As a fan who grew up watching the underrepresented stories of my community, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of appreciation and admiration for John Leguizamo. His journey from a young boy in Queens, New York, who didn’t know that people like him could be actors to an Emmy-winning actor himself is nothing short of inspiring.
John Leguizamo is “almost happy and certainly less angry” with the nominees for the 2024 Emmys.
During his performance on Sunday evening, the Emmy-winning actor promptly reminded the audience, “I’m among those in Hollywood who have been hired with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In other words, my ‘D’ represents diligence, ‘E’ stands for excellence, and ‘I’ symbolizes imagination. Each one of us here tonight has committed ourselves to these very qualities, so we can all consider ourselves as DEI hires. What a wonderful diverse gathering this is tonight.
As a child in Queens, New York, he had no idea that individuals such as himself could become actors.
At 15 years old, I wasn’t familiar with the term ‘character representation,’ but I noticed that there were many actors with brown skin cast as Latin characters, even though they weren’t of Latino descent. For instance, Marlon Brando portrayed a Mexican character, Al Pacino played a Cuban gangster, and Natalie Wood was cast as Maria, a Puerto Rican beauty in West Side Story.
Nobody seemed to be playing fair with us, but only us; it’s rare to see many individuals who resemble me on television,” Leguizamo expressed.
He also brought up Ricky Ricardo, along with Speedy Gonzales from the Looney Tunes cartoons and his less active companion, Slowpoke Rodriguez.
“And that’s how we saw ourselves, because that’s all we saw of ourselves,” he said.
I’ve been quiet for a long time, accepting the narrow opportunities given to my community… It seems that silence doesn’t bring change. Therefore, for quite some time now, I’ve been expressing my concerns and dissatisfaction.
Later on, he discussed the open letter that he had penned and was featured in the New York Times. In this letter, he called upon his fellow professionals to consider and nominate artists of diverse backgrounds for all award categories during the upcoming Emmy ballot process.
He shouted out this year’s ceremony for including the “most diverse list of nominees” which also include his “incredibly talented Latinx brothers and sisters.” He applauded nominees Selena Gomez, Sofía Vergara, Issa Lopez, Kali Reis and Nava Mau for their notable nominations and Liza Colón-Zayas for her Emmy win earlier in the night.
He remarked, “Five Latinx individuals are being recognized tonight,” adding humorously that Mark Cuban would make six since his surname is Cuban. He emphasized the importance of showcasing stories from underrepresented groups such as Black, Jewish, Arab, LGBTQ+, and disabled individuals. Tonight’s event, he suggested, is a testament to our industry advancing in this regard.
The Emmy Awards were broadcast live from the Peacock Theater, located in Los Angeles, on ABC television. Eugene and Dan Levy served as the hosts for this event. Don’t forget to catch the stars walking the red carpet!
Read More
Sorry. No data so far.
2024-09-16 05:55