John Leguizamo Reflects on Performing for Over 400 Inmates at Rikers Island: 'Very Moving for Me' (Exclusive)

"I know they don't get any entertainment. Nobody goes to Rikers to perform for these kids," Leguizamo tells PEOPLE of his inspiration for the show

John Leguizamo is leveraging his comedic chops to highlight what he feels are serious cracks in the U.S. incarceration system.

In his new documentary John Leguizamo Live at Rikers, the 63-year-old actor and comedian performs his hit one-man Broadway show Ghetto Klown at Rikers Island Correctional Facility for an audience of over 400 inmates.

"Following the performance, Leguizamo leads intimate group discussions with young men who are enrolled in Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), an anti-recidivism program that provides 800 justice-involved young men with the services and resources they need to further their education, secure meaningful employment, and achieve emotional well-being," a release reads.

Speaking with PEOPLE about the experience, Leguizamo, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and grew up in Queens, New York, says his work with GOSO over the last decade was a big part of the inspiration behind his desire to perform at Rikers.

"I participated in the program teaching an acting class, teaching them how to do a one-man show, and you fall in love with these kids," he says. "You see how much heart they have, how they've changed and how little opportunity life gives them for making one mistake in their lives."

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"I know they don't get any entertainment. Nobody goes to Rikers to perform for these kids," Leguizamo continues. "And I thought, 'What if I went there and gave them something, gave them this live show?' "

The Menu actor admits that he "of course" was "nervous" to do the show, initially thinking he might be "a little too out of touch" and that his audience might not connect with his material, as he's "used to performing for a Broadway house" in front of "people who are paying crazy amounts of money to be entertained."

"And here, it's a captive audience, so to speak. And I know what kind of mood they were going to be [in], and yet they were present. They laughed so hard. It was great," he adds. "And then the conversation afterwards was really very moving for me."

Leguizamo says he "was arrested a couple times" himself when he was younger, though he "never got out of the precinct, thank God." But he has visited friends at Rikers before, which he calls a "daunting" experience.

"And it was daunting to perform there, as well. The whole crew gets vetted for a couple months," says the Emmy winner. "They tell me I'm not allowed to do sexual content, aggressive content, insightful content. And I tried, and I was like, 'I can't. ... It'll wreck the show, and then I feel like I'll be talking down to them instead of talking to them at where they're at.' So I kept it authentic for them."

The Romeo + Juliet star is on the board of GOSO and has been for 10 years, and says those he teaches as part of the program have performed their own one-man shows for fundraisers.

"And then you just fall in love with them, and the majority of them who go through the program don't go back to [that] life and they stay out of prison — 98%," Leguizamo says.

Related: John Leguizamo Lobbies for National Latino Museum: 'Big Thing I Want to Do Before I Die' (Exclusive)

Asked what he hopes viewers take from his show and the documentary, the actor and social activist tells PEOPLE of his in-person audience, "They're just kids who made a mistake."

"We all make mistakes. Theirs are more severe, especially if you're a Latin and Black kid. ... Because White kids make a lot of mistakes, too, but they have more money and they have more resources for the parents to get their kids out of trouble," Leguizamo continues. "But these kids don't have that, and so they're stuck in the system."

"So I want people to walk out knowing how human they are, and that they made a mistake and the prison system doesn't work," he adds. "It shouldn't be about punishment. It should be about rehabilitation, and helping these kids get back to their lives in a different way."

John Leguizamo Live at Rikers, from Azimuth Films, is available to stream now on Black Experience on Xfinity and Xumo.

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