Faces to Watch in ’95 : We’re Counting on Them : MOVIES

Some of them you know. Some you don’t. But the following artists, entertainers and executives have one thing in common: We’re counting on each to mae a significant impact or difference in their respective fields this year. Sure, there will be thers who make a splash, but after we talked with dozens of people who work in entertainment and the arts, these were the names mentioned most often. You might say that Jim Carrey was a face to watch in ‘94, and you would be right. But, based on “Ace Ventura,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber,” Carrey’s ’95 should bear watching. Another pair of familiar faces--Jay Leno and David Letterman--appear on our list. Why? Haven’t we looked at these guys enough? Well, truth be told, how do you know what’s going to happen to them this year? Fame can be sooooo fleeting.

John Leguizamo

For several years, actor and comedian John Leguizamo has journeyed just beyond the orbit of full-fledged stardom.

He played firebrand Calderone Jr. on “Miami Vice,” he won an Obie onstage for his one-man, multi-character show “Mambo Mouth” and four CableACE awards for another ensemble piece, “‘Spic-o-Rama.” And he has popped up regularly in such films as “Casualties of War” and “Carlito’s Way.”

The Colombian-born performer, 30, is about to become a fixture in the Hollywood firmament.

Next Sunday, his sketch comedy series “House of Buggin’ ” premieres on Fox Television. And this spring, he helps carry two major features on the big screen: “Burning Love,” in which he plays a lovesick busboy who takes the rap for torching his restaurant, and “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar,” in which he will have to be physically restrained from stealing scenes as Chi Chi, a heart-of-gold transvestite adrift, with fellow cross-dressers Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze, in Middle America.