Taylor Zakhar Perez Felt the ‘Weight’ of His Role in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’

When Casey McQuiston’s novel ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ was published in 2019, it was an instant bestseller. Now the story of a romance between the U.S. president’s son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and British Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) is a new Amazon Prime movie (August 11). “I really didn’t know the magnitude of it,” Perez told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott about the popularity of the book. “Everybody kind of came at me with their opinions.” And Perez went into it with little knowledge of the royals, either. “I have friends that are obsessed and know everything about them, and I kind of just shrug my shoulders...I suppose it’s like a Disney prince and princess story that we watched from afar.” But this story is certainly not your typical royal love story, and that’s what makes it so compelling. “Alex’s arc as a character that has only dated women in the past—maybe a couple guy hookups—to not liking Henry, to getting kissed by Henry and then having a relationship. The different degrees of comfort that Alex starts to have, this needs to be represented in in a proper way.”  Visit Newsweek.com to learn more about the podcasts we offer and to catch up on the latest news. While you’re there, subscribe to Newsweek’s ‘For the Culture newsletter. Follow H. Alan Scott on everything at @HAlanScott.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.