John Leguizamo On New Series ‘VOCES American History’ And His Career: ‘I Never Trusted Hollywood’

He's the hard-working actor behind many acclaimed films like Super Mario Bros., To Wong Foo, Thank You for Everything! with Julie Newmar, Romeo + Juliet, Spawn, Chef, The Menu and more. He's played some of the most iconic animated characters in recent history, including Sid in the Ice Age films and Bruno in Charm.

Born in Bogota, Colombia and immigrating to New York when he was just five years old, John Leguizamo now brings Voices American History: The Untold History of Latinos to our television screens, past and present, he has often emphasized the importance of the Latino community in the making of America.

I sat down with the 64-year-old Leguizamo to learn more about his new series, which premieres on PBS on September 27, and got a chance to hear him reflect on his journey to overcome obstacles and forge his own unique path in Hollywood, he also continues to strive to give more opportunities to others like himself.

Jeff Conaway: Where did your initial interest come from and where did the first step come from in bringing this three-part series to the world?

John Leguizamo: Well, this has been a passion project of mine. I think this show is one of my most important contributions to American culture. I think if you can be completely honest, it started in my youth when you would play with your black friends in your neighborhood and beat them at stickball or two-handed touch and then they would say, “Why don’t you go back to your country, Spike? Suddenly, when they lose you become an ethnic group. I never had an answer – I never had an answer and I never felt I could answer them. I used to just get angry and we would fight, but when it happened to my son, I thought, I want to break this cycle of violence. To me, violence is the highest form of communication and I wanted to weaponize their voice, their voice, the facts. I started doing research and was amazed at the magnitude of the Latino contribution to the creation of America.

John Leguizamo in conversation with attorney/author Sheryl S. Teneyuca in "Voices American History: The ... [+] Untold History of Latinos"

Johns Hopkins University did a study that found that 87% of Latino contributions to the creation of America are not in history books, and of the 13% that are, they have less than five sentences. So, that's my anecdote — it's bringing us back to the history books, the History Channel, and all the other places where our contributions have been overlooked by so many.

Conway: John, in your opinion, what is it about our world and society in America today that makes your story timely and relevant?

Leguizamo: I mean, I think we Latinos are at an incredible point in our existence in America. We will decide who the next president will be because we have over 30 million registered voters. We're the largest voter in America after white people. I think that's a very important point right now and needs to be addressed. We're the youngest ethnic group in America — most Latinos are under the age of 26 and impressionable. They need this message to feel validated, to feel important, to understand that they can be whatever they want to be, and I think this show does that.

Conway: When it comes to this VOICES American History series, obviously it's great for people who come from the Latino community and want to see their history, want to see their ancestors, but I'm sure you would also agree that this series is more important for people like me, because it's a warning to people beyond the Latino community. Do you agree?

Leguizamo: Well, sir. I wish I could say that, but you do. Yeah, it's more important that black people see it. It's great for Black, Asian, LGBTQ+ people — everyone should watch this show because once you understand that when you say "Make America great again," it's basically "Make America Black again." I've never been Black. It's always been Indigenous, Latino and Black. By denying that, you're denying such a powerful group their opportunity and creating an underclass that will ultimately lead to destruction.

Conway: John, what is it in our society today — Latino leaders, Latino pioneers — that excites you the most about our country and where it can go next?

John Leguizamo talks with actor, director and producer Edward James Olmos on "Voices American ... [+] History: The Untold Story of Latinos."

NGL Studios/PBS
Leguizamo: Our [Latino] purchasing power is $3.4 trillion. We're in the U.S. One-third of the box office — we're the biggest producer in the U.S. We're in. Let's follow the movies. It's a third of streaming subscribers. We're a third of sports fans, but we're less than 4% of the heroes in movies, less than 1% of the stories told, less than .09% of the executives making decisions.