No, John Leguizamo Doesn't Want You to Like Him in His New Role
WATCH: The star of period drama 'The Green Veil' talked with Katey Rich for The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series
You can watch the whole conversation with John Leguizamo at AnklerEnjoy, home for post-Ankler Events content, as well as view photos.
“I don't want you to like me in this role.” For the always likable John Leguizamo, his latest may be one of his most ambitious acting gigs among his enormous range of roles across his decades-long career. “But,” he said, “I want you to understand what makes somebody become somebody who does something like this.”
Speaking at the latest event in The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series, Leguizamo dug into the process of making The Green Veil, which he co-wrote with his longtime collaborator Aram Rappaport, who directed every episode of the eight-part series. Playing a 1950s FBI agent who is desperate to hide his Mexican heritage and participating in the kidnapping of Native children, Leguizamo, who has won both an Emmy and a Tony award, is truly taking on a role unlike any other he’s played. “I had a long relationship with Aram, and I trusted him that I could do a character this difficult, this horrible, and know that we could succeed,” Leguizamo told The Ankler’s Katey Rich.
In the show’s first episode we learn he’s connected to a supposed alien abduction, which just so happens to be on land owned by a Native woman and her family.
The story is inspired by the real government conspiracy to separate Native children from their families in order to obtain their land and build an oil pipeline; the moment Rappaport told Leguizamo about that real history, he was on board. “It was devastating for those kids that were taken away from their homes,” Leguizamo said. “So we both felt compelled to make the show happen.”
Leguizamo, who has spent his career talking about his Colombian heritage and promoting opportunities for Latin actors, took on a major challenge playing Gordon, who is so removed from his background he scolds a woman for speaking Spanish to him. “Back then there were a lot of people like that, who were very self-hating. Sometimes self-hating Latino people and people of color can be even worse to their people,” Leguizamo said, before connecting it to the present day. “When I watch Fox News — to see what the enemy does — you see the majority of the border patrol are all Latin people.”
After pitching The Green Veil to traditional streaming services and getting turned down, Leguizamo and Rappaport partnered to start their own service, The Network, which is now showing The Green Veil and the British import Chivalry. With more than half a million subscribers, Leguizamo said The Network is “a testament to Americans. Americans want to see great content and content that's important— and they like inclusivity.”
You can stream The Green Veil now on the free, ad-supported The Network.
The Green Veil is vying for a number of nominations across the 76th Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, Leguizamo for Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Director for Rappaport and Outstanding Writing (for episode 102).