Rosie Perez recalls that an agent once advised her to drastically change her appearance to look more white.
“She told me if I dyed my hair blonde and got my nose done. ‘I’ll get you more work. Because you’re not black,’” the 58-year-old Latina actress told Variety in a recent interview. “I can’t believe it. I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’ like, ‘Thanks, fired.’”
shortly thereafter The truth of her decision begins.
“I had no one, I had no money,” she said.
But the “Do The Right Thing” actress found an ally in “Criminal Justice,” her co-star Jennifer Gray. which upon hearing about the agent’s advice Immediately call her
“Jennifer and I immediately clicked,” said the former Perez. “I haven’t seen that woman for a long time. But I just thought she was a phenomenon. She was like, ‘I can’t believe how racist this industry is.’ She picked up the phone and called Jane Berliner at CAA and said, ‘You have to represent the actors. This woman’”
Berliner signed Perez and helped her land two roles that would change her career.
The first was playing Woody Harrelson’s girlfriend in “White Men Can’t Jump,” a script originally written for a white woman.
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“It was a magical summer,” recalls Perez playing opposite Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, “and when you scroll through the TV to see what you want to see and March Madness pops up. And then there’s ‘White Men Can’t Jump,’ you can’t help but watch.”
That opportunity led to Peter Weir’s “Fearless,” where once again the studio needed a white woman to play the role.
Despite pressure from the studio Weir and Jeff Bridges, who plays Max. Klein in the 1993 drama still holds up.
Perez’s role as Carla Rodrigo’s grieving mother earned her an Oscar nomination.
And despite being an Academy member, the actress revealed in 2021 that she hadn’t been invited back since being nominated in 1994.
“Not even sitting in front of the audience, not presenting, not doing anything, and I’m a member,” she told Variety. “I love the Oscars. I cheered for my friend, but it hurt. It’s like your home team doesn’t ask you to get back on the field after you get up and hit a home run.”
However, she was invited to the Oscars the following year to present the award with Snipes and Harrelson.
Despite the drama in the early stages of her career. But Perez went on to play roles in movies like “Pineapple Express.”
She was also chosen to host “The View.” However, she left the talk show after just one season for reasons she declined to provide further details.
“I shouldn’t talk about it,” she told Variety. “Let’s just say what I thought I was there should be something. which excites me and when I got there It’s not like that.”
while sitting on the panel An anonymous executive claimed to Variety that Perez could not read the teletext. causing Latin leaders to demand an apology
Additionally, ABC executive Barbara Fedida, who oversaw the program during Perez’s tenure, Fired in 2020 for making racist comments about “Good Moning America” anchor Robin Roberts, a black woman.
Perez declined to comment, only saying: “Not going there.”
The “The Flight Attendant” star, who can currently be seen on “Your Honor,” will be honored next month at Variety’s Power of Women alongside Natasha Lyonne, Kelly Ripa, Michaela Jae Rodriguez and author Judy Blume.
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