Taylor Zakhar Perez | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2012–present |
Taylor Zakhar Perez (born December 24, 1991)[1] is an American actor.[2] He began his career by appearing in several television series,[3] before his breakthrough role in the romantic comedy films The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021). Perez had a supporting role in the sex comedy series Minx (2022) and a starring role in the romantic comedy film Red, White & Royal Blue (2023).[4][5]
Perez was born in Chicago on December 24, 1991, and grew up in Chesterton, Indiana.[6] He attended Chesterton High School, where he was a swimmer.[7] Perez has Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean ancestry.[8] Additionally, he is partially Croatian through his mother and partially Hungarian through his father.[9]
His mother is an aesthetician and he is the sixth of eight children.[10] Perez used to change tires at the family auto-body shop on weekends.[11] He earned a swimming scholarship to Fordham University, but turned it down to attend UCLA, where he majored in Spanish culture and community and minored in film and television.[12] Perez started by performing musicals in opera houses at an early age.[13]
In 2020, Perez played Marco Valentin Peña in Netflix's The Kissing Booth 2, opposite Joey King portraying a love interest who helps King's character win a dance contest to raise money for her college studies in Boston.[14] For his role, he took choreography and guitar lessons.[15] It was the top-streamed film on Netflix in its opening weekend (the first film ranked third)[16] and it placed second in its sophomore weekend, with Forbes noting it as "one of the most popular movies ever on the platform."[17][18] In October 2020, Netflix reported that 66 million households watched the film over its first four weeks of release.[19]
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perez partnered with Variant Malibu, a 3D tech company to make face masks. They cut 90% of traditional manufacturing waste.[20] He also designed masks with The Kissing Booth 2 co-stars Joel Courtney, Joey King, Meganne Young and Maisie Richardson-Sellers. The proceeds went to a Chicago organisation that helps disabled kids, adults and families with disabled kids in the Hispanic community.[21] In 2021, Perez reprised the role of Marco Valentin Peña in the The Kissing Booth 3.[22]
In 2022, Perez starred in HBO Max's comedy series Minx as Shane Brody, a firefighter who becomes the frontrunner for debut-issue cover star of the first erotic magazine for women in Los Angeles.[23] About the challenges he faced while playing the character, Perez said, "The biggest thing was grounding him, making him likable, and also playing against the line."[24] Perez then starred in gaming comedy film 1Up alongside Ruby Rose.[25]
In 2023, Perez starred in Amazon Prime Video's Red, White & Royal Blue as Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the United States, opposite Nicholas Galitzine.[26] The Observer's Wendy Ide praised the charisma of Perez and Galitzine and credited it for the film's appeal: "It turns out that watching two impossibly beautiful boys making cow eyes at each other might be just the escapist pulp we need right now."[27]
Year | Film | Role |
---|---|---|
2020 | The Kissing Booth 2[28] | Marco Valentin Peña |
2021 | The Kissing Booth 3[29] | |
2022 | 1Up | Dustin |
2023 | Red, White & Royal Blue[30] | Alex Claremont-Diaz |
Year | Show | Role |
---|---|---|
2012 | iCarly[31] | Keith |
2013 | Suburgatory | Renaldo |
2014 | Alpha House | Trent |
Awkward | ||
2015 | Young & Hungry | Benji Rodriguez |
2016 | Code Black[32] | Ari Stricks |
12 Deadly Days | Zac | |
Cruel Intentions | Mateo De La Vega | |
2017 | Embeds[33] | Noah Torres |
High Expectasians | Jonathan Price | |
2018 | Scandal | Calvin |
2022 | Minx[34] | Shane Brody |