“Red, White & Royal Blue” star Taylor Zakhar Perez opened up about straight actors playing queer roles, what he thinks of intrusive questions, and using prosthetics for full-frontal nude scenes.
The 32-year-old actor, chatting with Men’s Health, revealed that while he might seem perfectly natural going au naturel in front of movie cameras, he wasn’t always so at home in his own skin – even when he wasn’t showing it all off.
“I always had these long eyelashes, and everyone always like, ‘Oh, he’s so pretty,’” Zakhar Perez said. “And as a young man, that’s not what you want to hear.”
Now, though – thanks, perhaps, in part to his dedicated workout regimen, which he discussed with the fitness magazine – the “Minx” actor is ready and willing to strip down and even wear a prosthetic penis if a role calls for it.
“When I see a character breakdown, like with Shane from ‘Minx,’ where it’s a prosthetic and partial nudity, I thought the role was just hysterical,” the actor explained.
“If it’s not gratuitous nudity, I’m down for it,” Zakhar Perez added. “If it makes sense, and it’s authentic, and true to the character and the scene given circumstances, then I’m 100% in.”
That’s true no matter what the character’s sexuality might be. Discussing “Red, White & Royal Blue,” the gay rom-com he made last year with costar Nicholas Galitzine in which he played the First Son of a female U.S. president in love with a British prince, Zakhar Perez told Men’s Health that he’s “grateful to be part of a project where, yes, it is a love story, but again, it’s not the sole focus. These people have robust, full lives. They’re educated.”
Added Zakhar Perez: “The less people focus on sexuality and see what these people are capable of, that’s when we’ve created real change.”
But while audiences expect to see into the personal lives of the characters on screen, there’s a line to be drawn between those fictional people and the professional actors who bring those make-believe worlds to life.
“Nicholas was just asked the other day about his sexuality, and I just find it so rude,” Zakhar Perez said, referencing the actor who played his on-screen love interest. “It’s unprofessional and no one’s business. That’s someone’s personal life.”
Probing press and the glare of public scrutiny is reportedly not stopping Zakhar Perez and Galitzine from reprising their roles; Amazon MGM Studios recently announced a sequel to the hit movie that will see Zakhar’s First Son live out a new chapter with his prince.
As for other work he might want to undertake, Zakhar Perez revealed his favorite “X-Men” character (Wolverine) and said he’d like to play a role with a “darker edge” that would serve as a contrast to “everything I’ve been doing.” He also addressed the “fan casting” that would have him playing the role of Rhysand in a movie version of “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” a popular series of fantasy novels centered around a young woman who finds herself having adventures in the magical lands of the faeries.
“I think it was supposed to be in development with Hulu,” the actor said of the idea of an adaptation. “But I would love to see where that character goes, because in the first book he’s not that big of a role, and then in the second book he becomes more involved. And I’ve never been in a fantasy project.”
“Never say never,” the young actor added. “I think fan-casting is cool. Me and Nick are the kings of adaptations.”
Ready for some fan casting of your own? Check out these snaps from Zakhar Perez’s Insta and decide for yourself what roles would fit him best.
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