Who

The frenetic Leguizamo is a foul-mouthed comedian, character actor, and the guy your kids know as the voice of Sid the sloth in Ice Age and Ice Age 2.

Backstory

Colombian-born Leguizamo immigrated to New York with his parents, settling in Jackson Heights in the late '60s. As a teenager he was once arrested, he says, for telling jokes over the PA system of a subway train; he also claims that his 16th birthday present from his father was a visit to the brothel next door to the KFC franchise where he worked. Leguizamo eventually moved on from frying chicken, starting his career as a stand-up comedian and in 1986 making his television debut as a Latino gangster on Miami Vice. He was stuck playing Latino drug dealers and street thugs for the next several years, experiences he used for his first off-Broadway shows: In both his multi-character 1991 show Mambo Mouth and 1993's Spic-O-Rama, he mocked the stereotyped characters he'd portrayed for years in Hollywood movies.

Of note

While Leguizamo isn't the sort of actor directors call when they're casting an 18th-century period piece, his over-the-top comic persona keeps him working and his high-paying studio roles allow him the freedom to write and star in the smaller productions he clearly favors. Over the years he's divided his time between in a handful of big-budget pics (Super Mario Brothers, Moulin Rouge and Ice Age), indie films (Spike Lee's Summer of Sam), TV shows (ER), and off-Broadway shows. His autobiographical Sexaholix was on Broadway from 2001 and 2003 and turned into an HBO special in 2002.

In print

Leguizamo's 2006 tell-all memoir, Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: A Life, was a libel-filled delight. Among other revelations, he recounted the tale of Arnold Schwarzenegger interrogating a costume director about the color of her nipples; suggested Leonardo DiCaprio patronizes prostitutes; said Kevin Costner, Steven Seagal, and Mike Nichols were some of the biggest narcissists he's ever encountered; described getting into a fistfight with Patrick Swayze on the set of a movie; and recounted a conversation with Ellen Barkin where she explained her career success thusly: "I fucked my way to the middle."

Personal

Leguizamo has been married to Justine Maurer since 2002. They have two children, Allegra Sky and Ryder Lee. He was married to actress Yelba Matamoros from 1994 to 1996, and once dated actress Samantha Mathis. He and Maurer live in an apartment on Gramercy Park North.

True story

Leguizamo once bought pricey diamond earrings for Mathis, baubles that were promptly eaten by his dog. He claims that he stuck by his dog waiting for them to, er, reappear, so he could clean them and give them to Mathis. "One of my virtues is tenacity," he says.