John Leguizamostars in an excellent new series,The Green Veil, and spoke with MovieWeb to discuss the crime mystery about a government agent in the 1950s. It just so happened that we spoke with the acclaimed and outspoken actor (who has made his politics known both in public and as a guest host onThe Daily Show) the morning after a major political event in American history: The New York trial that foundDonald Trump guilty on 34 chargesof felony crimes to illegally influence the 2016 election via hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
“Ah, finally, the Teflon Don is not so Teflon. It was incredible,” Leguizamo told us when we asked him about his thoughts on Trump’s guilty verdict. “What a moment. I mean… that he can’t vote for himself now because he’s a felon, he can’t pardon himself because it’s a state crime. It’s like, finally, some justice.The man is not above the law. No one is. Finally!” Leguizamo went on to say to “protect” democracy, “We’ve got to all vote." He explained:
I mean,I know young people are very disappointed in Biden and what’s going on, but at the end, you’re going to have to vote for democracy to save it. And then, you know, hopefully find somebody better in four years.
“But we have to vote against Trump,” he quickly added, “because I feel likehe will be the end of democracy. He’ll never leave. He’s figured out a way of how to destroy our government, how to fire everyone and have no one at the White House, and he’ll be the only one running things with his cronies.”
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John Leguizamo’s Political Awakening and the Precariousness of Democracy
Later, when asked about where he felt America was headed, Leguizamo was candid. “Obviously, we’re in a very precarious point in our American experiment, our democracy. Our original democracy here, that’s based on Native American thought, by the way. Look it up," explained Leguizamo, who elaborated:
“Because everybody thinks it’s the Greeks [who created democracy], but no, this type of modern democracy was because of Native Iroquois nations and Kandiaronk, a great Native American leader that went to Paris and taught them. Because Europe was all top-down rule. They didn’t understand the individual’s thought, and the individual’s freedoms. That’s Native American thought. “
Leguizamo is obviously someone for whom the political is personal, and told us that he really started to develop a political sensibility when he began auditioning for roles. He said that while his white peers would be getting five auditions a week, he could barely get one, and they’d practically all be for a drug dealer or criminal. He began to realize that the American idea of meritocracy is more mythical than he was led to believe, leading to a political awakening about the various systems which keep certain people in poverty and others at the top.
Decades later, he’s an eloquent and authoritative voice on politics and race in America, alongside being an endlessly surprising actor who’s shined in everything fromSpawntoIce Age. you’re able to watch our video interview with Leguizamo above, in which the actor teased thathe’ll be back to hostThe Daily Showin the Fall, speaking truth to power. In the meantime, you can watch all episodes ofThe Green Veilfor free through the link below:
