( CNN ) -- George Lopez told CNN 's Piers Morgan that he 's not ruling out the idea of running for mayor of Los Angeles -- eight years from now . The actor and comedian appeared on Tuesday 's `` Piers Morgan Tonight . '' He provides the voice for Grouchy Smurf in the new movie `` The Smurfs . '' `` This is a great city , and it 's my city , '' Lopez said . `` I believe that there are certain things that could be taken care of that you do n't need a strong political background in . '' Lopez told Morgan he cares most about `` bonding the city back . '' `` Architecture downtown is beautiful , '' Lopez said , `` and people live here , but they do n't have a pride in Los Angeles that they did years ago , when I was growing up . '' Lopez 's L.A. childhood did n't provide much fodder for his comedy career . The comedian never knew his father , and his mother was an epileptic illiterate who had the mental capacity of an 8-year-old . `` If I was a can of soup at the store , '' said Lopez , summing up his childhood , `` I 'd have a dent in me , and I 'd be in that basket that they have at the end of the hall , the end of the aisle that says , 'These are 99 cents , everything in the can . ' That 's how I would have considered myself . '' Lopez 's grandmother very reluctantly took him in when he was about 10 . `` Everything I tried to do for her was met with negativity , '' he said . The comedian never heard his grandmother or either parent say `` I love you . '' Lopez told Morgan a story about the only shred of encouragement he ever received as a child . A player for the Baltimore Orioles visited histhird-grade class . `` He said that if you stay in school and you stick to what you want to do , you can become anything , '' Lopez recalled . The message stuck with him , Lopez said . His divorce from his wife of 17 years , Ann , was recently finalized . `` Ann was great , '' he said . `` And Ann came from a family that was very connected . Both her parents were doctors . I always used to say we 're opposites , because both her parents were doctors and mine never went to the doctor . `` She brought a sense of family and of home . The holidays were important to her , very important , every holiday . And it 's great for my daughter to grow up with that . '' The couple has a 15-year-old daughter . Lopez , who recently turned 50 , told Morgan , `` I was fortunate enough to be married to her for 17 years . And as marriages go , it was fun . We used to look at each other and laugh , and we had nothing when we started . So it was a great period . '' In 2005 , his wife gave Lopez a kidney when the comedian was suffering from kidney disease , which is partly why the public was so shocked when the couple filed for divorce in 2010 . `` I do n't want to blame entertainment , '' Lopez said . `` I do n't want to blame creativity , but when you grow up a certain way , unfortunately , I was not equipped with a lot of the tools that a person would need to be a partner . '' Morgan asked Lopez , who graciously welcomed Conan O'Brien to take his timeslot on TBS ( sister network to CNN ) , about the time he described Jay Leno as the `` biggest two-faced dude and a back-stabber . '' `` I do not have a personal relationship with Jay Leno , '' Lopez responded . `` We are not friends , nor have we ever been friendly . I 've heard some things said about me by him that I took exception to . There were things that he said that I was not appropriate to people of my own color . '' Morgan wondered whether `` The Tonight Show '' is still the `` Holy Grail '' among late night talk show hosts , and Lopez said , `` if you ask me personally -- I know you did n't ask me -- who I thought should 've been the host of 'The Tonight Show , ' I think when Johnny Carson , -- which I was fortunate enough to do that show with him in 1991 -- I thought the heir apparent would 've been David Letterman . '' Morgan asked whether Lopez still saw Letterman as the heir apparent . `` I do , '' Lopez said . `` David Letterman is the best late-night talk show host right now , hands down , and has been since he first took the desk . '' Watch Piers Morgan Tonight weeknights 9 p.m . ET . For the latest from Piers Morgan click here .
George Lopez stars as the voice of Grouchy Smurf in the new movie `` The Smurfs '' Lopez and his wife of 17 years recently divorced . In a statement released by Disney on Friday, Lopez, who is best known for playing Gomez Addams on Nickelodeon's ''