After starring on The OA, Brandon Perea went through a long dry spell. Photo / Victor Llorente, The New York Times
The actor's unexpected take on Angel, the Fry's worker, so won over the director that he decided during their meeting to rewrite the script.
When Brandon Perea was 15, touring the country as a professional dancer and roller skater, he had an epiphany in the parking lot of a Blue Coast Burrito: He would move from Chicago to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
But dreams rarely account for the rough patches. Perea thought he had it made when, at 20, he booked the series-regular role of student Alfonso Sosa, known as French, on the enigmatic Netflix serial The OA, but the show was cancelled two seasons into its planned five-year arc.
"I had so much confidence where I was like, 'Oh man, I'm probably going to book a bunch of stuff after this,'" Perea said, though new roles proved elusive. "It's that weird middle ground where The OA was a good, life-changing job, but it's not a piece on your résumé that's going to beat out the A-list people that want the great stuff. You're auditioning just in case they say no, and who the hell is going to say no to something great?"
Still, Perea kept plugging away at his dream, and his efforts were rewarded when he scored a breakout role in Jordan Peele's new film Nope, which stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings trying to photograph an extraterrestrial entity looming above their California ranch. Their efforts eventually involve the bleach-blond electronics-store employee Angel, whom Perea has a ball playing: Though Angel appears terminally bored when we meet him, he quickly warms to the brother-sister duo, oversharing about his recent breakup and chatting eagerly about "Ancient Aliens" even as their circumstances grow ever more outlandish.
Peele was so pleased with Perea's work that he beefed up the role during the shoot, and now that Nope is out (and No. 1 at the box office), the 27-year-old actor is glad he stuck to his convictions.
"I call this the miracle job for a reason — this is a God-given miracle for me, because this is far bigger than what I could ever imagine or dream," Perea told me last week over Zoom. "To be working in Hollywood is a privilege and it's tough to keep, so you've got to be grateful if you can keep it. If I wasn't grateful, kick me out."
Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Q: What was going on in your life when you were cast in Nope?
A: I hadn't worked on anything truly significant in a long time, and there were a lot of lows before Nope. I got close to a big show — I went in the room three or four times and I just thought, "Oh man, this is it, I'm back" — and then I didn't get that role. Then there was a really good script, and I felt like I murdered that audition. People I showed the audition to were like, "Oh man, you're going to book this thing," and I didn't end up getting it.
But there was a switch for me where I was just like, "You know what? I'm proud at the level that I'm performing at, and someone will trust me someday." That eased the pressure I put on myself. It was the first time that I came to terms with it so I could move on and not sulk over a job.
Q: And then you heard about Nope?
A: I got an email for an untitled Jordan Peele project, my first big audition in a long time. I was assuming it'd be a one-liner or something because he's at the point where he can get any actor in the world to be in his films, but then I saw it was one of the leads. I was like, "Oh my God, he's seeing auditions for a lead role? That's insane. I'm going to deliver the best that I can, but what can I do that's going to be different than everyone else?"
Q: So what was your take on the character?
A: The initial audition was just three pages of simple dialogue of this dude working at an electronics store: "Hi, I can help you over here. Would you like an account with us?" It was very happy, very up. And I was like, "Hmm, you don't see that when you go into an electronics store. The employees do not want to be there." So, I played it that way, sent the tape off into the universe, and two weeks later I got a callback to meet with Jordan on Zoom.
Q: How did you feel?
A: I was excited, humbled, nervous. I was like, "Man, I'm just happy to meet the dude. If I get the role, great, but also, I'm happy with where I got." But then I had people around me that were like, "No, dog. Ask, believe, receive. This is your job and you're going to get this." And my roommate at the time introduced me to some Steve Harvey motivational videos and that really helped, because that got my confidence way up.
I went in with this energy that was like, "I'm not here to audition, it's a work session. I'm going to set. I'm not here to beg for the job." And I acted like I already knew Jordan, because I had watched so many of his interviews to prep — I was like, "Yo, what's good, J.P.? How we doing?" Just very comfortable and not like, "Hello, Mr. Peele, how are you?"
Q: You were bringing colleague energy rather than fan energy.
A: Yeah, exactly, and after it was over, I was so proud that I cried. I was alone on my couch, just like, "Man, I don't even care if I get the job, he'll book me one day." And two days later, my reps reach out and they're like, "Hey, are you free for an improv session this afternoon with Jordan?" I go in the Zoom call and Jordan's like, "The thing is, the character you brought to the table is far different than what I wrote for. So, I need to see you do it some more ways, because I'd have to rewrite my entire script to cast you in this thing."
I'm like, "Damn, I'm probably out of the job." And he was like, "You know what? That's what I'm going to do. Yeah, I'm going to rewrite my script." I was like, "What?" He was like, "Yeah, man. You got the job." Boom, instant tears. I started going on a whole spiel: "Man, with Hollywood stuff, you get beat down — it's a roller coaster full of ups and downs. Thank you for trusting me. You go through a million nos to get one yes, and I'd go through a billion to get this one." And Jordan started crying as well. I remember him removing his glasses just like, "You got me, man, you got me."
Q: That's the tricky thing about being a working actor, I'd expect: You can continue to deliver knockout auditions, but you never know if you're exactly what they're looking for.
A: It took a while, but I'm so glad I didn't get the other jobs that I thought I needed and wanted so much. Nope came along at the perfect time because now I'm here and I'm prepared. There's a lot of pieces missing that I really had to learn in life, not just as an actor or as an artist.
Q: What would have happened if you booked something like this right on the heels of The OA?
A: I just wouldn't have handled success the best, I think. At that time, I probably would have let it steer me away more from the art form just to get some money grabs or a big following. There was a popular TV show I thought I was close to booking, but I think my intentions were in the wrong place, where I was like, "Oh man, I can get a lot of viewers and young people to be on my side." I wasn't looking at it like, "I love this character, I really want to deliver in this series." So I'm glad there was a no on that front, because it's a very viral show and — —
Q: Was it Euphoria?
A: Ooh, you guessed it. You're good. But everything happens for a reason, and I had to learn that.
Q: So Jordan cast you. Then what?
A: It was just an emotional roller coaster right after that — like, "Phew, now I have to go do the job and deliver." And there was so much mystery. There was no synopsis, I had no clue what the hell I was about to do. On the day I got the movie, Jordan sent me a movie list of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey and No Country for Old Men. I was like, "OK, this is a random-ass list of movies. What's he conjuring up? How does all this stuff connect?" And then a little while later, I get a text message from him being like, "Merry Christmas," and he sent me a link to the script."
I remember reading it, being like, "Oh my gosh, no one's going to expect this from Jordan." And I did not know who the cast was, either, but he just started texting me random hints — he sent me "D.K.," and I was like, "D.K., Daniel Kaluuya?" We'd even had a little conversation about Kaluuya because I took a nugget from watching his YouTube interviews, where a director gave him a note to never play the funny, always play the truth.
Q: After watching so many videos of Daniel Kaluuya, what happens when you're actually acting opposite him?
A: The first time that we all met in person was the first time that we met on-screen. I was a stranger to him and Keke, and they already had their bond, so I was like, "Let me play this to my advantage. I'm just going to play Angel throughout, then I'll say what's up after." And that's what we did. The beats are awkward, and I'm challenging Daniel because he's giving me eyes. I remember hearing him say to Keke, "My eyes see everything." So I wasn't breaking eye contact with him — it was hard nose vs. hard nose. I was like, "I'm here with you."
Q: You posted a video of your emotional reaction to seeing the Nope billboard for the first time. What does it mean for you to be on those billboards and posters?
A: My intention when I was younger was just, "I want to be on a billboard." I wasn't looking at it from a more complex, deeper meaning. But if you really look at the billboard for Nope and dissect it, it's like, "Wow, I'm on a billboard, but I'm a Filipino Puerto Rican kid sharing this poster with Asian representation, Black representation and a Black director in a big spectacle film." Man, I'm glad it took this long, because now I appreciate this privilege. Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Jordan Peele — I'm working with some of the best to be doing it right now. I am the new kid on the block, so the fact that I get to share a poster with all those people? I'm very grateful that they trusted me.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Kyle Buchanan
Photographs by: Victor Llorente
© 2022 THE NEW YORK TIMES
'I don’t score the images, I score the idea; the feeling, the heart'