Rosie Perez details ‘Dirty Dancing’ star Jennifer Gray’s help

by Kay Lewis Post date: March 31, 2023 1:00 a.m

Rosie Perez aHe looked like a completely different person starting his career. He thanks you Jennifer Gray for guiding him in the right direction.

Rosie Perez was stunning in her younger years

Her first agent encouraged the actress to emulate the “Caucasian” look. This would give him more roles in the industry and of course make their jobs easier. “He told me that if I dyed my hair blonde and got a nose job, I could get more work. Because you’re not black,” he shared with her Species.

Perez is very proudly Latino and has never shied away from her roots. “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “Oh my God,” “thank you, I’m fired,” he recalls his thoughts. THE The white man cannot jump The star knew it was a messed up situation, but he was at the mercy of the agent. Until he ran into actress Jennifer Gray Dirty dancing reputation. “I had nobody; I had no money,” he says Species.

Jennifer Gray smelled racism

“Jennifer and I clicked right away,” Perez recalls. Tells how willing a Criminal Justice actress should have mentioned her name to Perez.

“I haven’t seen that woman in a while, but I think she’s phenomenal. He says, “I can’t believe how racist this industry is.” He picks up the phone, calls Jane Berliner at CAA and says, “You have to represent this actress.”

He was signed and eventually cast as two white women! White men can’t jump and later Fearless. “It was just a magical summer,” she says. “And when you’re scrolling through the TV to see what you want to watch and March Madness comes on and it’s ‘White Men Can’t Jump,’ you can’t not watch it.”

With FearlessIt was directed by Peter Weir and stared by Jeff Bridges, who pushed Perez for the role of the grieving mom, which led to the Oscar!

Rosie Perez is now sitting at the table

The actress raved about how far her career has come; He has not been invited back to the Oscars since 1994, when he was nominated. “Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing — and I’m a member,” he says. This is crazy.

“I love the Oscars. I support my teammates, but it hurts. It’s like when the home team doesn’t ask you to come back to the stadium after you’ve stood up to bat and hit a home run,” he recalled of his suspension over the years.

Fortunately, Perez’s career continues to go strong; continued to appear in popular films and TV series such as Pineapple Express Dear Dear Flight Attendant, and more. That hasn’t stopped Perez from experiencing hate in the industry.

In 2020, an ABC executive, Barbara Fedida, was fired for making comments about Perez claiming she couldn’t read the teleprompter. The same person was later accused of making racially insensitive comments on the subject Good morning America hosted by Robyn Roberts.

Perez never commented on the situation; he said, “I’m not going there.” A class act!