One of the best things that has come from film adaptations from the romance genre is how actors rightfully get bigger and better opportunities afterward. We simply need to look at the success of Bridgerton and take note of where former stars like Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor are today. At the same time, Season 2’s leads, Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, have fantastic content lined up. But where are the announcements for roles starring Taylor Zakhar Perez, and why isn’t Hollywood trying to snatch him for every role after Red, White, & Royal Blue?
First, let’s check and make sure that we all collectively watched the same movie and lost our minds at the sheer range conveyed throughout the entirety of the film. We did? Okay great. Here’s the gist: Alex Claremont-Diaz isn’t just a mouthful to say aloud (his words), but the character Casey McQuiston wrote about in the book is brimming with personality that’s hard to capture without natural charisma and a deep understanding of character traits.
I was so sure after the film aired that both Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez would be booked and busy, but quite frankly, it’s frustrating to see that it’s only the case for one of them. And they’re both too good, so what’s the issue here, Hollywood? Need I point out the obvious? I’ll leave it for now. Taylor Zakhar Perez’s embodiment of Alex is icing on top of the massive royal cake. Both characters carry and go through a ton throughout their journey, but we don’t talk enough about how Alex softens while simultaneously keeping so much of his heart on display.
We don’t talk enough about how Taylor Zakhar Perez imbues the character with so much personality that you could take any scene and write a thesis about how deeply the actor cares to bring something honest and sincere to the surface. (And again, this isn’t a dig at anyone else. It’s a mere observation about what we’re refusing to take note of.)
So often in Hollywood, opportunities are not fairly dispersed. Executives are constantly screaming about being inclusive and wanting genuine diversity, but what we end up seeing in final products says otherwise. The same thing can be said about how, in some cases, when the momentary hype dwindles down, people aren’t willing to extend their support to the marginalized stories until it’s too late. Yes, many aren’t aware of what’s always out there, and it’s challenging to keep up when it isn’t your job, but it’s not hard to make the extra effort to be mindful of this.
Further, one of the more admirable qualities about Taylor Zakhar Perez is that he’s proud of the work he’s done on shows and films that often get too much flack. Things that fall within the confines of the romance genre that actors love to brush aside as though it doesn’t require as much work as prestigious genre content. Only it does. If the romance genre is so easy to adapt and replicate, then why isn’t there more of it? We saw the success with Anyone But You, yet it’s still perceived as less than.
The moral of the story is that Taylor Zakhar Perez is an actor deserving of far more than he has lined up so far, and we’ll be sitting here hoping for new announcements about his career going forward.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Prime Video