Joe and Jada - John Leguizamo on playing Pablo Escobar, 'Carlito's Way' & Latin representation in Hollywood

You know who it is, we’re back on the couch and the energy is up, every show stamped legendary and we’re keeping it that way.

We open sideways arguing about a movie, then drown the room in love as we welcome our guest with an over-the-top intro that’s equal parts roast and roses.

Crews roll in deep and that bill stacks fast, from SUVs to hundred-dollar plates, so I do the math like an old head on the porch and still try to give because karma pays back.

You asked if you can be funny and a gangster on screen, and I said yes, just switch gears and outwork it; even on Empire, the grit had me writing my most gangster record between takes.

Hollywood stays scared, and that fear keeps our people out of lead roles even though we’re a huge slice of the audience; I want our real share in front of and behind the camera.

Carlito’s Way felt so real that every face on screen could’ve been someone we knew, how did that happen?

It came from a New York judge writing his life and we added our own truth, but the lead could’ve been a Latino and should’ve been; I first judged it like a Scarface sequel and later saw it was really a love story about a man trying to leave the life.

I built Benny Blanco from a cat I knew in the streets, and De Palma let me go wild with take after take, improvising that chest-out walk into the club; it changed my career, and yeah, the divorce tax hit hard.

About the new Spanish-language series, I tried to raw-dog it with no subtitles and got washed instantly.

You need subtitles, Colombia talks fast; I’m playing Pablo and I’m proud of the accent, go watch the tapes and then watch me.

The show is from the son’s eyes, where a father who hugs and protects is also the storm, and those ‘nanny’ bodyguards could flip and become informants; the kid escaped and now speaks life instead of death.

Legacies stick to your name whether you want them or not, people tour the old haunts and even the hippos from his ranch still roam rivers; all that money can’t buy peace when paranoia is your roommate.

Don’t romanticize the game, these days you get a flashy year and forty years to tell the story; drones, doorbells, and data companies track everything, and sci-fi has been showing us where this was headed since the Jetsons.

We laugh about a wild film detour and then the ‘leader’ label nobody wants because of RICO, plus how crews throw a battery in the back of the most suggestible kid to spark chaos.

I paid a feared friend to stay away so I could protect this life, he honored it and got caught up anyway; another old friend found God, and I still keep distance because clean living needs clean circles.

Even my legendary uncle came home wanting a ride straight into smoke, and I drew the line with love, cash, and boundaries.

We crack up on the way out about how cash is suspect now, they keep saying no cash at the counter while we chant and clown our way to the credits.