Taylor Zakhar Perez (‘Red, White and Royal Blue’) on bisexual representation and Alex’s future in politics [Exclusive Video Interview]

“That’s actually why I loved the book and then obviously the screenplay, because it wasn’t so focused on just their queerness. It was, at the end of the day, a love story and that’s why people fell in love with these two characters,” actor Taylor Zakhar Perez states about the appeal of “Red, White and Royal Blue,” which began its life as a popular 2019 novel written by Casey McQuiston and was adapted into a 2023 feature film. Watch our exclusive video interview with Perez above.

Perez stars in “Red, White and Royal Blue” as Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States (Uma Thurman). After an embarrassing public incident with Prince Henry of England (Nicholas Galitzine), he’s forced to fake a friendship with the royal only to develop very real feelings for him and acknowledge his own bisexuality. “I think why I also loved Alex is because he is so many other things. And bisexual, yes, it is a defining characteristic, but that’s not all of who he is,” says Perez. “And I think that’s why these characters were so dynamic and deep when I read the book and when I read the script and when we were in these conversations. This is a love story, this is a romantic comedy, and it just so happens to be a queer romance.”

But where does this love story go from here? We chatted with Perez before it was officially announced that “Royal Blue” was getting a sequel, but he still shared with us where he imagines Alex’s journey might lead. “I would love to see where Alex goes in his political career, because I think he has such a great way of code-switching with different communities” as a blue collar kid thrust into “this extraordinary circumstance.” Alexi represents “the American dream. He is the everyman. And I think that he can do well in politics.”

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