John Leguizamo And Patrick Swayze: From Feud To Friendship

Revisiting a Hollywood Feud

John Leguizamo recently opened up about how he and Patrick Swayze ended their well-known feud in a "polite way" before Swayze's passing in 2009. The two stars famously clashed while filming the 1995 movie "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar," but Leguizamo has now shared that they managed to bury the hatchet through a series of letters exchanged through their publicists.

Letters Across Coasts

"We were never in the same location, so that was kind of difficult. I'm a New Yorker and he was West Coast," Leguizamo explained to PEOPLE. Despite the distance, they found a way to reconcile. "But we did contact each other through letters and publicists; the polite way of doing it. And we made up. It would've been better in person, obviously," he added.

“We were never in the same location... But we did contact each other through letters and publicists; the polite way of doing it.”

From Conflict to Closure

Leguizamo's candidness about the past friction between him and Swayze offers a glimpse into the complexities of their working relationship. In his book "Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life," he previously recounted how they almost came to blows on set.

In a recent interview on SiriusXM's 'Andy Cohen Live,' Leguizamo shed more light on their dynamic, describing Swayze as "insecure," "neurotic," and "difficult" to work with. "All I hear about Patrick Swayze was just what an absolute angel he was," the host mentioned, to which Leguizamo responded: "Hmm, that’s different than what I experienced ... Rest in peace, I love him. He was just neurotic. And I’m neurotic too, but I don’t know, he was just – it was difficult working with him."

Different Styles, Different Vibes

The tension between the two was partly due to their contrasting approaches to acting. Leguizamo, known for his improvisational style, clashed with Swayze's preference for sticking to the script. "He’d be like, ‘Are you gonna say a line like that?’ I go, ‘You know me, I’m gonna do me. I’m gonna just keep making up lines.’ He goes, ‘Well, can you just say the line the way it is?’ I go, ‘I can’t.’ And the director didn’t want me to," Leguizamo recalled.

Despite the challenges, Leguizamo found camaraderie with co-star Wesley Snipes, saying, "[Swayze was] just neurotic, maybe a tiny bit insecure. And then Wesley [Snipes] and I, we vibed, ‘cause, you know, we’re people of colour, and we’ve got each other."

Ultimately, the letters exchanged between Leguizamo and Swayze helped mend their relationship, leaving behind the animosity that once existed. Their story is a testament to the power of communication and forgiveness, even in the glitzy world of Hollywood.