John Leguizamo Says He Turned Down ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith' Because He "Felt Dissed"
John Leguizamo is reflecting on the roles that got away.
In an interview with Business Insider, the actor was asked about movies he’s turned down that he now regrets. “Oh yeah, The Devil Wears Prada, the Stanley Tucci part [as Nigel],” Leguizamo revealed.
Other roles he regrets saying no to were parts in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Happy Feet.
“I had my reasons,” said Leguizamo. “I mean, they’re stupid, but I had my reasons.”
When asked to elaborate further, he explained that he turned down the role of Brad Pitt’s character’s best friend, Eddie, in Mr. and Mrs. Smith because Pitt and Angelina Jolie were each getting $20 million while he would be paid on scale. “I felt dissed, and they probably weren’t dissing me, but I felt dissed,” he said.
Leguizamo continued, “Sometimes when you’re a person of color, you’re so used to being dissed that you think you’re being dissed, and sometimes you’re not being dissed. So that’s what happens, and you have to go to a lot of therapy to fix that.”
As for why he turned down the role of Ramón in Happy Feet, which ended up being one of the four characters that Robin Williams took on for the 2006 animated movie, the actor explained that after voicing Sid the Sloth on Ice Age, he thought, “I don’t want to be doing all these ice movies.” Looking back, he admitted that it was “such a stupid decision. But it seemed logical to me at the moment, and then I lost out on millions.”
Leguizamo also clarified that while he was hesitant to take on another similar voice acting role to his from the Ice Age franchise, he “loved” voicing Sid. “I created that role with Mike Berg and Peter Ackerman and Chris Wedge. That was a creation of mine,” he explained.
The actor added that Ice Age, which was originally developed as a drama, eventually evolved into a comedy. But even through the various changes, he always loved that character. “We created this innocent, naive, beautiful soul. I value that. I love Sid the Sloth,” he said.
But there was one role that he had to step away from without it being his decision. In 2023, Leguizamo said he was cast as Marvel villain Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming after Michael Keaton turned down the role, but when Keaton wanted it back, he was asked to give it up.
Leguizamo told Business Insider that he thinks any other actor in his position “would have sued because we had agreed on the terms.” He explained. “We went through a huge negotiation period, and we had agreed on terms. I hadn’t signed a contract, but we had agreed. I think those are suable terms.”
When asked if he would ever consider being part of the MCU after his experience or sign up for a franchise on the same scale, Leguizamo said he would consider it for a DC universe movie. “I would if I was offered The Riddler or some part like that,” he said. “I would go back to other franchises. I mean, if you make it up to me. But then they offered me some tiny scientist in the movie. I was like, ‘No thank you. Thank you, but no.'”
While Leguizamo has faced some setbacks in his career, 2024 is gearing up to be a big year for him. He stars in comedic drama Bob Trevino Likes It alongside Barbie Ferreira , which received critical acclaim after its SXSW premiere. He also appears alongside Clint Eastwood and Robert De Niro in the upcoming film Tin Soldier.
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