John Leguizamo Dishes on Celebs in “Tales from a Ghetto Klown”
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Jemal Countess/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — In John Leguizamo’s hit Broadway play Ghetto Klown, the actor dishes — or, as he puts it, gets revenge — on his past Hollywood co-stars. Now, PBS viewers can watch his journey from the streets of Queens to Hollywood in his behind-the-scenes film based on his play, Tales from a Ghetto Klown.
Although the Colombian-born comedian takes small digs at Patrick Swayze, Leguizamo doesn’t hold back when recalling his moments with Steven Seagal. The two starred in the action flick Executive Decision alongside Kurt Russell and Halle Berry in 1996.
“We were rehearsing and he comes in and he goes, ‘I’m in command. What I say is law. You disagree?’ And I started cracking up because I thought he was joking because who the hell talks like that?” Leguizamo tells ABC News Radio. “And he just [pushed] me against a brick wall; knocked all the air out of me.”
Thankfully, the actor, who is also starring as Sid the Sloth in the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift, out Friday, can laugh about it years later. In fact, tense moments like that are part of the journey, Leguizamo says.
“That’s what Ghetto Klown is about; that whole journey,” he explains. “You’re going to be down and then you’re going to be up, but the big lesson is just enjoy the journey man, just enjoy it.”
Tales from a Ghetto Klown airs Friday on PBS as part of its PBS Arts Summer Festival
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio