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Rosie Perezis reflecting on a challenging point in her career.
The actress recently opened up about some of the problematic advice she's received over the years, as well as the shocking suggestion that led her to fire an agent, during a conversation with Eddie Muller at the TCM Classic Film Festival New York Pop-Up.
"They asked me to change my accent. They asked me to change the color of my hair. They wanted me to be a blonde. They asked me to change my nose," Perez said of the recommendations given to her to help land more roles.
The Oscar nominee revealed that one agent even asked her to "change my ethnicity," with the rationale being that Perez would "probably get more roles if you say you're African American."
"It was the whole gambit," Perez continued. "I remember the first agent who told me that. I just looked and went, 'You're fired.' I just got up and I left. I didn't need it. I was in college, actually. I was a biochem major, so I was like, I'll just go back to school. I don't need this."
Perez has previously spoken about receiving such advice from a former agent, whom she's declined to name, tellingVarietyin 2023 that "I don't want her to be canceled, but she told me that if I dyed my hair blond and got a nose job, 'I can get you more jobs. Because you're not Black.'"
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The Brooklyn-born actress' career spans over three decades, from her breakthrough in 1989'sDo the Right Thingand memorable roles inWhite Men Can't Jump,It Could Happen to You, andThe Taketo cohostingThe View. Perez landed an Oscar nomination for her role in 1993'sFearless. Along with her success, Perez has strongly advocated for improved Latino representation in Hollywood.
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"When you're of color and you don't want to pass and be whitewashed, you pay the price," Perez toldEntertainment Weeklyin 2020. "You're not privy to certain roles because of the racism, whether it's over or subtle, and the roles that are offered continuously… like, I get offers all the time, they're insulting and they further this negativity that I don't want to be a part of."
Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection
Perez continued, "And so it takes a lot of strength within oneself to say no. To say no to projects that you know are going to be commercially viable and successful. To say no to a big payday. It takes a lot to have belief in yourself and belief in the long game and faith that it's going to come. If you just keep doing good work, they're still going to come for you, and they're still going to offer you the good stuff. Because, let's say when people write a love story, why does it predominantly always have to be a white person? And then if they say, 'Well, we would have to change it,' and I say, 'Why? Why do you have to change it? They didn't changeWhite Men Can't Jump. They didn't changeFearless. Why?' And they just can't think past that."
Perez added that she is "humbled and grateful" for the career she has had and roles she's been presented with for the past 30 years.
"Most women of color don't get the opportunities that I've gotten and there's only a handful of us, and most women of color over a certain age truly don't get the opportunities that I've gotten and the opportunities that are still coming," she said. "So that is what humbles me."
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
