John Leguizamo jokes that prepping for his latest movie — in which he plays an arson investigator-turned-adult film director — involved binging tons of raunchy videos.
“I did a lot of research because I’m method and I [watched] a lot of porn,” he teased to Page Six in a recent interview, adding that he was obviously watching the films “for the show, not for me.”
The “Moulin Rouge!” star quipped that he “didn’t get anything” out of watching the films — of course — but insists he did it “for the character to learn about the angles and the editing and I got much better at [it], if you know what I mean.”
When Leguizamo’s “Smoke” co-star Anna Chlumsky noted that pornography is all “in the editing,” Leguizamo, 64, agreed, adding that if the acting jobs dry up, he could transition into material tinged a little more blue.
This prompted the “Veep” alum to jokingly leave the interview only to return moments later.
In the show, the duo play investigators brought in to stop two serial arsonists in the Pacific Northwest.
The series, which also stars Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett, was created by crime author Dennis Lehane and inspired by “Firebug,” a podcast about the crimes of arsonist John Leonard Orr.
Chlumsky, 44, shared that although she doesn’t know any arsonists personally, “I’ve run into people in my life who’ve been related to people who like to set fires.”
“It’s very weird,” she continued, musing about the pathology of arsonists.
“It’s one of those things where you go, where you like, you can’t even pretend that it’s not super, super psychological stuff.”
Chlumsky added that she “can’t even begin” to understand why people would set fires and that she believes “Smoke” explores the idea that “there’s as many reasons to do a crime as there are people doing them.”
Despite the dark subject matter, Leguizamo says the two had “a blast working together.”
“She’s fun, she’s so fun to be with,” he gushed.
“She’s so vivacious, she’s so bright … We’re in this car for hours and hours, we’re just goofing and laughing.”
“Smoke” will premiere on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on June 27, followed by one episode weekly every Friday through August 15.
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