One thing about Luis Guzman: he works. For more than twenty-five years, this talented Latino has appeared in more than a hundred different movies and television shows, including a (regrettably) short-lived series of his own, Luis, back in 2003. And now he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves…in a way.
Here’s our tribute to Luis—a real, live working actor.
He’s played serious (and frequently terrifying) regulars in Oz and the John Travolta remake of The Taking of Pelham 123; he’s done…dramady like John from Cincinnati, and broad comedy like Beverly Hills Chihuahua (he was the voice of Chucho). And that’s just the beginning.
Luis Guzman is the master of the cameo. You see his memorably squashed face and deepset eyes all over the place, from Jim Carrey’s Yes Man to John Travolta’s Old Dogs. He’s even the statue on the lawn at Greendale College in NBC’s comedy series Community. The dude is everywhere, and you can see him at work right now as a featured player in HBO’s How to Make it in America, which is just been renewed for a second season.
But nowhere else, and never before, has Guzman made quite the mark he’s making right now in Russel Brand’s and Jennifer Garner’s remake of Arthur, now playing citywide.
Who would have thought that Luis Guzman would gain international attention he’s long deserved playing a superhero–and none other than the world’s first Latino representation of Robin, the Boy Wonder?
Sort of.
Let’s face it: Luis has done some silly things in cameos and walk-ons in lots of movies, but few have been quite as…memorable…as this. And it appears to be going viral: pictures of Brand in his plastically muscular Bat-suit and Guzman as Robin have been appearing all over the intertubes…and here we are, adding to the clamor.
But we do it with love. Because Guzman is the definition of a working Latino actor: out there all the time, boots on the ground, doing what comes his way and then some, hitting has marks and moving on. In fact, he’s got at least five projects coming up, on top of the hundred-plus he can already lay claim to. Look for him as Ramone in Rise of the Dead, as George in The Caller, as the voice of Lefty Gomez in Henry and Me, all scheduled for release this year. And keep watching for his statue on Community; it pops up every now and then (in fact, it had a prominent cameo in the paint-ball-war season finale!).
Here’s to you, Rob–ah, Luis. America’s number one Latino working actor.
