John Leguizamo has been busy. This year alone he has appeared in the crime drama “The Take,” the indie black comedy “The Babysitters,” and this weekend, he hits the big screen in M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological creepfest “The Happening.”
Later this year he’ll play a detective alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in “Righteous Kill,” a washed-up boxer dad in “Where God Left His Shoes,” and a member of a dysfunctional family in the holiday heartwarmer “Humboldt Park.”
In all, Leguizamo has appeared in 50-plus films, including “Carlito’s Way” (as cocky Al Pacino nemesis Benny Blanco), “Moulin Rouge,” “Spawn” and “Ice Age” and its sequel.
The actor recently talked about becoming an actor, teaching math and working with the director of “The Sixth Sense.”
In “The Happening” you’re a math teacher fleeing with your family from … something … weird. So tell us: Is M. Night Shyamalan demented or what?
He’s very precise. Very Hitchcockian, that way. His horror isn’t just slashing. It’s something more — he terrifies you down to your bone, to your stem cells. He shakes up your DNA. It’s more gruesome than you thought … and more human. That’s the beauty of M. Night.
You call him M. Night?
I call him Night. ‘Cause we’re tight like that. And he calls me J. Legs. Johnny Legs.
You’ve played detectives, thugs, a drag queen and now … a math teacher.
I used to tutor people in calculus in college. (He laughs.) They didn’t pass … but I tutored them. I didn’t like math — but loved calculus. Something about calculus made me feel like there was an answer to everything in the world. That there was a finite number of problems, and if you just figured it out you could solve anything. I liked that. But I didn’t enjoy drawing the parabolas.
How’d you wind up in acting classes?
My high school math teacher suggested it. They were going to expel me because I’d never stop being the class clown.
So when was your “aha” moment — when you knew you had to be an actor?
There’ve been three. One was in acting school. My first scene … was from (the Sal Mineo film) “Dino,” about a street kid. I rocked it, man. I thought, “Wow, I can’t do anything right, but I can do this.”
The next time was (in a performance art showcase). I went on last, 2 a.m. and I was like, nobody’s gonna care, but everybody stayed and I got a standing O. I thought, holy [bleep], I can make these white people laugh. They get me.
The third moment was in “Carlito’s Way” — I realized, this is what acting is about.
Any plans for another stage show?
Yeah, but I want it to be a masterpiece so I’m just marinating on it.
You’ve shot a slew of films lately. Are you taking off this summer?
Yeah, we’re staying upstate and horseback riding. All that country stuff.
I’ve become the barbecue king. Finally. ‘Cause, y’know, I didn’t grow up like that. I’ve got the perfect burger.
– – –
QUICK PICK
The Happening (R)
1 1/2 stars (out of 4)
Who’s in it: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
What it’s about: An inexplicable ecological event threatens to destroy the world’s entire population.
Worth watching? “If water naturally gravitates toward the lowest point it can find, then perhaps M. Night Shyamalan has reached his true depth as a filmmaker.” [ Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel ]
