Although the Colombian actor made famous in Hollywoodwas not the favorite to star “King of Cocaine”in the end convinced the producers.
The actor John Leguizamo will give life to Pablo Escobarthe biggest drug trafficker in the history of Colombia, in the movie “King of Cocaine” (The King of Cocaine)reported the specialized blog Deadline.
The Colombian will be the protagonist of this film that will be directed by Brad Furman (“The Lincoln Lawyer”, 2011) and distributed by Relativity Media. Filming will begin in Colombia in January, according to the publication.
Leguizamo has finally been chosen to embody the boss of the Medellin cartel after those responsible considered names such as the Guatemalan Óscar Isaac and the Puerto Rican Benicio del Toro, who participates in the film «Paradise Lost», also inspired by Escobar.
According to Deadline, it has been his strong conviction that has led him to the role, since «he did not allow himself to be given ‘no’ for an answer,» the website maintains.
The actor has always pursued the role and has benefited from the presence in Furman’s film, whose first film, “The Take”, was attended by Leguizamo in the cast. In addition, the director admits that it was Leguizamo who gave him the opportunity to get behind the cameras for the first time.
Leguizamo was never the producers’ first choice, but he kept pushing, even spending $15,000 on makeup and accessories to give them a taste of the resemblance he could pull off to Escobar. He even shot a test with Furman that did not convince the producer either Scott Steindorf.
Nevertheless, Furman fought for it and got Steindorff to send the proof to the executives of relativity, without discovering the identity of the actor. Those images convinced the directors and they opted for Leguizamo.
Furman has in his portfolio the premiere of «Runner, Runner»with Ben Affleck Y Justin Timberlaketape that will arrive on October 4.
Leguizamo, currently on billboard with “Kick Ass 2”will be present at “The Counselor”of Ridley Scottin theaters at the end of October.
In this interview, Leguizamo clarifies some doubts about his Colombian nationality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDw17DwiFBc
With information from The Spectator