Movies
Former Luigi actor John Leguizamo boycotts ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’
Leguizamo took issue with the film’s casting and lack of diversity.
Actor John Leguizamo played Luigi in 1993′s live-action ‘Super Mario Bros.’ opposite Bob Hoskin’s Mario. It was a critical and box office failure, but helped to cement Mario and Luigi’s impact on pop culture.
Now the former Luigi actor has been vocal about his plans to boycott Illumination’s animated ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’. Specifically, the actor took issue with the new film’s casting and lack of diversity.
Leguizamo’s criticism
Leguizamo first spoke out against the movie last October via Twitter.
“[T]oo bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking color-blind casting in original! Plus I’m the only one who knows how to make this movie work script-wise!”
In a recent interview with TMZ, Leguizamo expressed that he has no interest in watching the film.
“No I will not [be watching]. They could’ve included a Latin character,” he said. “Like I was groundbreaking and then they stopped the groundbreaking.
“They messed up the inclusion. They dis-included. Just cast some Latin folk! We’re 20% of the population. The largest people of color group and we are underrepresented.”
Casting controversy
When the cast of the movie was announced in October 2021, it did create controversy, but for a different reason. Fans mostly took issue with Chris Pratt as Mario because his portrayal rids the character of his iconic Italian accent.
The characters of Mario and Luigi are canonically Italian. Pratt is of Norwegian descent while Charlie Day, the voice of Luigi, is of Italian and Irish descent.
Still, according to Leguizamo, this doesn’t excuse the lack of Latinx diversity in the film.
“I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original,” Leguizamo said. “I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, ‘No, no, we love the old one, the original.’
“They’re not feeling the new one. I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.”
“The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and they [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead,” he added. “They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough.
“For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.”