Spanning three decades of his career, John Leguizamo has been part of several hit movies. From playing Sid in the Ice Age franchise to appearing in the classic musical Moulin Rouge!, Leguizamo has built an envious resume for himself. However, despite his decorated career, the actor admitted to making “stupid” judgment calls in the past on movies, which later made him regret.
Speaking with Business Insider, John Leguizamo thus shared some of the roles he regrets turning down that went on to become big hits, like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Initially beginning with Stanley Tucci’s role in The Devil Wears Prada, which was originally offered to him, Leguizamo recalled turning down Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s movie over racist claims that later turned out to be untrue.
John Leguizamo Recalls His Career’s Worst Judgment
Looking back on his spectacular career filled with renowned franchises John Leguizamo sat for an interview with Business Insider. Shedding light on his filmography spanning over 30 years, the Ice Age actor gradually opened up about what his career could have been, had he not made a few of the worst judgments during his initial years.
Beginning by addressing the films that he turned down for poor judgment and stupid reasons, John Leguizamo claimed to be still mad at himself for turning down the role of Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada. The character was later played by Stanley Tucci, while Leguizamo sat back to reconsider the opportunity and regret.
Similarly, John Leguizamo regretted turning down the role in the animated comedy Happy Feet, which later went to Robin Williams. According to Leguizamo, since he already did voice roles in the Ice Age franchise, he didn’t want to voice any further animated characters.
“And Happy Feet, I had done Ice Age. I was going, ‘I don’t want to be doing all these ice movies.’ Such a stupid reason. But it seemed logical to me at the moment, and then I lost out on millions.”
However, among all the movies he pointed to so far, nothing haunted John Leguizamo more than the poor judgment that made him turn down Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
John Leguizamo Regrets Turning Down Mr. and Mrs. Smith
While addressing all the movies that he rejected so far, John Leguizamo saved the worst for the last. Speaking with the outlet, the actor finally expressed his regret and frustration with himself for turning down a role in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Revealing the stupid reason behind his decision to turn down the opportunity, John Leguizamo noted that it was based on the supposed pay dispute that made him think crooked. According to the actor, as he was offered to work for scale on the film, he felt “dissed”. More than anything, it was based on the salary that Pitt and Jolie were making compared to him.
“Well, for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, it was because they were paying them $20 million and they were going to pay me scale. I felt dissed, and they probably weren’t dissing me, but I felt dissed.”
“Sometimes when you’re a person of color, you’re so used to being dissed that you think you’re being dissed, and sometimes you’re not being dissed. So that’s what happens, and you have to go to a lot of therapy to fix that.”
John Leguizamo was undoubtedly aware that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were being offered millions compared to him, because of their A-list careers fronting blockbuster films. However, that didn’t stop him from feeling disrespected at the moment. He even went to the extent where he believed that the pay difference was because of alleged racism.
Later on, the actor realized that it “probably” wasn’t the case and he ended up turning down the classic film because of his mad judgment. The role eventually went to Vince Vaughn, and John Leguizamo lived to regret his decision.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is available on Netflix.
