John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo (born July 22, 1964) is an Colombian-American comedian, actor and producer.

Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia to Alberto and Luz Leguizamo.

Leguizamo's father was once an aspiring film director and studied at Cinecittà but eventually dropped out due to lack of finances. When Leguizamo was three years old, his family immigrated to the United States and lived in various neighborhoods of Queens in New York City. Leguizamo attended the Joseph Pulitzer Middle School (I.S.145) and later the Murry Bergtraum High School. As a student at Murry Bergtraum High School, Leguizamo wrote comedy material and tested it out on his classmates. He was voted "Most Talkative" by his fellow classmates.

After graduating from high school, Leguizamo enrolled at Long Island University C.W. Post Campus where he took theater classes.

Leguizamo started out as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit. In 1984, he made his T.V. debut with a small part in Miami Vice. In 1993, Leguizamo wrote and participated in Spic-O-Rama, where he made fun of the stereotyping of Latinos in the U.S.. The production won a Drama Desk Award and four Cable ACE Awards. Leguizamo played the role of Luigi Mario in the 1993 movie production Super Mario Brothers, starting his acting career in Hollywood. In 2000, Leguizamo played two genies in the Emmy Award winning miniseries Arabian Nights. Leguizamo has participated in over 53 films, including The Alibi, where he played the role of "Hannibal". In 1998, he debuted on Broadway in the production of Freak, which was also turned into an HBO film by director Spike Lee. Leguizamo has produced 10 films, including Piñero and made 13 TV guest appearances.

During the 2005-2006 television season, Leguizamo joined the cast of the show "ER", playing the emotionally disturbed Dr. Victor Clemente, a new attending who is keen on introducing the staff of County General to better ways of treating patients and cutting-edge technology. Clemente, however, was plagued with personal problems and was fired from the hospital near the end of the season. Dr. Clemente's departure from the show was a blessing for Leguizamo. He revealed to CraveOnline that he was not happy working on the television program. "I was depressed doing ER," he admitted, "I started gaining weight, I was eating donuts, I started smoking again. I’m eating McDonalds, things that I know when I’m depressed I do. I tried to kill myself internally."

In October 2006, Leguizamo's memoir, Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life, was released. During an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Leguizamo stated that his memoir was very frank about odd experiences involving other celebrities and co-stars he had worked with. He claimed that working with Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the most enjoyable experiences he had as an actor. He also said that Arnold's accent let him say things that others would think were sexist or homophobic if said by someone else, that Steven Seagal was an egotist with diva tendencies, and that Leonardo DiCaprio was a "patron of prostitutes".

Leguizamo married Justine Maurer in 2003. They have two children, daughter Allegra Sky (born 1999) and son Ryder Lee (born 2000), and live in Venice, California. Commonly referred to, in and around Hollywood circles, as "Johnny Legs".

Leguizamo is a practicing Roman Catholic and very close friends with Rosie Perez.