John Leguizamo reveals he turned down Stanley Tucci's iconic part in 'The Devil Wears Prada'
John Leguizamo said that he turned down Stanley Tucci's part in "The Devil Wears Prada" – and roles in "Happy Feet" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
Gilbert Flores/Getty; 20th Century Fox
- John Leguizamo revealed that he turned down Stanley Tucci's part in "The Devil Wears Prada."
- Leguizamo also told BI that he turned down parts in "Happy Feet" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
- He turned down "Happy Feet" because he was already in "Ice Age," and didn't want to do too many "ice movies."
John Leguizamo said that he declined what turned out to be an iconic role for Stanley Tucci — lovable art director Nigel Kipling in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Leguizamo spoke with Business Insider for the latest installment of BI's Role Play series, in which actors reflect on their most iconic roles and the career decisions they made along the way.
When asked if he had any regrets about parts that he had turned down, Leguizamo had an immediate answer.
"Oh yeah. 'The Devil Wears Prada,' the Stanley Tucci part," Leguizamo responded.
Tucci plays the art director of the fictional fashion magazine Runway in the film, serving as a mentor to Anne Hathaway's character, Andy. The film focuses on Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), an Anna Wintour-esque figure who serves as Runway's demanding editor in chief.
20th Century Studios
"The Devil Wears Prada" wasn't the only role that Leguizamo said he regretted turning down. The actor told BI that he also passed on Vince Vaughn's role in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," which stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as rival assassin spouses, because he felt slighted by his salary offer.
"I felt dissed, and they probably weren't dissing me, but I felt dissed," Leguizamo said. "Sometimes when you're a person of color, you're so used to being dissed that you think you're being dissed, and sometimes you're not being dissed. So that's what happens, and you have to go to a lot of therapy to fix that."
Leguizamo also revealed that he had passed on an opportunity to star in "Happy Feet" in Robin Williams' part (Williams plays multiple penguins and narrates the film). The reason? He had already been starring in the "Ice Age" franchise as Sid the sloth.
"I was going, 'I don't want to be doing all these ice movies,'" Leguizamo told BI. "Such a stupid reason. But it seemed logical to me at the moment, and then I lost out on millions."