The movie Luis Guzmán is most recognized for is one he’s not in.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, the Wednesday actor says he’s often mistaken for the late Rick Aviles, who played robber Willie Lopez in the 1990 film Ghost.
“To this day, you and I could be walking through an airport, a mall — today — and someone would go, ‘Why did you kill Patrick Swayze? What was it like working with Whoopi [Goldberg]?'” Guzmán said. “If I had a nickel since that began, I would probably own this studio, an island, and a couple of private planes. I swear.”
Jerod Harris/Getty Images; Paramount Pictures Luis Guzmán says he’s often mistaken for Rick Aviles in ‘Ghost.’
Aviles’ Willie is the one who kills Swayze’s Sam Wheat, a banker who comes back as a ghost and seeks the aid of medium Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg) to save his still-living girlfriend Molly Jensen (Demi Moore). Guzmán confirms he was never offered the role of Willie.
The actor used to correct bystanders who mistook him for Aviles, but he shared one moment that made him give up.
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“I was in Detroit one time, changing planes, and a 90-year-old lady comes up to me: ‘Oh, my god. I loved you in Ghost,'” he recalled. “I felt so bad, and I explained, ‘No, no. That was someone else.’ And then she goes, ‘So what might I have seen you in?’ And I go, ‘Did you ever see The Count of Monte Cristo?’ And she says, ‘I love that movie. That was such a great movie!’ And I said, ‘Well, I was Jacopo.’ And then she goes, ‘No, you wasn’t in that!'”
“From that moment on,” he added, “I said, ‘I’m always going to be the guy in Ghost.”
Guzmán can be seen now in the Netflix series Wednesday as Gomez Addams.
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