Colombia-born actor John Leguizamo would play late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in the film ‘King of Cocaine‘.
Directed by Brad Furman (from ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’), shooting for the movie about the Medellin cartel boss will begin in January in Colombia.
Benicio del Toro and Oscar Isaac had been mentioned as candidates to play Escobar, but Leguizamo “got the job basically because he refused to take no for an answer”, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Undaunted, Leguizamo shelled out $15,000 on a fat suit and prosthetic make-up to look like Escobar’s twin.
The screen test eventually convinced everybody that Leguizamo was the man for the role, according to Deadline Hollywood.
