is “almost happy and certainly less angry” with the nominees for the When taking the stage during Sunday night’s show, the Emmy-winning actor was quick to point out, “I’m one of . That’s right, DEI. The ‘D’ is for diligence, the ‘E’ is for excellence, the ‘I’ is for imagination.
And everyone in this room tonight has dedicated their lives to diligence, excellence and imagination, so we are all DEI hires. What a beautiful diverse group this is tonight.” He went on to reflect on when he was growing up in Queens, New York, he “didn’t know that people like me could be actors.
” “At 15, I didn’t know the word representation...
but I saw a lot of brown face” he said, pointing out varied actors for their portrayal of Latin characters despite not being of Latin descent, including Marlon Brando for playing Mexican, Al Pacino for playing a Cuban gangster and Natalie Wood for playing a “Puerto Rican beauty” named Maria in . “Everybody played us, except us. I didn’t see a lot of people on TV that looked like me,” Leguizamo said.
“Of course there was always Ricky Ricardo,” he added, also mentioning the cartoon mouse Speedy Gonzales and his “lethargic, useless sidekick” Slowpoke Rodriguez. “And that’s how we saw ourselves, because that’s all we saw of ourselves,” he said. “For years I didn’t complain about the limited roles my people were offered.
.. Turns out not complaining doesn’t change anything.
So for the past few yea.