Violator's Costume Made John Leguizamo Completely Miserable (& He Says It Was Worth It)

The year was 1997. "Blade" was still a year from coming out, so the comic book movie industry was flailing. The '90s only had "Batman Returns" and "Batman Forever" as examples of financially successful adaptations. Just like when the comic book industry itself had become stagnant in the '80s, Hollywood looked to Todd MacFarlane. The man had helped usher comic books into a new decade and filmmakers sought his help with comic book movies.

MacFarlane's work was dirty, gritty, dark, and scary. It was a perfect fit for the new attitude in filmmaking that had come about in the late-'90s with the rise in popularity of pro-wrestling, "South Park," and nu-metal music in pop culture. His seminal work, "Spawn," a comic book about a slaughtered former trained killer who is enlisted to lead hell's army, was ripe for adaptation. New Line Cinema looked to change the game with 1997's hottest summer release.

While "Spawn" didn't set the box office on fire, and critics were unkind to the film, John Leguizamo's performance as Clown was often cited as the film's saving grace. Clown, a foul-mouthed minion of Malbolgia (the comic's stand-in for Satan) tasked with overseeing the titular anti-hero during his stay on Earth, is also a fan-favorite in the film adaptation. Mark A.Z. Dippé let Leguizamo ad-lib a lot of his one-liners in the film, according to the GQ interview, leading to the standout performance. Leguizamo added, "The edgier ad-libs are in the director's cut."