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Taylor Zakhar Perez Slams Media For Asking Actors About Their Sexuality

22 May 2024, 17:14

By Sam Prance

Taylor Zakhar Perez recently played Nicholas Galitzine's love interest in the rom-com Red, White and Royal Blue.

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Taylor Zakhar Perez has called out the media for asking actors "unprofessional" and "rude" questions about their sexualities.

Ever since Red, White & Royal Blue came out last year, fans have been obsessed with the movie's stars: Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine. Taylor plays Alex, the bisexual First Son of the United States, and Nicholas stars as Henry, a gay British prince who Alex falls in love with. Taylor and Nicholas' chemistry is so good that people can't get enough of the two actors.

However, since the film came out, there has also been a lot of online discourse about whether or not queer roles should go to queer actors. Nicholas identifies as straight. He recently told British GQ that he feels some "guilt" for taking on queer roles. Meanwhile, Taylor has never publicly commented on his own sexuality.

Now, Taylor has addressed the discourse and argued that actors' sexualities are "no one's business" other than their own.

Read more: Red, White & Royal Blue 2: Release Date, Cast, Trailer And News About The Sequel

Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine in Red, White & Royal Blue. Picture: Alamy

Talking to Men's Health about the ongoing conversation surrounding who should actually play queer roles, Taylor said: "Cate Blanchett said something, 'We must fight to the death to suspend disbelief.' And that just always stuck with me, because if you're watching a film and there's nothing outside the room that matters, the actors are doing their jobs."

Referencing Nicholas' British GQ interview, Taylor added: "Nicholas was just asked the other day about his sexuality, and I just find it so rude. It’s unprofessional and no one's business. That's someone's personal life."

Praising Red, White & Royal Blue specifically, he said: "I'm grateful to be part of a project where, yes, it is a love story, but again, it's not the sole focus. These people have robust, full lives. They're educated. Alex is in law school. Henry is crazy smart and he's a prince, and his sense of duty is unparalleled."

Taylor ended by saying: "The less people focus on sexuality and see what these people are capable of, that's when we've created real change."

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In the same interview, Taylor said that he was drawn to Red, White & Royal Blue because it stood out among other LGBTQ+ films. Taylor explained: "I've seen a lot of poorly focused and not well executed queer films. And I watched more and more after I got cast in this and there was a clear distinction of what kind of movie I didn't want to make."

He continued: "The cool thing was that yes, these are two queer men, but the landscape is politics in the United States and politics in the United Kingdom. [...] I liked how it was less focused on them coming to terms with who they were, and more about the world and the repercussions of going public."