Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images
For: Showbiz Updated 26 Jan 2022, 22: 20 pm EST
John Leguizamo has become an idol for millions of children after giving voice to the character of Bruno in the movie “Encanto”, about a family in which all its members -or almost all- have magical powers. The most ironic thing about his new popularity is that, until recently, the Colombian roots of the interpreter who celebrates the Disney film had been a serious obstacle in his professional career .
As he has now confessed, the label of “Latin actor” followed him wherever he went and for years he stayed away from the sun so he wouldn’t get a tan because , in his experience, a lighter complexion gave access to a wider range of roles.
“ It was a decision I made consciously because that way I could work “, has revealed. “ All the Latinos who had ‘succeeded’ up until then, all of them, had light skin. But what about Afro-Latinos and the vast majority of indigenous Latinos? They don’t get a chance“.
Although Leguizamo is optimistic about the changes that will have produced in Hollywood in terms of inclusivity, he also believes there is a long way to go because the underrepresentation people of color receive on screen remains largely negative.
“I don’t want any child to go through what I went through. I don’t want any Latino, white, black or Asian child to go through what I went through“, he stated.
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