Why male Latino actor John Leguizamo wants to play Gwyneth Paltrow in ski accident trial movie

‘Well guess what? If white people can take our roles, imma take theirs,’ actor said

John Leguizamo joked if “white people can take Latino roles” then he wants to play Gwyneth Paltrow in the ski accident trial movie.

Speaking of Latino underrepresentation in Hollywood, the 62-year-old actor said it’s not right to cast non-Latino actors in Latino roles.

On Monday’s (27 March) episode of The Daily Show, Leguizamo spoke about American actors such as James Franco being cast as Fidel Castro in Alina of Cuba.

“Well guess what? If white people can take our roles, imma take theirs,” he said. “When they do the TV series based on Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski accident trial, Imma be Gwyneth Paltrow.”

Paltrow is currently facing trial after being sued by a man who accused her of colliding with him in a “hit-and-run ski crash” seven years ago.

The incident took place on the slopes of Flagstaff Mountain, Utah, on 26 February 2016 when Paltrow and retired optometrist Dr Terry Sanderson collided on a beginner’s course known as the Bandana Run.

Sanderson, 76, subsequently filed for damages in January 2019 and is seeking $300,000 in compensation for the injuries he sustained, prompting Paltrow to file a countersuit in which she asks for $1 should she win and for her legal expenses to be covered.

(Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time Leguizamo has spoken about Latino representation in the Hollywood industry.

The Spawn star wrote an open letter in the Los Angeles Times in 2022, saying: “You can be as talented as Marlon Brando or Ingrid Bergman, you can write like William Shakespeare or Arthur Miller, you can have the screen presence of Ryan Gosling or Jennifer Lawrence. But if you look Latino, or if you have a Latino last name, the odds are against you in Hollywood.”

He added: “You had Al Pacino in tan makeup, coked up and wild as a Cuban in Scarface.

“The studios loved it so much they put him in Carlito’s Way as a Puerto Rican from Spanish Harlem. They surrounded him with Latino actors, but not one of us had a lead role. In our own stories, we were still just supporting players.”

Leguizamo concluded by writing: “You may think Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bad Bunny, J Lo, Benicio del Toro and I are the only ones, but you are wrong.

“There are millions of Latinos, and we were just among the few to be allowed through. Moving forward we all need to be counted, represented and valued.”