Rosie Perez has had a 30-year-plus career in film, television and theater. She’s worked with everybody and she still feels like she’s never really “made it.” She covers the latest issue of Variety to promote her role in Your Honor (the Bryan Cranston show), a part which she only got a few days before filming began. Rosie has worked with everyone, and she is perfectly fine with trashing some people (but not others). Like, I definitely want to know more about her beef with Jennifer Lopez, but she gives Variety very little tea about that. Still, she has some interesting stuff to say:
On the Oscars: “I think Brendan deserved the Oscar. But I wouldn’t be mad if Colin had got it for ‘Banshees of Inisherin.’ He did something specific to his culture, right? How many other movies has he done that were specific to his culture?… That’s what we’re asking for as Latinos. We want to do things that are specific to our culture, to our story.”
On the lack of Latina stories: “A few of us have come through, and I’m very grateful for that. But it’s just not enough. And when we do get our stories told, we have some executive who knows nothing about who we are as a people. And then they’re like, ‘Can you spice it up a little bit?’ You want to punch these people in the face. And then if it’s too real, they’re, ‘Could you pull it back, ’cause we don’t want the audience to feel offended.’ And people are getting sick of it. I think that’s the reason why ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ was such a big winner.”
On the abuse she suffered as a kid: “When people say, ‘Yes, but it made you who you are, and you’re stronger for it,’ they’re validating the abuse, giving credence, right? Imagine what I would have done without getting smacked, getting beaten, getting mentally abused. So it’s bullsh-t. And I think that people say that to make themselves feel better because it’s hard to hear.”
She was uncomfortable with a sex scene in Do The Right Thing: “In our cancel culture, some people need to be canceled. And when I was telling the story, people were ready to cancel Spike Lee and cancel me for saying something. And I was like, ‘You know what? This is getting out of hand.’ Here’s the thing. It happened. We discussed it, we made up, we hugged it out, and we’re still friends to this day. And sometimes people need a chance to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ For a man of his stature to say ‘I’m sorry’ is huge. But that’s why I don’t like to talk about it — because people get too crazy.”
Choreographing the Fly Girls on “In Living Color.” As for a feud with Jennifer Lopez, Perez deadpans, “I don’t even want to get into that.”
She auditioned for the female lead in “The Matrix”: “I was horrible. As I was walking out, I was like, ‘I know I didn’t get the job. I really sucked,’ and the Wachowskis were like, ‘No,’ and the casting director was trying not to laugh. And then finally I looked at her and I go, ‘I really sucked,’ and she just burst out laughing. We all were laughing. I just gave the Wachowskis a hug and I said, ‘Well, good luck with this.’”
What she’s offered: She’s still being offered “crack addict roles. Do you believe to this day?” But she laughs and insists that she’s game so long as “the crack addict has an actual storyline. I see these actors just get destroyed by negative feedback. I say, ‘There’s things that you should never let people take away from you. If you felt like you did a good job, own it.’ What makes me feel powerful as a woman is coming to grips with my own self-worth — understanding my own self-worth — and not apologizing for it, not compromising it, and letting that knowledge just shine through effortlessly.”
She tells a story about working with Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street and Depp telling her that she’s too good to play those kinds of roles. She sounds grateful for the validation, especially at that point in her career. She also talked about how nothing changed for her after her Oscar nomination for Fearless, and how nothing changed for her after White Men Can’t Jump either, although she still loves that movie. I get so depressed when I hear actors like Perez and John Leguizamo talk about how they were typecast, stereotyped and ignored throughout their careers. It f–king sucks.
Cover & IG courtesy of Variety.
Ditto on Rosie Perez and John Leguizamo.
I feel her when she talks about the “yes, but it made you who you are. You are stronger for it.” line. And I totally agree with her, that line is more for the person saying it, than the one hearing it. Kids who suffer abuse become strong because they have to. And mostly people only say those words to people who are a socially acceptable version of ‘strong’ – funny, witty, outspoken, having their lives together… Others are strong because they survived but suffer depression or addictions, but they keep fighting every single day. Others were strong as long as they could. Instead of saying “but it made you who you are.” just say “I’m sorry that was done to you.”
Anyone heard of Ren? Just found him recently and this topic reminded me of some of his songs.
UGH, you are so right. I hate when people say that. I also hate when people tell crime victims, or family of crime victims (particuarly homicide) that “at least they’ll get some closure”. What a bunch of bullshit. I’ve been an attorney for 18 years and spent most of that time as a prosecutor. Closure? There’s no such thing.
She is an amazing actress and that raspy voice! Love it. Yes to everything she says. Ever.
That Matrix story is hilarious. “Well, good luck with this.”
Honking for Rosie Perez 🎺
ROSIE IS AMAZING!!!!
Just here to say, I love Rosie! And would love to see more from her. 🤗