John Leguizamo made waves online for his appearance in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’. While out promoting the film, the actor, best known for voicing Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age franchise, revealed how voicing the lovable animated character over the past two decades, has been rewarding both creatively and financially.

John Leguizamo on financial benefits of starring in ‘Ice Age’

Ahead of the release of ‘Ice Age: Boiling Point’ in February 2027, the actor opened up about the success of the franchise. In a chat with Entertainment Tonight, Leguizamo credited the franchise for turning his fortunes around, saying, “It paid my bills. It got me a second and a triple home. It paid for my kids’ college.”The actor, first voiced the lovable sloth Sid in the original Ice Age, released in 2002. The animated film went on to launch a franchise that has generated an estimated USD 6 billion across films, television, merch and gaming.

John Leguizamo on how voicing Sid helped buy luxury homes

Opening up about how the films paid for two homes, he shared that in 2003, a year after the original film’s release, he purchased a four-bedroom lakefront home in upstate New York. Two years later, he expanded and splurged on a two-bedroom penthouse in Los Angeles’ Venice neighbourhood.However, Leguizamo’s earnings came only from the first Ice Age film. He then went on to renegotiate his salary after the success of the second instalment, ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown’ (2006). The improved deal paid off significantly by the time ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ hit theatres in 2009.Looking back at his remuneration, he said, “It got me a brownstone. It got me a beachfront house in the Hamptons, it got me two pools!”In 2008, the actor purchased a four-storey townhouse in New York City’s West Village, which he and his wife, Justine Maurer, spent a year renovating. A few years later, around the release of ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ in 2012, he also added a beach house in Amagansett.

John Leguizamo reveals Sid role helped pay for kids’ college

The franchise also helped Leguizamo support his children’s education. His daughter, Allegra, studied theatre at Northwestern University, while his son, Lucas, graduated with a degree in political science from Vassar College. In 2023, reports stated that the actor purchased an apartment for Allegra near the family’s New York home.Leguizamo also shared how Sid remains one of the most enjoyable characters he has ever played. He said the character “allowed me to be really as funny as I want to be. In movies, I’m more dramatic usually, but in that I got to be hilarious. I got to be so silly and create this incredible character and creature.”‘Ice Age: Boiling Point’ will see him reunite with the franchise’s original core cast – Ray Romano as Manny the mammoth, Denis Leary as Diego the saber-toothed tiger, Queen Latifah as Elllie and Jennifer Lopez as Shira. Scheduled for release in February 2027, the film is the sixth chapter in the franchise.