John Leguizamo says he tips waiters and valets with $100 bills: ‘I’m not a cheapskate’

If you’re a waiter or valet you should hope you get John Leguizamo as a customer.

In an interview on Good Morning America, The Power star, 62, revealed that he tips waiters and valets with $100 bills.

‘Come on, this ain’t the ’70s,’ Leguizamo said. ‘You can’t tip with $20 bills. People are going to throw that back at you.’ 

‘You’ve got to give back,’ he said. ‘If people are giving you their best service, and you don’t tip them? Come on, who are you?

‘I’m not a cheapskate,’ The Menu star – who is boycotting the new Super Mario Bros. movie – added.

Leguizamo also talked about his new Amazon Prime series, The Power, which is based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 bestseller of the same name.

‘Can you imagine a world where women take over? It’d be a great place. So that’s what this series is,’ Leguizamo said.

‘Teenaged girls develop an organ through evolution to protect themselves, and it gives them electricity.’

‘Static shock for some girls, nuclear blasts for other girls – and men are afraid.’

‘It’s a great, scary, powerful series,’ he added noting that men aren’t willing to give up their power so easily.

And while the Leguizamo Does America star loves the concept of The Power, he’s not so keen on the new Super Mario Bros. movie.

He starred in the 1993 Mario Bros. film but won’t be seeing the newest film due to it’s lack of a Latin character.

‘They could’ve included a Latin character. I was groundbreaking, and then they stopped the groundbreaking,’ he said. 

Not a cheapskate: ‘Come on, this ain’t the ’70s,’ Leguizamo said. ‘You can’t tip with $20 bills. People are going to throw that back at you’; seen 2023

Respect: ‘You’ve got to give back,’ he said. ‘If people are giving you their best service, and you don’t tip them? Come on, who are you?’

The Power: Leguizamo also talked about his new Amazon Prime series, The Power, which is based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 bestseller of the same name

‘They messed up the inclusion. They dis-included,’ Leguizamo continued. ‘Just cast some Latin folk. We’re 20 percent of the population — the largest people-of-color group, and we’re underrepresented. Over-represented in the worst kinda jobs, though.’

Although Mario and Luigi are portrayed as Italian in various games, the characters were created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi.

Leguizamo may have meant to specify Latin actors, as he was still playing Italian in the 1993 film.

However, the new Super Mario Bros. Movie does have some Latin actors, though not in the lead roles.

Back in November, he told IndieWire that it ‘sucks’ that the new film had white actors Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi, respectively.

New world: ‘It’s a great, scary, powerful series,’ he added noting that men aren’t willing to give up their power so easily

‘I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original,’ the Bogotá, Colombia–born star said. ‘I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, “No, no, we love the old one, the original.” They’re not feeling the new one. I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.’

He added about the 1993 film: ‘The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead. They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough.’

He added that, ‘for them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.’