Rosie Perez Speaks Out About Hollywood Studio Execs Telling Her To ‘Spice’ Up Her Roles

Rosie Perez didn’t pull any punches in a new interview with Variety where she touches upon Latino representation in Hollywood. Long story short, Perez is not happy. Although there is more Latino representation in Hollywood than ever before, Perez cares more about how Latinos tell their story.

Perez is an industry veteran, with an Oscar nomination and several iconic roles under her belt. Her performances in movies like “Do the Right Thing” and “White Men Can’t Jump” still resonate with audiences decades later. In her latest interview, she demands better from an industry known to try and typecast her despite her talent.

Rosie Perez compliments Colin Farrell on his “Banshees of Inisherin” role

She starts by comparing it to Colin Farrell’s role in last year’s critically-acclaimed film, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which scored him an Oscar nomination alongside co-star Brendan Gleeson. Perez asks how many other Farrell movies focused on Irish heritage. When the interview says none, Perez says, “Thank you.”

She continues, “That’s what we’re asking for as Latinos. We want to do things that are specific to our culture, to our story.” Perez said she’s always getting mixed messages from executives in Hollywood. The roles studios offer here are often wildly disparate, like Hollywood doesn’t know exactly what to do with her.

“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,” she said. “And then they’re like, ‘Can you spice it up a little bit?’ You want to punch these people in the face.”

She feels like Latino actors still have a long way to go with producers

However, if things get too honest in the audition room, executives and producers often ask her to “pull it back” and not offend or challenge the audience too much. Perez thinks this era of Hollywood is coming to an end, citing “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as proof. “I think that’s the reason why [it] was such a big winner.”

It’s not that she’s not thankful for her career, which spans multiple decades and dozens of projects. But she is demanding better and wants other Latino actors to do the same. “I’m sorry that I’m not happy when you’re asking me to be happy with the crumbs on the table,” Perez said.

Perez doesn’t want to talk about certain incidents, though…

Elsewhere in the interview, there’s a mention of her reported feud with Jennifer Lopez (“I don’t even want to get into that”) and her brief tenure on “The View” during a particularly tumultuous time for the show. Perez openly admitted she’s really not allowed to talk about it.

Here’s an infamous clip that came out during her time on the show:

However, she did say that she “was supposed to be one kind of a thing, which excited me, and then when I got there, that’s not what it was.” A controversy involving an ABC executive surfaced when she was on the show. In another Variety interview, anonymous executives alluded to Perez and said she couldn’t read a teleprompter.

She was also happy to share more about her experience auditioning for “The Matrix” in the late 90s. Apparently, Perez completely bombed the audition. Everyone in the room knew it, too. Instead of leaving on a bad note, Perez laughed along with them and thanked them for the opportunity, wishing everyone the best.

Her comments echo John Leguizamo’s as guest host of “The Daily Show”

Perez isn’t the only Latino acting veteran to comment on the state of representation today. As guest host of “The Daily Show,” John Leguizamo wasted no time focusing on Latino issues. He did a hilarious sketch, coincidentally, about auditioning for films as a Latino.

On another episode of his weeklong stint as host, he did a Latinx IQ test that quickly goes south.

It’s great to see more Latino actors standing up for a new generation of performers. Additionally, it’s long overdue that we get more stories reflecting our actual experiences. It is undeniably great to see more Latino representation in movies overall, but it’s time we start telling our own stories instead of starring in other people’s.