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John Leguizamo has landed one of the best roles of his career! He is set to play Medellin Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar in a new biopic called King of Cocaine. According to Deadline, "Leguizamo got the job basically because he refused to take no for an answer." Apparently he feels he was born to play the role, and I think he might be right.
The movie is being directed by Brad Furman, who wanted the actor from the beginning. Producers kept telling him no, so the actor spent $15K of his own money "for a fat suit and prosthetic makeup that rendered him a dead ringer for Escobar at his prime," after Oscar Isaac dropped out of the film. Leguizamo and Furman ended up filming a screen test. They got it to the producer, who once again said no. According to the report, "Furman fought for it and got the producer to submit it to Relativity execs, without disclosing the identity of the actor. It not only showed him portraying Escobar, it even had a split screen comparison to the actual drug kingpin." They liked what they saw, asked who the actor was, and when they found out they decided to hire him.
I'm sure Leguizamo is going to be great in the role, and I have no doubt this is going to make for a solid movie. What do you think about the actor taking on the role of Escobar?
The movie is being directed by Brad Furman, who wanted the actor from the beginning. Producers kept telling him no, so the actor spent $15K of his own money "for a fat suit and prosthetic makeup that rendered him a dead ringer for Escobar at his prime," after Oscar Isaac dropped out of the film. Leguizamo and Furman ended up filming a screen test. They got it to the producer, who once again said no. According to the report, "Furman fought for it and got the producer to submit it to Relativity execs, without disclosing the identity of the actor. It not only showed him portraying Escobar, it even had a split screen comparison to the actual drug kingpin." They liked what they saw, asked who the actor was, and when they found out they decided to hire him.
I'm sure Leguizamo is going to be great in the role, and I have no doubt this is going to make for a solid movie. What do you think about the actor taking on the role of Escobar?
