InDepth InterView: John Leguizamo

To accrue all the characters, characteristics and components of a career as diverse and varied as that of stage and screen star John Leguizamo would be near-impossible for even the most gifted performers in the galaxy. Having appeared in nearly ninety films so far in his twenty-five year career - including a musical, MOULIN ROUGE, and an adaptation of Shakespeare, ROMEO + JULIET, both for noted directed Baz Luhrmann - as well as five off-Broadway and Broadway solo shows - MAMBO MOUTH, SPIC-O-RAMA, FREAK, SEXAHOLIX and, now, GHETTO KLOWN - Leguizamo is consistently challenging himself and revealing new sides to his personality and skills as an actor and performer with his daring choices of roles and searing performances. In this comprehensive career retrospective, we cover Broadway, Hollywood and much more and we even have his first comments on his new feature film opening this weekend, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. From Todd Haynes' POISON to Brian DePalma's CASUALTIES OF WAR and CARLITO'S WAY, to Spike Lee's SUMMER OF SAM, to TO Wong Foo, SUPER MARIO BROS. and more; singing Sondheim's "Send In The Clowns"; plus, stories on his recently departed co-stars Dennis Hopper (LAND OF THE DEAD) and Brittany Murphy (SPUN), and first news on the David Koresh biopic WACO co-starring Kurt Russell and Adrien Brody, and FUGLY with Radha Mitchell - Leguizamo‘s performances speak (and sing) for themselves. King, cartoon, criminal, artist, clown or klown - Leguizamo can play them all. And play them damn well, as well.

Send In The Klown

PC: Do you keep in touch with Baz Luhrmann since MOULIN ROUGE? He recently did this column and he spoke so favorably of working with you on ROMEO + JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE.

JL: I think I'm gonna see Baz on Saturday, believe it or not!

PC: Are you involved in his new secret 3D project?

JL: The GATSBY? No, no, no. We're doing this talk on MOULIN ROUGE.

PC: Tell me about working with Baz Luhrmann on that and ROMEO + JULIET.

JL: Oh, wow. The dude is so unbelievably creative and collaborative. I mean, he has a very extensive process - much more than other people. There are a lot of rehearsals. The audition process was brutal.

PC: For ROMEO + JULIET?

JL: Yeah, it was like four hours. We did it a few times each. I lost my voice. It was between me and Benecio Del Toro for Tybalt.

PC: Wow! What a pair! He is truly one of the greatest film actors alive.

JL: Oh, brother, he's an amazing dude!

PC: Did you both do the first big Tybalt monologue over and over?

JL: Right. Over and over and over and over! The rehearsal process was like a month of workshops.

PC: How grueling.

JL: Yeah, but you saw the final product! It was all worth it. There was a lot of labor put into it - Baz was so painstaking about every detail. It was just incredible.

PC: The new Blu-Ray of MOULIN ROUGE is incredible. Baz was so proud of it - there is tons of new content; commentaries, cut clips and such. Quite remarkable. Have you seen it?

JL: I haven't seen the Blu-Ray. I actually don't have Blu-Ray at my house, I just have the regular, standard VHS. (Laughs.)

PC: I love the comparison you make in GHETTO KLOWN between Luhrmann and Brian DePalma - who you also did two films for, CASUALTIES OF WAR and CARLITO'S WAY. What do you really think of DePalma?

JL: (Laughs.) Brian DePalma's great, man. I love Brian DePalma. I mean, he put me in CASUALTIES OF WAR and then CARLITO'S WAY and he wanted me to be in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, too. I just couldn't get out of another contract; they wouldn't let me out.

PC: What role did he want you to play?

JL: The Ving Rhames role.

PC: You would've killed at that.

JL: Yeah, yeah, it would've been great... but I couldn't get out of this other f*cking thing.

PC: What was the other thing?

JL: HOUSE OF BUGGIN' [his 1995 sitcom].

PC: Do you consider CASUALTIES OF WAR to be one of the great war films? I do. David Rabe's screenplay is truly awesome.

JL: Oh, really? Wait a minute, David Rabe wrote CASUALTIES OF WAR?

PC: Yes.

JL: Oh, my god. How sad is that? I didn't even know that! David Rabe, one of the great, great playwrights of all time?

PC: Yes!

JL: Wow. I didn't even remember that. Holy cow.

PC: DePalma worked with a lot of the great writers in the 80s: David Rabe, David Mamet...

JL: And another David - David Koepp - did a great job on CARLITO'S WAY!

PC: I agree. Cahiers Du Cinema chose that as the greatest film of the 1990s. Do you think it will be remembered fondly?

JL: Oh, you know, it's definitely a classic. The amount of people who have love for that and the amount of DVDs I sign for CARLITO'S WAY is pretty intense. So, yeah, there is a lot of love for that out there.

PC: What's your favorite moment in the film?

JL: I love the last scene, the last ten minutes - what DePalma called the Subway Ballet. He made it all one continuous shot. It was f*cKing Brilliant. It took like a week to shoot that and to plan it. Pacino runs down the staircase and into the subway - that whole thing was pretty brilliant.

PC: What a set piece!

JL: Totally.

PC: Speaking of set pieces, there are some unforgettable set pieces in LAND OF THE DEAD - did you get to meet your co-star Asia Argento's father, horror film master Dario?

JL: No, he was gonna come down but he was too busy preparing some other horror flick that he was doing in Italy. I liked doing that film because I got to work with Dennis Hopper again - I loved working with him on SUPER MARIO BROS.

PC: LAND OF THE DEAD was ahead of its time - and not just because it has zombies. To see how time has caught up with the story of that film, particularly with Hopper's evil corporate oligarch character.

JL: Exactly. George Romero is a very political dude; very astute. Of course, he's half-Latin, so he brings zombies into it and I recognize that stuff from our culture. It was so much fun to do a political piece like that.

PC: What was the atmosphere like on set?

JL: Working with George Romero? It's a lot of fun, man. We had a blast. It was f*cking cold in Canada, but we had a blast. He's a really nice guy.

PC: Did you really have to commit to that role? You got into amazing shape for that part and you have to kick some serious ass - zombie and otherwise.

JL: Yeah, I was crazy pumping! (Laughs.) I was learning how to ride a bike, too - I was doing a lot of biking around Toronto trying to get my ass in gear so by the time I got on camera I could look like I could ride.

PC: You're famous for disappearing into your roles - I didn't even recognize you in REPO MEN, recently, for example.

JL: Well, that's because they cut out my bigger scenes! (Laughs.)

PC: I actually just interviewed Liev Schreiber for this column.

JL: I just saw him, too. Liev's come to see the show three times!

PC: Did you have any scenes with him that were cut?

JL: No, no, no. I didn't.

PC: What do you think of him as a performer?

JL: He is the greatest theatre actor there has ever been.

PC: High praise, indeed! He's an amazing Shakespearean actor, as well. What Shakespeare roles would you like to take on? Richard III?

JL: (Laughs.) That's exactly... (Big Laugh.) That's exactly what I would like to do. That's so funny you just said that. Richard III, if I was to do Shakespeare, I guess I would spend years trying to do it right - I'd hate to mess it up for people, like I did when I did MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM with Joseph Papp.

PC: Tell me everything. I don't know about that production, since it was before my time.

JL: Well, you know that me and Fisher - Fisher Stevens, the director of GHETTO KLOWN - we met on that show. We were doing MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM for Joseph Papp and the great, late AJ Antoon was directing. I was Puck and Fisher was Lysander or Demetrius - I can't remember which one it was - and I was very Method, and I put itching powder in Fisher's underwear before the change in Act II, while he was on stage.

PC: No way!

JL: I did it because I thought, "You know, that's what Puck would do! If I'm Method, I gotta be Puck-ish." You know?

PC: I know. That's hilarious. What happened?

JL: Well, I thought that all of sudden people were going to put me up on their shoulders and I was going to be hailed as the funniest guy in the theatre - (Pause.) then, I heard the screaming.

PC: Oh, no!

JL: (Laughs.) He instantly called the stage manager and I had to fess up. I didn't even check it out - I just bought the stuff in a gag store. But, it's like fiberglass! There's no such thing as f*cking itching powder - it's fiber-f*cking-glass!

PC: I didn't know that.

JL: All I'm gonna say is that he wasn't dating for awhile, I'll tell you that! (Laughs.)

PC: This is your fifth one-man off-Broadway/Broadway show. What crazy things have happened where audience members act outrageously?

JL: Oh, my God. We've had lots and lots and lots of instances. (Pause.) You know, we are the highest grossing bar on Broadway now!

PC: What a line! (Laughs.)

JL: (Laughs.) That's my own, personal, dubious honor, I suppose.

PC: What do you think of alcohol being served in the theater?

JL: They bring their drinks to the seats! They're allowed to! So, I banned ice - seriously - because of all the clinking.

PC: What antics have arisen with audience members?

JL: Well, I just had this guy run up on stage, as I'm taking a bow, to hug me. So, now I have to have security. (Laughs.)

PC: What did he say to you when he rushed the stage?

JL: He said he was my long lost cousin - swear to God - but he had no ID to prove it!

PC: What else has happened? These stories are great!

JL: We had two women fight in the house because they were late for the show and they were in the wrong seats. People are always videotaping. People having conversations with me while I'm performing. Lots and lots of things going on.

PC: What do you think of cell phones and camera phones?

JL: Yeah, they're all doing it, you know? I want to say, so desperately, "You know why Abraham Lincoln was shot in the theater? Because he picked up his cell phone, that's why! He was too busy talkin' on his f*cking cellphone!" (Laughs.)

PC: (Laughs.) Sneaking in a stealth plug for your new movie - THE LINCOLN LAWYER! That trailer is on every fifteen minutes - it looks good.

JL: (Laughs.) Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't trying to plug myself there - I swear.

PC: I've heard great things about it, anyway.

JL: It's really great, man. My buddy Brad Furman directed it. We did THE TAKE together, which was his first film.

PC: You were astounding in that film. Like a totally different person. Almost unrecognizable

JL: Well, all I'm gonna say is wait ‘til you see this one! This one just blew... him... up!

PC: You've worked with such great directors. What about Brad Anderson on VANISHING ON 7th last year?

JL: Dude, I love Brad Anderson. Oh, my God, I have seriously some great love for that dude.

PC: THE MACHINEST is one of the most interesting films of the new millennium. Christian Bale is beyond words.

JL: Yeah, yeah, totally. VANISHING AT 7th had that same kind of weird vibe. He's so good at creating some weird, scary, strange, unsettling vibe where you're not sure what's going on. I loved that.

PC: I also have to say that SPUN is also a great, shocking film and your performance is absolutely fearless in every way. You really sell it. It's a really popular film among twentysomethings, as well, let me tell you.

JL: Oh, man. Listen, I haven't done drugs in a long time so when we did that movie it was just basically Red Bull, caffeine and Diet Coke - whatever we could get our hands on. It was so low-budget we never went to our trailers; we were on set 24/7. We all got so close, the whole cast. It was actually a lot of f*cking fun; we had a blast. And, Jonas Akerlund - one of the great music video directors - was just fun to work with. He just pushed us all the time to be crazier and wilder.

PC: Do you have any memories of Brittany Murphy on set?

JL: (Sighs.) Yeah, she was a singer. She was always singing around the set. She was like the light of the show. Always fun, loving, positive - what a joy to be around.

PC: What did she sing? Did you sing anything with her?

JL: I'm not a singer, so I just listened to her. She was talking about doing Janis Joplin at the time, so she was singing all these Janis Joplin tunes. That was her dream.

PC: Thank you for sharing that touching memory with me. Tell me about singing "Send In The Clowns" in the first version of MOULIN ROUGE.

JL: How did you know that?!

PC: I interviewed Baz! And Sondheim, for that matter, actually.

JL: (Laughs.) OK, as long as Baz told you! Yeah, "Send In The Clowns" was the one in the script. So, me and Baz tried different songs for that spot since "Send In The Clowns" wasn't working, so he said, "Try this." And, "this" was "Nature Boy", so I tried "Nature Boy" and that became the theme of the movie.

PC: Are there any demos out there of your "Send In The Clowns"? What was singing Sondheim like?

JL: Yo, Sondheim is tough! You gotta be a real f*cking singer for that sh*t! I was destroyed. There must be some demos because we recorded it at the studio, but I will sue their asses if they leak out! (Laughs.)

PC: So, you weren't pleased with your take on the song?

JL: It was coming out OK. It was very eerie. They wanted the film to be more wistful, later on, and "Nature Boy" was a more wistful version of some of the same themes.

PC: As great as you were as Toulouse-Lautrec, SUMMER OF SAM is my personal favorite of your film performances - and one of my favorite films of the 1990s.

JL: Thank you. I love SUMMER OF SAM, man. I thought Spike Lee really brought his A game. I think it is his most mature, most complex work that he has done to date.

PC: And Michael Imperioli wrote the script, too, correct?

JL: Yeah, yeah, yeah! He did.

PC: Did you know him prior to the film?

JL: Oh, yeah, I knew him way before SOPRANOS and SAM, because he was big theatre actor in New York. He was part of the Naked Angels - and he had his own theatre group, too, for awhile.

PC: Do you remember seeing him onstage in anything?

JL: Oh, yeah, lots. THE AVENUE BOYS, he was just incredible in that piece of theatre. We didn't get to spend a lot of time talking to him as a writer, but Spike, also, has an interesting process where he likes to do two weeks of rehearsal.

PC: That's very uncommon for films.

JL: Yeah, yeah, it is. So, we sat around and got to know each other. He wanted us all to be very Method. He wanted us all to hang out and know each other so we really felt like we were part of the neighborhood.

PC: Who was there?

JL: Me, Adrian Brody, Jennifer Esposito and Mira Sorvino- the four of us. He wanted us all to hang out and spend time. Then, all the guys I hang out with in the mvoie - they also spent time with us. And, Spike brought in the detectives who were there for the real Son of Sam and they would walk us through the crime scenes and cases and everything.

PC: It feels so authentic to that time period.

JL: Spike really tries to capture it all. He wants a rawness on camera. Speaking of great directors: it's funny that we're talking about Spike and Baz so much because they are both incredible, but they are so totally different beings; different elements. Spike wants raw and real; and, Baz wants a heightened reality. Both visions are beautiful, but they are so, so different.

PC: One of your rawest performances is in Todd Haynes' POISON - you‘re even billed as "Damien Garcia". I remember seeing it when I was ten or eleven - way too young to see that NC-17 film!

JL: (Laughs.) You should not have been seeing that flick! That was one of my very first movies - I think I filmed it first, before the others.

PC: Haynes is such a talented director - I'M NOT THERE, FAR FROM HEAVEN, SAFE, the new MILDREd Pierce. What was he like?

JL: Wow, yeah, man. He is so talented. I always forget Todd Haynes even did that flick! It was so crazy. What a crazy script - all that Jean Genet stuff with all the spitting!

PC: Genet's OUR LADY OF THE FLOWERS and THE THIEF'S JOURNAL, in particular.

JL: I remember I had to spit non-stop. I couldn't keep it up. (Laughs.) There were these humiliating scenes in prison...

PC: Your big scene is almost indescribable in print here.

JL: You might be right! (Laughs.)

PC: What do you think about movies that really push the envelope - the very controversial and US-banned A SERBIAN FILM references the act of making a snuff baby porno film.

JL: Oh, my God! No way! Really?

PC: It's not shown - just references and allusions to it.

JL: Yeah. Well, I'm not really against a lot of things unless they are just pure exploitation and then they create their own copycat culture that comes from someone acting irresponsibly. That's dangerous when that happens.

PC: What do you think of Lars Von Trier's Dogme 95 movement and, specifically, ANTICHRIST? Many at Cannes say that went way too far, as well.

JL: Well, you never know, that might have been a stunt c*ck! (Laughs.)

PC: It better be! It would give new meaning to Method, otherwise. (Laughs.)

JL: (Sarcastic.) There's a cut, man. I don't think it's real, man! (Laughs.)

PC: What a ballsy shot - no pun intended!

JL: I love Lars Von Trier. I love that he pushes the envelope. Why not go crazy? Not violence for violence's sake - but violence to make you really sick. And, really think.

PC: What do you think of David Cronenberg-type artistic violence such as in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and EASTERN PROMISES? Would you consider working with him?

JL: Absolutely. Of course. He's an artist, man; I love him.

PC: What directors do you want to work with most in the future?

JL: Scorsese is obviously, definitely at the top of the list. I think the Farrelly Brothers, in terms of comedy. I love Noah Baumbach.

PC: Truly gifted. THE SQUID & THE WHALE is the best film about parental divorce I've ever seen.

JL: Yeah, I love THE SQUID & THE WHALE. Brilliant, brilliant flick.

PC: What did you think of GREENBERG?

JL: (Pause.) You know, I was up for a part in it, so I have a hard time watching things I have been up for.

PC: What role? The brother-in-law?

JL: Yeah, yeah, you called it! (Laughs.) You nailed it. (Pause.) So, you know, when I don't get something I can get kinda bitter - I wish I was bigger than that, but I'm not. (Laughs.)

PC: Baumbach needs to tailor a role to your talents like he did for Ben Stiller.

JL: Oh, I would love to work with him. I really dig him.

PC: He's a great screenwriter, as well.

JL: Mmmhmm!

PC: What do you think of Darren Aronofsky's films?

JL: Aww, I love that dude! Are you kidding me? What he did with THE WRESTLER with Mickey Rourke is some of the greatest acting and directing. Also, in BLACK SWAN, too - and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.

PC: Tell me about some of the films you have coming up: the David Koresh movie WACO, co-starring Kurt Russell, Adrien Brody and Sharon Stone?

JL: WACO is still in the development process, so that is not a total go yet.

PC: What about FUGLY with Radha Mitchell?

JL: FUGLY we are finishing editing on right now. Hopefully it will be done so we can go to the Toronto Film Festival or Sundance.

PC: What's it about? You have the lead role.

JL: FUGLY is a crazy love story. It's a far-out love story about this actor guy who is trying to get his sh*t together. You see all his bad relationships and all his failed sexual hang-ups leading up to him finally getting all his sh*t together. But, only when he is near-death does he realize that he has to clean his sh*t up and, then, that's when he hooks up with the love of his life, finally - the woman who saves him.

PC: That's Radha Mitchell?

JL: Yeah, she is so great in this. Rosie Perez and her are just incredible in this movie.

PC: Radha was excellent in Woody Allen's MELINDA & MELINDA.

JL: Oh, yeah. Totally.

PC: I have to ask, particularly since Steve Buscemi told me a fantastic story about this: have you auditioned for Woody Allen or got cut out of one of his movies ever?

JL: Nope, I never got cut out 'cause I never got one! We met for an audition. It was pretty amazing, though.

PC: What film was it for?

JL: I think it might have been MIGHTY APHRODITE.

PC: For the role of the boxer?

JL: Yeah, I think it was for the [Michael] Rappaport part.

PC: What is the Woody Allen audition process like?

JL: Well, you go up to this brownstone and then he comes out and says "Hello" very meekly and then someone takes your Polaroid and then you go. (Laughs.)

PC: So, that's it?

JL: Yeah, he just meets you and looks at you. (Pause.) But, it's just cool to be in his presence.

PC: Are you a big fan?

JL: Oh, of course, man. Annie Hall is one of my favorite films of all time.

PC: What are your Top 3?

JL: MEAN STREETS. Annie Hall. (Long Pause.)

PC: If I was in CASUALTIES OF WAR and CARLITO'S WAY...

JL: (Laughs.) Yeah, yeah, but I gotta pick something outside my own flicks ‘cause that's just too creepy! Oh, sh*t, man...

PC: What film really speaks to you as a person?

JL: Oh, MY LIFE AS A DOG is absolutely one of my favorites! Of course.

PC: What a diverse group! OK: What's on your iPod right now?

JL: Kanye West.

PC: MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY?

JL: Yeah, yeah.

PC: Best album of 2010.

JL: No question. I f*cking love that, dude.

PC: It's a concept musical, too.

JL: It's about time they put a hip-hop musical onstage. Kanye should do it!

PC: What else?

JL: Chet Baker. Hector Lavoe. Violent Femmes. (Laughs.)

PC: How do you psyche yourself up every night - music? You're onstage for like two-and-a-half hours.

JL: I'm onstage for two-ten every night. My cousin Big Paul, he's a DJ and he makes mixes for me of my favorite tunes - old and new and other stuff. That's what I play before I go on.

PC: No coffee?

JL: No, I can't, because it drives up my voice. I've got to stay in this crazy regime where I try to avoid caffeine and alcohol.

PC: What's your first Broadway memory?

JL: It's gotta be A CHORUS LINE, man. I remember I snuck in - I second-acted so many shows when I was kid - and I remember the first one, coming in and seeing a Puerto Rican onstage. That just rocked my world and basically told me that this is it, you know?

PC: That show touches so many lives. A credit to Michael Bennett's genius.

JL: Yeah, I mean I basically felt like Priscilla Lopez was talking right to me! Talking about being Puerto Rican and being an actor and all the battles - and I was like, "Oh, my God! This is like a sign that I gotta be in the Biz!"

PC: Did you think the show was just jaw-droopingly dynamic? There had never been a community musical like that before.

JL: Right, the collective creation - which is basically (Big Laugh.) stealing the life stories of all the people who contributed and making a lot of money on it! (Laughs.)

PC: That's one way to look at it, for sure! (Laughs.)

JL: But, the show was really brilliant. It felt so real. It felt organic. It was the first time I really connected to a musical - it felt more like the guy-on-the-street type of thing instead of some strange, surreal fantasy.

PC: First cast album you remember buying?

JL: My first what?!

PC: Soundtrack of the stage score.

JL: Oh, I went out and got the CHORUS LINE cast album - not soundtrack; I'll get it right - right after I saw the show. Of course, WEST SIDE STORY was the second album - any kind of album - I ever owned.

PC: WEST SIDE STORY is an American institution. What does that show mean to you?

JL: Yeah, being in this country and being a Latin person, sometimes you felt invisible - so it's like you were hanging onto anything that could reinforce the fact that you, too, could contribute to society with A CHORUS LINE and WEST SIDE STORY.

PC: What's the first movie musical you remember seeing growing up?

JL: I think it was FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, actually.

PC: Can you confirm yet that GHETTO KLOWN will be filmed?

JL: (Long Pause.) No - because I am debating that. I kind of want to tour with it for a long, long time and filming dead-ends touring. I kind of want to keep it a live experience for now.

PC: Are you still rewriting and changing the show nightly?

JL: I always change it. I always change - until they give me the hook, you know? (Laughs.)

PC: What percentage changes every night? Five percent? More? Less?

JL: I'd say that's a fair estimate. Maybe as much as ten percent - but never much more than that.

PC: How would you compare this theatrical experience for an audience to SPIC-O-RAMA, FREAK and SEXAHOLIX?

JL: Yeah, I mean, SPIC-O-RAMA was my favorite of my plays - and it won the Dramatists' Guild Award for that year - but, I gotta say that this one is right up there. The thing about this one is that I am having the most fun ever - and I don't know why. I'm trying to figure it out. I think it's because I am playing more of myself and it's more real - so, I have the crazy, wild stuff, but I also do a lot more stuff that is really, really me. I don't know, but I am having a blast more than I have ever had.

PC: It comes through in your performance - but you have to be 100% committed every night in performing a piece this challenging.

JL: I think what I love the most about this one is the real acting and the fact that I get to do some real, real acting work, you know? I had seen people do that in their one-man-shows and I really wanted to see if I could do a real scene all by myself with all the imaginary characters - like the fight with my ex-best friend and the altercation with my wife and all those things. I wanted to make it as real as when it happened. And, I feel like I am succeeding.

PC: Were Whoopi Goldberg and Richard Pryor your biggest influences?

JL: Of course. Oh, my God. Richard Pryor is an American god and the greatest comedian that ever, ever lived - and I studied a lot of comics.

PC: Joan Rivers told me he was the best, recently, as well.

JL: He is the greatest comedian who ever lived. He touched it all - he did the social, the personal; daring in all respects. He could do voices; he could do vignettes; he could do the jokes - it was all there.

PC: What is your ultimate film legacy? SUMMER OF SAM?

JL: SUMMER OF SAM, TO Wong Foo and CARLITO'S WAY are the ones people are always really remembering me for. Kids always love THE PEST, too. I have great hopes for FUGLY, too, so let's see how that comes out.

PC: And ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT comes out when?

JL: Next Summer.

PC: What else is in the can?

JL: ONE FOR THE MONEY with Katherine Heigl is coming out in January. I haven't seen it yet, we just shot it this past Fall. I'm curious to see how it turned out.

PC: Define collaboration.

JL: That's a really interesting question. I mean, look, collaboration means a democracy - everybody has equal weight in their contributions. It has to be a sort of contract between people where everybody's opinion is worthy and the best opinion wins.

PC: What's next?

JL: My videos of my shows are going to be available on DVD, finally.

PC: The whole box-set?

JL: Yep. MAMBO MOUTH, FREAK, SPIC-O-RAMA, SEXAHOLIX - I finally got all the rights from HBO. It comes out next week! It's imminent!

PC: What great news! Any extension announcement for GHETTO KLOWN?

JL: Yeah, we just got extended to July 10!

PC: Four more months?

JL: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (Deadpan.) I can't wait. (Laughs.)

PC: Did you ever think when you snuck into A CHORUS LINE as a kid that someday you'd be on a Broadway stage for the fifth time in a solo show?

JL: No. Never thought! Never imagined it! And, then, when I was seventeen, I imagined myself off-Broadway (Laughs.) - never Broadway.

PC: You do it now for the love - you could just do movies. It's all about the work, right?

JL: It is, man. It is. That's what keeps you happy. Theatre feeds the soul.

PC: Thank you so much for this today, John. You are an awesome subject.

JL: It was so great talking to you, boss. Have the best day! Bye.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos