Luis Guzmán Says People Remember Him Most From a Movie He Wasn’t Even In

While promoting Tim Burton‘s new original series “Wednesday,” actor Luis Guzmán played a game of “Celebrity True or False” during an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show.” The host gave Guzmán an opportunity to talk about the many fans who have told him how much they loved him in 1990’s “Ghost.” Problem is, he isn’t in that movie.

Luis Guzmán is in everything… except “Ghost”

Guzmán, a celebrated character actor, has appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows, often giving minor but memorable performances. However, the actor seems to be most recognized for a movie with which he had literally no involvement.

It wasn’t Guzmán but, instead, actor Rick Aviles who played the role of Willie Lopez in the 1990 film. In the film, Lopez is responsible for killing Patrick Swayze’s Sam Wheat, who then returns as a ghost to protect his girlfriend, played by Demi Moore.

Because of that, Guzmán says, people are constantly coming up to him and asking, “Why did you kill Patrick Swayze? What was it like working with Whoopi [Goldberg]?” He explains that “to this day,” he “could be walking through an airport, a mall” and someone will approach him about “Ghost.”

But he realized maybe it’s okay to let people think he was

The actor says it happens so often that, “If I had a nickel since that began — I would probably own this studio, an island and a couple of private planes. I swear.” For years, Guzmán says he used to always deny he ever starred in the movie, but a chance encounter led him to rethink his approach.

“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 explains.

“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!'”

In that moment, Guzmán realized it was easier to let people think what they want. After all, the actor has been in everything from “Boogie Nights” to “Carlito’s Way.” Why not add one more to the list? “From that moment on,” he says, “I’m always going to be the guy in ‘Ghost.'”

Watch the full interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” here!