It has been more than 25 years since John Leguizamo played Pestario Vargas in The Pest, but the actor, fresh off his role in Violent Night, says he would be interested in seeing where the character is now. The original film took place over a very condensed period of time, and was a riff on The Most Dangerous Game, in which Scottish gangsters that Pestario owed money to, agreed to waive his debts if he agreed to be the quarry in a human-hunting game. But it was also wildly over the top and silly — the kind of role Leguizamo used to routinely play.
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He says fans are always asking for more from the world of The Pest, but he isn’t sure whether he could get into that high-energy mindset again.
“I think The Pest is interesting, because when I go to comic cons, kids always want me to sign a The Pest picture or they have a The Pest DVD or even a VHS of it or a poster,” Leguizamo told ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian. “And I’m like ‘What? Really? You love this movie?’ And they’re like ‘Yeah, that opening credits, and the movie is the funniest thing ever.’ It was Get Out before Get Out, because I’m being hunted by this great white hunter who wants to put a Puerto Rican on his mantle.”
“Everybody’s always asking for a sequel to that, and I’m like I don’t know,” Leguizamo added. “I think I’ve aged out of playing that kind of hyper-silly.”
That said, Leguizamo admitted that the same thing that makes him wary, could also make a potential sequel work. After all, that over-the-top silliness is easy for a guy in his 20s. Decades later? Not so much. So, how would a character defined by that energy work as he gets on in years?
“How would he age? I hope he did age, otherwise he’s a silly buffoon,” Leguizamo said. “Does he mature, or does he stay a manchild forever?”
You can check out the official synopsis for The Pest (via Google Play) below:
Fast-talking Latino con artist Pestario “Pest” Vargas (John Alberto Leguizamo) is the target of Scottish mobsters to whom he owes a considerable debt. Willing to do anything to raise money and avoid severe injury or death, Vargas agrees to a very unusual job — he will be transported to a remote island and hunted by Gustav Shank (Jeffrey Jones), a racist German executive. If he can survive a full day and night, Vargas gets $50,000 and will be set free. Is he wily enough to elude Shank?
The Pest is available on digital video on demand platforms, but is not streaming free anywhere.
