By Vanessa Wyatt
Actor Taylor Zakhar Perez has arrived! Catching the attention of Hollywood and audiences alike, Perez has blown up on social media and his rating on IMBD, the premiere Hollywood database, was, at the time of the writing of this article #2! All this attention due to the popularity of his role in Netflix’s The Kissing Booth 2, which released on July 24, 2020. Since then, the “new kid in town” has seen his instagram (@taylorzakharperez) account go from 60 thousand to 4 million followers in a matter of weeks.
Vince Marcelo’s The Kissing Booth 2, is a sequel to The Kissing Booth (2018), a romantic comedy about a high school student who is forced to confront her secret crush at a kissing booth. Perez plays Marco Pena in the sequel, who is a new student in school who has all the girls are fawning over him. Marco not only catches the attention of everyone in school because of his looks, he also wows them with his musical talents.
In the sequel, Joey King who plays Elle Evans, takes notice and asks Marco to take part in the kissing booth for the school fundraiser. Sparks soon begin to ignite for both of them. However, Elle is in a relationship with Noah Flynn portrayed by Jacob Elordi, who’s away at Harvard. Elle becomes unsure of where to attend college by feeling pressure to decide between her boyfriend, Noah or her BFF Lee Flynn played by Joel Courtney. Marco ends up being Elle’s saving grace in more ways than one. He also becomes her partner in a DDR dance competition, where Elle wants to win money for college.
Teen Vogue article Perez reported on how he prepared for his guitar playing and dance moves. “To prepare for his role in The Kissing Booth 2, he learned how to play guitar and went through weeks of rigorous dance rehearsals for Marco and Elle’s highly-choreographed DDR scene.”
Perez moved to Los Angeles eight years ago to pursue a full-time acting career. A native from Chicago, Perez was born and raised in the South Side of Chicago and got his start on stage doing musical theatre.
He has landed in a time where there are more lead roles for Latinos. Latinos playing a lead roles in a mainstream film is something Hollywood needs more of. In an interview with Schon Magazine, Perez talks about his experience in Hollywood. “I was always on the spectrum of representation when it came to my ethnic makeup. On the one hand, I’d be fine as a Latinx character on a project. But in another project, I wouldn’t be Latinx enough.”
Netflix announced on their Instagram that The Kissing Booth 3, is coming out next year and released a teaser video for it. Perez along with the original cast members will all be back for The Kissing Booth 3 to release sometime in 2021.
Taylor Zakhar Perez’s starring role in The Kissing Booth 2, gives hope that the representation of Latino actors is still an opportunity across the board.
The Kissing Booth 2
Director: Vince Marcello
Producer: Ed Glauser, Andrew Cole-Bulgin, Vince Marcello, Michelle Weisler
Writer: Vince Marcello, Jay Arnold
Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Molly Ringwald
Follow Taylor on Social Media, @taylorzakharperez