In the Brian De Palma-directed film, the actor starred as the up-and-coming gangster Benny Blanco opposite Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante, a Puerto Rican criminal who is dragged back into a life of crime. The only problem is that Al Pacino is not Puerto Rican, which is why the set was so “odd” and “surreal” for Leguizamo.

“You know, it was a thing of the times. Before then he played a Cuban,” Leguizamo recently told Insider, referring to Pacino’s iconic “Scarface” role as Tony Montana. “Yeah, in that he’s kind of doing like a Cuban/Mexican accent.”

“I definitely knew I could act. It wasn’t like I couldn’t act, I knew I could do it,” Leguizamo said. “I trained hard. It’s just Hollywood was weird and it’s always been weird. It has always been “Holly-wouldn’t.” And I knew this going in. When I went to college, and alongside some great actors, the white guys would get five auditions a day and I would have one every five months. The cast breakdown was Jim Crow. White actor, white actor, and then every five months, Latin actor to be a murderer. Those were my opportunities.”

It’s been a busy end of the year for Leguizamo, who is currently in theaters with both Searchlight Pictures’ “The Menu” and Universal Pictures’ “Violent Night.”