Taylor Zakhar Perez Felt Pressure to Get 'Red, White & Royal Blue' Right

"From the beginning, there was an enormous weight on my shoulders, making sure that we were accurate with representation and with character portrayal."

When Casey McQuiston's novel Red, White & Royal Blue was published in 2019, it was an instant bestseller. Now the story of a romance between the U.S. president's son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and British Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) is a new Amazon Prime movie (August 11). "I really didn't know the magnitude of it," Perez says about the popularity of the book. "Everybody kind of came at me with their opinions." And Perez went into it with little knowledge of the royals, either. "I have friends that are obsessed and know everything about them, and I kind of just shrug my shoulders...I suppose it's like a Disney prince and princess story that we watched from afar." But this story is certainly not your typical royal love story, and that's what makes it so compelling. "Alex's arc as a character that has only dated women in the past—maybe a couple guy hookups—to not liking Henry, to getting kissed by Henry and then having a relationship. The different degrees of comfort that Alex starts to have, this needs to be represented in in a proper way."

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Editor's Note: This conversation took place before the Screen Actors Guild strike was announced.

What did you think when the film came your way?

I hadn't heard of the book or read the book before the audition came. I think a friend of mine auditioned or something, and he sent it to me. He's like, "Hey, have you got this audition?" And I said, "No, I don't know what that is." He's like, "Well, here's the book, I think they're gonna start casting it." So I started to read it, and it was an incredible book. I really didn't have any idea that it was so popular until I started telling people that I might be going to England for a project, and everybody was freaking out. Even my publicist was like, "Oh, my God, I read that during COVID. It's amazing book." I really didn't know the magnitude of it.

When something is that popular, it must add some pressure. What do you think it is about the story that people responded to?

No, it does put pressure on. That was all I thought about the entire summer. I'm a Harry Potter fan, and so I would go to those midnight book releases with my siblings and would read the book in the car on the way home and be done by morning. I would just crave to see when the film adaptation would come out. I remember when the Sorcerer's Stone came out, and Peeves the poltergeist was not included in the film. It just wrecked me because I thought Peeves was the best. It was a funny character, how could they do this? And I remember how strongly I felt as a 10-year-old or 11-year-old. And so, I know there's going to be people everywhere who read this book that are going to expect a great adaptation. And it's really up to me, because, I feel like it really is Alex's film, his journey. And I felt like it was up to me to make it happen. It was very sweet of Matthew [Lopez, the co-writer and director], I read in an interview the other day, he said that I cannonball into this character, which was so true. The entire summer, it was like, no rest, study, study, study the entire summer, watching films, watching The West Wing, reading books, and just trying to get into this kid's head so I could bring Alex accurately and specifically to the screen.

You mentioned a few of the things you'd watch to get into the tone of the material. What other stuff did you use for references?

Lots of discussions with Matthew. We had great rehearsals in the beginning, which I was so grateful for. I only had a week of rehearsals and then I got COVID, so I was doing them from my screen, which sucked, but it was nice to kind of get it out of the way, in a way. Every night I came home and watched three episodes of The West Wing. I really felt that it kind of had that [Aaron] Sorkin pace. I think Alex really wants to be Sam Seaborn [from The West Wing]. He [Alex] is living his West Wing life legitimately in the West Wing, everything he's ever dreamed of is now happening, and he thinks he's a character on that Sorkin show. So that's how I kind of got into the Sorkin side of things. There's a film called Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I feel like Alex has that soul. He really wants to make a difference. And people keep telling him no. It's such a sad film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, because he thinks he can make all these changes and in the end, they're all just fighting against him. Bringing Up Baby for that comedic timing because I just think Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are incredible, and their timing is impeccable. And the physical comedy was another thing I really looked for in Bringing Up Baby. Actors of that time had such a different skill set of the actors of today. It was kind of like marrying theater with film, like vaudeville, theater and film into one. They just did such a wonderful job. So, long way to answer your question, but honestly by watching those films, but also reading biographies on Lyndon B. Johnson, geography, the stuff that Alex would have on his bedside table. It was just constant knowledge, constant educating.

What kind of influence does U.K. culture play on the story?

It's funny, Nick and I always joke, he'll say stuff and I'm like, do you speak English? And he gets so mad, because there are certain things that we just would never say. But there's some of the stuff that we say that they're like, what are you talking about? You crazy American. I grew up with the royals in the news. I mean, obviously, they're still here. I never really subscribed to it. As an American, I have friends that are obsessed with the royals and know everything about them. And I kind of just shrug my shoulders. I think it's kind of like fantasyland, right? I suppose it's like a Disney prince and princess story that we watched from afar. And I think that's probably why it's interesting. And the drama, and then the people that are royal by blood have to marry somebody from another country who's also royal. It sounds like you're watching Bridgerton or something.

Considering this is a gay love story, do you feel a sense of responsibility to the communities it represents?

From the beginning, there was an enormous weight on my shoulders, making sure that we were accurate with representation and accurate with character portrayal. Because I think it's so easy for an actor to phone it in, I've seen it. So I think that's why I took it upon myself, knowing how important this film is for many communities. And I've been reminded throughout. Everywhere I go, people stopped me. I've had three young women yesterday come up to me at the airport, two of them had books in their hand and asked me to sign them, which was really sweet. And then I had two flight attendants, both men, talk to me on the plane in the last few weeks like, "Oh, my gosh, you're part of this film." I was in the bathroom, at the urinal, and somebody was talking to me from the sink and was like, "Hey, you're playing Alex in the film, right?" And I was like, "Yeah." And he's like, "I'm super excited about the film man, my girlfriend and I, we love that book. We read it over COVID. Can I get a picture with you?" I was just like, "Yes, but not in the bathroom. Like far from the bathroom, please." [laughs] And so just seeing the diversity of the fans that have been coming up to me, I'm like, wow, this film truly transcends everything. It's such a love story, at its core, that it just appeals to such a wide audience. I think going into reading the book, I felt that and then my mom read it. She called me and she was like, "Taylor. I am a quarter way through this book. It is very risqué." I'm like, "Mom, what are you talking about?" She's like, "Oh my God. There's so many sex scenes. There's so much sexual stuff." I go, "Mom. You watched me on Minx. There's flailing genitalia in that show." And she goes, "Yeah, but I think it's just so descriptive in this book about how sexual you are with different people that I can't read it and not think of my son being sexual." [laughs] So everybody kind of came at me with their opinions. And it definitely helps me.

Definitely. In terms of of queer audiences, do you feel any sort of weight there, considering the story and their love of it?

Yeah, I mean, that was the community that I was thinking about the entire time filming. We had so many conversations between the three of us [Nicholas, Matthew and Taylor] about accuracy. Because once you get into filming, it might look good in the script, right? But then when you're in the moment, and you've felt these characters, you've been living in these characters for a few weeks, you're like, "Hey, what do you think about this?" And then Matthew goes, "Oh, that's so interesting. I never thought of that." Because what he had already written is beautiful, I can't fault Matthew anywhere with his writing. He's just impeccable. But we would have these incredible conversations, and sometimes we change it, sometimes they stay the same, but we were just hypersensitive to making sure everything was properly represented and properly accurate. Even down to the sex scenes, like with our intimacy coordinator, those conversations were borderline funny because we were talking so seriously about a kiss. And we were so grateful to have Robbie Taylor Hunt [the intimacy coordinator], because he was so professional, he kind of felt like your best buddy or like your sibling. And he didn't make it feel weird. And Nick and I were always in deep discussions with him about this because the intimacy part is so important because Alex's arc as a character as somebody that has only dated women in the past—maybe a couple guy hookups—to not liking Henry to getting kissed by Henry and then having a relationship. It's just like, excuse me, the different degrees of comfort that Alex starts to have, this needs to be represented in in a proper way. And Robbie was with us the whole way. And Matthew was there. It was always a group effort, which I really respected. I think you see some films, and it doesn't matter if it's about sexuality, if it's about a certain profession, if it's about like a family, you're like wow, this came from one person. You can tell. And then you hear interviews and stuff and they're like, this was his vision, or this was her vision. And with us, it was kind of like this crowdsourcing of questioning whenever we would have those questions, because there were tons of different people with different backgrounds that were cast and behind the scenes that it just became this collaborative effort if we ever got stuck somewhere. Everything just was so beautiful. Every conversation was wonderful.

From The Kissing Booth to being very exposed in Minx to this project, your roles have been all over the place, and progressively more adult. Has that been intentional on your end?

Totally. As an actor, we want to suspend disbelief, right? That's why I got into acting. I loved being on stage like in Guys and Dolls or On the Town; those roles are just so outside of myself that it was fun to get ready for it every time. And so bringing that into the TV and film world, I mean, Kissing Booth was exciting because I got to show singing, dancing, guitar playing and being a Latin addition to an already successful IP [intellectual property]. That meant something and the amount of times people have come up to me on the street, like young guys with their girlfriends, young guys with their boyfriends or whatever, they're like, "You're my favorite character in the Kissing Booth. I watch it with my girl. I never see anybody on TV that looks like me." That's awesome. I didn't expect that to happen. I go to Mexico. It's insane. So I think from that, I was just stunned and then Minx came along and I read it and it was like, I need something in this. I like doing projects that kind of hide the medicine, right? That kind of sugarcoat the medicine and you come out every episode having learned something, feeling a different way about a different walk of life. And I feel like Minx was that. It's funny and yes, it's unabashedly sexy. It's not gratuitous. It's just very real. That was really exciting for me. And I never shy away from, "Oh, but it's a guest star." I'm like, "Yeah, but it's a great guest star. It's a recurring guest star." And then this film. I get sent a lot of a lot of scripts and audition for many roles. But this film, in particular, again, it has something on its mind, and is interesting and it changes perceptions. And I think that's what films should do, change the way people think for the better. And that's what's exciting me now. I think I'm growing into myself as an actor a bit more and trusting myself, and not being shy to say, this is fluff. I don't think that this is a good project. Like I want to do something that when people leave the theater or leave their TV room, they're like, "whoa," and they can't stop talking about it. This is one of those projects, and I'm really looking forward to what's next.

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