John Leguizamo on why Too Wong Foo didn’t get the respect it deserved: “There was only room for one drag queen movie”

I love To Wong Foo, [Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar]. I mean, it was such a brave movie.

[The Adventures of] Priscilla Queen of the Desert stole our thunder because it came out just before because we had to wait for Wesley. We were trying to beat them. Because there was only room back then for one drag queen movie per year.

So we didn’t get the accolades that we deserved, I feel. Because I think Patrick {Swayze ] did an amazing job and Wesley [Snipes] and I crushed it too and we took it seriously. 

We really wanted to give these characters integrity and we had drag queen coaches. I had Laritza Dumas.She was from the Bronx and she was trying to help me do my accent correctly.I loved her and I borrowed as much from her as I could.

LGBTQ+ teenagers came up to me a lot after the movie came out and said that that movie gave them the courage to come out to their family. That’s what you hope your work does that gives people a sense that they’re seen, that they’re important, that their lives matter.That’s what you hope that you do with your work.

John Leguizamo speaking to Bustle’s One Nightstand about the legacy of the 1995 film ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.’