“He’s a more sensitive, a [more] nurturing man.
A man who’s not afraid of being vulnerable.
This is the new masculinity that we need to put forward and the best kind of masculinity.”
John Leguizamo.Credit:John Lamparski/Getty
Directed by Tracie Laymon,Bob Trevino Likes Itis loosely based on the filmmaker’s real-life story.
It’s a very different role than I’ve ever done before.
I’m usually doing the crazy guy, the wild guy, or the villain.
John Leguizamo in ‘Bob Trevino Likes It’.Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
And so I jumped at the chance.
It was something very different and something much closer to myself than usual."
One of his first major movie roles wasTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!
Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, and Patrick Swayze in ‘To Wong Foo’.Lorey Sebastian / Universal/courtesy Everett
Julie Newmaras the young drag queen Chi Chi Rodriguez.
It’s a film that he says still holds power, even after 30 years.
Want more movie news?
Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo in ‘Bob Trevino Likes It’.Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Good movies have that effect.
Good movies have staying power.
And I’m glad thatTo Wong Foois still around because it has that.
Because back when it came out, it was very daring.
It was very groundbreaking because straight men were not playing those roles.
You know what I mean?
They just wouldn’t; movie stars wouldn’t do that because it would wreck their careers.
And you hadWesley Snipesat the top of his action career.Patrick Swayze, top of his romantic lead era.
It was a brave move and a beautiful move, a bold move by both those guys.
And I was an up-and-coming star, so I didn’t have as much to lose.”
“It was about inclusivity,” he says.
“It was about respecting others.
It was about respecting transgender people.
It was about respecting the LGBTQ+ community, and it was dignifying them all.
This hate against transgender people is so ridiculous.
And all this talk about transgender people in sports.
One out of 350 million people?
Relax people; just let them be and respect them.
And we could bring that back.
Bring back respect to the transgender community.”
Leguizamo has been advocating for representation for years, particularly for the Latino community.
TheEncantostar remembers when productions refused to cast more than one Latino.
InBob Trevino,the film’s leading stars, Leguizamo andEuphoria’s Ferreira, are of Latino background.
“It’s amazing!”
“Amazing because back in the day, there were quotas and not positive quotas, negative quotas.
That’s the things that were going on back in the ’90s.
I mean, it was the birth of a great actress and you could see it.
I was so glad to be a part of it.”
He explains, “They can just be about anything because everybody’s the same, really.
When you scratch beneath the surface of our skin, we’re the same as everybody else.
That’s just a touching, beautiful story that happens to have two Latinos as your leads.”
Bob Trevino Likes Itis now in theaters.
