Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine at a "Red, White & Royal Blue" screening and Q&A in ... [+]
With the much-anticipated Prime Video announcement last night that a Red, White & Royal Blue movie sequel is in fact happening, what could possibly be even better news than that? Well, one of its stars, actor Taylor Zakhar Perez, sees a real possibility of this story going even beyond two movies.
“It could be a trilogy,” Zakhar Perez told me on Thursday during our Zoom conversation. “I mean, could you imagine having the first queer trilogy for young people to login and see themselves on TV?”
He added: “I would love for it to be a staple for Amazon and for people to come login and go, ‘Oh, this is my happy place, this is a teachable moment, but I also am going to laugh...”
Co-starring Nicholas Galitzine, written by author Casey McQuiston and brought to the screen by filmmaker Matthew Lopez, Red, White & Royal Blue has become a global phenomenon, telling the story of the U.S. President’s son, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Zakhar Perez), unexpectedly falling in love with the Prince of England, Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox (Galitzine).
Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine in "Red, White & Royal Blue"
Before we can fully appreciate where Zakhar Perez will go next with this beloved project, it is helpful to understand where he came from and how he has arrived at this very special moment in his acting career so far.
Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Indiana, Zakhar Perez recalls how his early interests in the arts as an adolescent had a lasting impact on who he has become in adulthood.
When speaking about his late teenage years, Zakhar Perez said, “My parents were very open to me - as soon as I got a car, they were like, ‘Do whatever you want. Go to all the art things that you want - as long as you keep swimming, as long as you maintain a good grade point average.’ I was in Chicago probably every week for a few days by myself, going on castings, going on auditions - working. I learned a lot during those years of what I wanted to surround myself with.”
Taylor Zakhar Perez with his parents.
In 2010, Zakhar Perez decided to take a leap of faith out of the Midwest and move to Los Angeles, California to pursue his dream in acting. During his first five years out west, he worked beside his uncle in an art department production and remembers meeting “tons of prolific actors and actresses. Some of them were incredible, most of them were not, and think I learned along the way what kind of actor I wanted to be on the public-facing side because I never want to be made to feel the way they made me feel on-set.” He added: “So, I think in there is where I gained - and in theatre - the respect for the crew - the ‘below the line’ folks.”
Some of Zakhar Perez’s early breakout roles that garnered him some attention included him as firefighter-turned-pin-up model Shane on the series Minx, as well as for playing a potential love interest on-screen to his real-life best friend Joey King in The Kissing Booth Netflix films. So, how would Zakhar Perez describe his early mindset towards his Hollywood pursuits?
“For me, growing up, my dad and my mom being self-made and growing up in body shops, you have to be a self-starter. You have to be your own entrepreneur - you have to be entrepreneurial and that was just kind of in me, coming from a big family. Get in where you fit in. Everybody helps and be focused.”
He added: “I’ve sacrificed to get here, and at the same time, I see so many people out there sacrificing the same amount and just not getting anywhere. There’s just so much untapped talent in [Los Angeles], in New York, in Chicago - everywhere. The voices, the acting chops - it’s incredible. So, I’m just so grateful everyday to be in this position.”
In August 2023, Red, White & Royal Blue premiered on Prime Video and quickly turned Zakhar Perez and Galitzine into (ironically enough) young Hollywood royalty, with its very loyal and vocal international fanbase. So, I wondered what Zakhar Perez believes has made so many people gravitate to this LGBTQ story on another level, about these two men from rather different worlds.
Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez in "Red, White & Royal Blue"
“I think because if you remove the two men, it’s just a love story. I was just talking about this earlier and I didn’t put them together, but the moment where Alex and Henry are on the dock and floating, and Alex is like, ‘Oh my god, this is so amazing. We’re in Texas. Next summer, we can come back, we can be naked, we can do all the things. I can take you every place in Austin, I can take you to meet my friends. That’s when Henry starts going in like, ‘Oh my gosh. It’s becoming really real.’ You always have in that relationship that one that loves too much and that one that’s not ready to love, right? - or doesn’t know how to love yet. Then, you fast forward to that moment where Alex barges in and says, ‘I’ve stormed the castle. I flew across the ocean for you’ and they have that big blow-up fight and then you have the positive ending. I feel like everybody can relate to that. Everybody has been through that - everybody has been either the one who wasn’t ready for the love or the one that was loving too much, and they were denied. So few times, we get the gratification to see it come full-circle, and then actually succumb to one another and move forward in this relationship and kind of say, ‘F-it’ and ‘We’re going to do this.’ So, I think [Red, White & Royal Blue] is aspirational and optimistic, and just like a wonderful world that we could live in.”
Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike last year, Zakhar Perez and his cast & crew were unable to properly celebrate the Red, White & Royal Blue’s streaming premiere. Fortunately, thanks to the current FYC Emmys consideration season, Amazon gathered Zakhar Perez, Galitzine, McQuiston, Lopez, as well as co-stars Uma Thurman, Rachel Hilson and more on Wednesday night in Culver City, California for a special screening and Q&A event for fans.
(Left to right) Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Rachel Hilson and Nicholas Galitzine at the "Red, ... [+]
“It was wonderful last night, getting the band back together because I don’t think any of us were all in the same room at the same time, ever. Casey came in on a photo shoot day [when filming the movie] and we weren’t even shooting anything. We got to say hi to them for an hour. Matthew was doing something else that day. I think Rachel was gone, Uma was gone - it was just me and Nick doing all this key concept art - and so, we never really got to celebrate it and bring ‘the baby’ into the world together.”
Taylor Zakhar Perez and Uma Thurman in "Red, White & Royal Blue"
Zakhar Perez went on to praise his Red, White & Royal Blue co-stars, specifically Thurman, who plays his supportive mother, President Ellen Claremont-Diaz in the movie, as he said about his recent acting experiences, “The fame stuff is cool but sitting with the people who love the craft and the art of it, and why they got into it and how they create their characters, or just how giving they are as an acting partner is invaluable. That’s what I’ve always looked for my whole life is that mentorship of the actors and the actresses that I’ve always looked up to - and now, I’ve been working with them and it’s such a blessing.”
If you check out Zakhar Perez’s Instagram page today, it says three words on his profile - “Protecting my peace.” So, I was curious how he best protects his peace in today’s day and age, with the stardom he is experiencing and constantly being in the public eye.
Taylor Zakhar Perez at a F1 - Formula 1 Racing event.
“I kind of just don’t subscribe to the stuff online that’s going to make me want to compare myself to somebody else. It’s tough because the stuff that I’m posting - maybe me at a cool fashion show, me at a panel, me at F1 - these incredible experiences that I get to have, because now, I’ve kind of built a brand for myself. I know people see that and compare themselves to it, so kind of a double-edged sword. I definitely do like a social media cleanse. I’ll post stuff and then I’ll un-download it from my phone because it’s so easy to get to that. It’s just so easy to pop up on Instagram, pop up on Twitter/X, Threads, YouTube, whatever, and just start scrolling mindlessly. I think the way that I’m protecting my peace is finding books that maybe I didn’t actually read in high school, finding books that people have been telling me to read for years or becoming a cinephile and watching lots of TV shows.”
Zakhar Perez added: “At this point in my life, I finally have come to the realization that understanding the past helps you in the present and your future. I think that’s how I protect my peace - it’s close friends, close family. My family group chat is always going off and I’m so grateful for them.”
Beyond the Red, White & Royal Blue sequel now in the works, what are the types of characters and stories that Zakhar Perez is most interested in taking on next?
Taylor Zakhar Perez attends the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, ... [+]
“I want to work with incredible filmmakers - like I love Denis Villeneuve. Oh my gosh, all of his films - Dune, incredible. David Ayer, Doug Liman - I love me some Jason Bourne projects. Cord Jefferson - I loved American Fiction and I met him a couple times. I saw him at the Oscars and he was such a wonderful human being. I think that’s another thing - they say don’t meet your heroes and I’ve been so lucky to meet a bunch of producers and directors that I look up to, and actors, that their ego, they leave it at the door and they can have a real conversation with you.”
He added: “I would love to be in a Marvel feature. I would love to be in a gritty independent feature. I love subverting expectations of who I am, and that’s what I’m looking for in my next project.”
As I concluded my conversation with Zakhar Perez, I wondered what brings him the greatest joy in his life today.
“Oh, that’s tough! I feel like life isn’t promised, right? Tomorrow is not promised and my family lost my eldest sister last year, Kristy. So, any time that I’m thinking that I’m feeling a little down or less-than, or I don’t want to this or I don’t want to do that, I really just think of her because she was the heartbeat of our family and she was the go-getter and she was the Let’s all get together and do stuff and she was my biggest fan. I mean, when she was reading Red, White [& Royal Blue], she called me and said like, ‘Taylor! This book is so scandalous! I’m listening to it - I don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t watch my brother do this on-screen!’ She didn’t get to watch it - I’m sure she has seen it but it’s just those are the moments, waking up, I have to think - everything I have now is everything I wished for five years ago, ten years ago, and I think we can get caught up in the haves and the have nots, and I wish I had this and I wish I had that. I think the wishing is cool, as long as you stay grateful.”
Childhood photo of Taylor Zakhar Perez with his late sister Kristy.
He added: “Honestly, with this [Red, White & Royal Blue] film, knowing that we’ve affected so many people. I’m stopped in the streets all the time and it’s less of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I loved you in this film. Can I have a picture?’ It’s always like, ‘I loved you in this film because my friend, my brother, myself, have gone through this and I contemplated suicide before I read this book or before I saw this film, and I saw the film and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, wow! There’s a life for me outside of this town or this situation, and that is so meaningful as an actor.”
