Rosie Perez is a Latina with three decades of high-profile acting career. She knew she belonged to a rare group.
And for you, that’s the problem.
“There were quite a few of us who came through. And I am so grateful for that,” she said in a Variety profile published Wednesday. “But that’s not enough.”
Nominated for a 2021 Emmy for her performance as Meghan. Briscoe, on HBO Max’s “Flight Attendant,” Perez said the stories that Latinos are often told in Hollywood are often thwarted by “there’s a lot to be told.” “Some executives who don’t know who we are as people.”
“And they were like, ‘Would you like some seasoning, please?’” she added. “You want to punch these people in the face. And if it’s exaggerated, they’re like, ‘Can you bring it back?’ because we don’t want the audience to be offended’ and people are getting sick from it.”
Perez’s career took off after she starred in Spike Lee’s influential 1989 film “Do the Right Thing.” She had another memorable performance in 1992’s “White Men Can’t. Jump” featuring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.
The Variety article addressed Perez’s departure from ABC’s “The View” after the show’s brief stint in 2015, which some questioned as racist. Reports from the time of her departure stated that the reason for her departure was trouble reading the telegraph. It was a detail that caused intense criticism from Latina leaders.
“Questioning women’s intelligence is an old, sexist stereotype. And in this case it also means racism.” Dozens of Latina leaders “When you insult a single Latina on ‘The View,’ you insult all Latinas.”
Perez, a Daytime Emmy nomination for her co-host of the daytime talk show. did not demand an apology amid the controversy. On her profile, she declined to comment on the matter.
Perez praised the success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a sci-fi comedy starring mostly Asians. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and three of the four Top Acting awards.
“I think that’s why. So ‘everywhere at once’ is a big winner,” she said, referring to the difference in roles and the story that speaks to one’s culture. Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1993 film “Fearless.”
And even though she’s glad Brendan Fraser won Best Actor. But she backed the victory for Colin Farrell, who was nominated for the Irish film The Banshees of Inisherin.
Why? Because “he does something specific to his culture…how many other movies does he do something specific to his culture?”
“That’s what we ask for as Latinos,” she continues. “We want to do things that are specific to our culture. for our story.”
