A chat with Puerto Rican actor Brandon Perea, as he talks about his role in Jordan Peele’s new movie “NOPE”, working with the director, and cast, plus Aliens and being a Tech Guy. #NOPEMovie @BrandonPerea
Puerto Rican actor Brandon Perea talking about his performance in Jordan Peele new movie “NOPE”, and talks about working this the renowned director, and actors Kiki Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, and Steven Yuen. And he also dove into topics such as being curious of the unknown, and playing the role of tech guy.
What was the most surprising thing about working with Jordan Peele?
Brandon Perea:
The most surprising thing was just. See how much collaboration he really utilizes. You wouldn’t expect that from such a detailed director. I feel like you would kind of just it’s either his way or the highway. You know, I feel like his stories are that detailed where you would need to be that way. But I learned that you can be collaborative while still being detailed, and that was a great lesson to learn from Jordan. Yeah, I just never expected him to be that open to so many ideas and so communicative.
I just I was like, All right, I know what I need. I know what I need to do. And then that’s it. But he was very inclusive. Like, what do you think of this? What if I did this? Like, so it was cool that he really respected my opinion. And yeah, that was definitely the surprise for me.
What was it like to work with people like Kiki, Steven and Daniel?
Brandon Perea:
That’s a dream come true. It’s bigger than a dream miracle. You know what I’m saying? Yeah, that’s. I look up to each of them in so many ways, like especially I mean, he literally all of them. But Daniel was watching, like, a lot of interviews of and I watch his films all the time, so it was crazy to work with him and kind of just hear him speak in person and just get to know him as a human. And that was amazing. Kiki is the funniest person ever. Like, it is crazy. The energy that that human brings and that light that Kiki shines as well.
Just such a bright light that can never be dimmed. You will never be able to dim down Keke Palmer show Shine Through and that was so inspiring to see and she’s just so talented. I think people are going to be so floored by her performance in this film. So many layers. So many layers. And then working with someone like Steven insane because Stephen showed up to my first red carpet premiere ever. I was on a TV show called The OA. on Netflix and Steven was friends. We had a mutual friend and Scott Wilson, and he showed up to the premiere of that show. And I remember just being such a fan of Steven through watching The Walking Dead, and I was just like, Wow, Steven Yeun’s at my first premiere, like, I’m like, mind blowing. My little brother’s going crazy. That’s Glenn. And I’m like, Oh. Dude, I know this is crazy.
And then I’m, I get cast in this film. And then he was telling me like, Yeah, I think I’m going to get Steven Yeun for one of the roles. And I’m like, No, I’m about to work with him. Like he showed up to the premiere, but now I’m going to be on a project with Steven. So I’m just I’m on cloud nine, no pun intended, but I’m, I’m there. That’s an incredible cast. I, I can’t believe I share the screen and the poster with them. Like, that’s just mind blowing.
Your character described that someone who knows the alien lore in real life. Are you a fan of alien themes?
Brandon Perea:
I am a fan of alien themes. I’m not as educated as Angel would be per se. But yeah, it’s definitely an intriguing thing because we tend to be attracted to the unknown. And I’m one of those humans that I’ve. I want to know what’s going on in space. You know, I’m so intrigued in black holes, there’s not much information on them. Like they just got the first image of it like a year ago or something. So I’m just intrigued and all that. And like, even the ocean’s undiscovered. I don’t know. I’m interested in a lot of things that I don’t know. So, yeah, aliens. There’s definitely an intriguing, um, intriguing storyline and idea. And you can make it scary because it’s unknown. The unknown is kind of freaky, but yeah, I’m definitely interested in aliens. We’re all at on or you’re watching somewhere. But let’s see.
In your role, you’re a technology expert. What is the motivation of your character to get so involved?
Brandon Perea:
I think this is a character who is going through heartbreak. So there’s something that needs more focus. And the fact that there was an opportunity that was kind of not even presented to me, it was just there was someone else’s opportunity that they were tackling and I just kind of just butted my way in or I’m like, I’m in this, too. So, yeah, it was a. Yeah. I think it was just. Him going through heartbreak and then finding this new mission to go on to kind of craft purpose. And the way that I was crafting this role was like, this kid needs some sort of purpose because he’s just getting beat down all the time and this heartbreaks really killing him and he just needs something so and needs some sort of fulfillment.
I just think such a lonely person that was able to find a community just based off of the spectacle. So just really diving into that mission of like that became the duty, even if life depended on it, you know, it was just ready and willing. And then there are those realization moments of like, are we really doing this? Okay. What we’re doing is important, okay? Whoever, it’s important to do it. So, yeah, I just think the motivation just came from needing purpose and.
Angel is very technologically savvy. How about you in real life?
Brandon Perea:
I’m kind of tech savvy. Like, I can. I can operate a cell phone. I can get to the settings on a PC or a MacBook. But I’m not as tech savvy as Angel at all. But my older brother and my younger brother are super tech savvy. Like they can build computers and I don’t know my way around a computer. I know what to do when it’s set up, but I’m not going to build it. But they literally build it. And so if I ever have a big issue with technology, I never have to learn to deal with it because I got my brothers to help me out.
I literally have two geniuses that I’m just like, Hey, this thing Crash or I do. Oh, okay, this let me screen share to your thing and then I’ll just use it. And I just see my mouse clicker going and clicking places. I’m like, All right, he’s got a handle. So yeah.
