared:
“A lot of transgender kids and LGBTQ+ kids come up to me who are now a little older and say because of that character they felt confident to come out to their parents. That’s what art is supposed to do. Art is supposed to give people courage. Art is supposed to teach people empathy. That’s what I got in the business for.”
The film, made on a budget of $30 million, grossed $47.8 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo). While critics had a mixed response to the storyline, they unanimously agreed that the three leads were phenomenal in their roles.
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar is now available for streaming on Tubi.
