John Leguizamo Is Finally Having His Moment in The Odyssey — 30 Years After Almost Becoming Robert Rodriguez’s Next Action Star In Desperado

John Leguizamo is having a career-defining year. In Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, released this past July, the veteran actor’s performance as the blind, loyal swineherd Eumaeus has been singled out by critics as one of the film’s standout turns. But three decades before he stood alongside Matt Damon and Tom Holland in Nolan’s epic, Leguizamo came within a casting decision of becoming an action star in his own right — as Robert Rodriguez’s backup plan for the lead role in Desperado.

Desperado was one of Robert Rodriguez’s signature hits and also put Antonio Banderas on the Hollywood map. But there was a time when Banderas didn’t sign on; Rodriguez already had someone else in mind: John Leguizamo.

Making a film is a tough nut to crack, but for then-twentysomething Robert Rodriguez, his 1992 feature debut, El Mariachi, proved that even a measly $7,000 (!) budget could work wonders if you think outside the box. And so, he did, by becoming the one-man crew not only as the writer and director, but also wearing multiple hats, including producer, cinematographer, editor, and even sound editor, to name a few.

He may have cast largely amateur actors, but it’s hard to deny his indie filmmaking passion in flipping the action cinema inside out – a hyper-stylized neo-Western that pays homage to Sergio Leone’s genre-defining Dollars Trilogy and Sergio Corbucci’s Django. El Mariachi went on to become a critical darling and even grossed $2 million, easily one of the most profitable movies ever made in cinema history.

From $7,000 Original to $7 Million Sequel/Remake

Then came Desperado three years later, serving as a sequel and remake that marked a significant improvement on all counts. It has better production values, thanks to an increased budget of $7 million at Rodriguez’s disposal. The action is particularly top-notch, drawing inspiration from John Woo and Sam Peckinpah in its slo-mo, balletic gunfights.

At the heart of Desperado is Antonio Banderas, replacing Carlos Gallardo as the battle-scarred El Mariachi. Rodriguez didn’t abandon Gallardo, offering him another role instead, albeit a small but memorable part as one of Mariachi’s friends, Campa. Banderas was already a household name in Spain, thanks to his notable collaboration with the renowned Pedro Almodóvar in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989).

Although he came to Hollywood and appeared in supporting roles like The Mambo Kings (1992) and Interview with the Vampire (1994), it wasn’t until Rodriguez offered him the chance to lead Desperado as his first major role in a Hollywood studio production.

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Imagine John Leguizamo Landed the El Mariachi Role Instead, If Casting Antonio Banderas Didn’t Work Out

Interestingly, despite Rodriguez writing the El Mariachi role specifically with Banderas in mind, he already had a backup plan in case the negotiation didn’t work out as planned. And that backup plan in question is John Leguizamo. It’s hard to believe if you think about it now, considering how Banderas carried the iconic El Mariachi role with his effortlessly rugged charm and swagger.

Leguizamo’s earlier career path was an interesting one, where he got his start doing stand-up acts before appearing in small roles in movies like Revenge and Die Hard 2 in 1990. He finally made his breakthrough in a big-budget studio film, Super Mario Bros. in 1993, and while he did a great job playing Luigi alongside Bob Hoskins’s Mario, the movie itself was notoriously a Bob-omb in the box office.

But that same year, he had a great supporting role playing a gangster in Brian De Palma’s acclaimed Carlito’s Way. Had Leguizamo landed the El Mariachi role in Desperado, it would be radically different from Antonio Banderas’s brooding and darkly romantic character interpretation. Besides, Leguizamo’s acting strength would lean more toward a fast-talking and volatile type of El Mariachi.

And you can imagine his on-screen chemistry with Salma Hayek’s Carolina would be less amorous, but rather an erratic love-hate dynamic. Of course, it’s hard to imagine the idea of John Leguizamo being an action star since he excels more as a character actor. The latter is especially true, from earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) to chewing the scenery playing the gleefully theatrical Tybalt in Romeo + Juliet (1996) and the unhinged Clown in Spawn (1997). Today, Leguizamo is best known for his recurring voice as Sid in the Ice Age movies, and he was recently seen playing the blind Eumaeus in The Odyssey.

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Desperado is currently streaming on Tubi.