Central High Graduate Who Has Appeared in Homeland, Law & Order Premieres His Movie Friday in Prov
Central High Graduate Who Has Appeared in Homeland, Law & Order Premieres His Movie Friday in Prov
The Dominican-born Perez came to Rhode Island as an eight-year-old and is one of eleven children. His family settled in South Providence and he attended multiple elementary schools, Roger Williams Middle School and Central High School.
When they moved to America, Perez said he spoke no English and there were no ESL classes.
On Friday, Perez's movie La Soga Salvation premieres in Providence, playing throughout the day and evening at Providence Place Mall.
Perez directs and stars in the feature film. This is Perez's directing debut and the film was shot in Providence and Pawtucket, but it is not a movie to be confused with HBO's new series the Gilded Age. La Soga Salvation is tough, raw, and action-filled. The movie will also be available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
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“I always wanted to act, I was the clown in the family -- always," Perez told GoLocal. "When I came to this country I had to learn English. So then, when I sort of had the grasp on the English language is when I decided to join Trinity Arts Center which is on Broad Street. On weekends there was children’s theater so I went there and just loved every moment of being in the place."
Perez also cites the influence of a teacher at Central High School for having a major impact.
“I actually had this teacher Miss Milano who's still around I think…we used to read Shakespeare on Fridays and Ed [Cooley] was in my class at that time, just so you know," said Perez of being in class with another Rhode Island success story -- Providence College men's basketball coach Ed Cooley. "Then she's like ‘hey man you should pursue [acting].' We were reading Othello."
After graduating from Central, Perez went to college for theater at Marymount Manhattan College and it was there he began to receive his formal training and connections in the industry.
“Well, I gotta say this -- this career, this industry, is not easy," said Perez. "It's not an overnight thing. You do have to do your work and prepare yourself for that one day, that one audition, that one opportunity and make sure that you are prepared with your craft."
Perez said his decision to break into writing and directing was sparked by his desire to expand his career.
"I have a face of a bad guy, so I'm always playing the bad guy in all these shows or a detective who's crooked, doing some bad things but what I try to do is I take those characters and I try to give them a heart. I try to make them human," said Perez.
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Perez is adamant that his experience shows that young people can follow their dreams. And, he says it may be easier for those who want to be movie makers.
"It's easy [today] -- you take an iPhone and you create your own movies. We didn't have iPhones when I was growing up," said Perez. "So what I'm saying is that they have it easy now especially with all these social media services they have. It's easier now -- it's all about them making their dreams happen. I wish I had social media when I was growing up."
Perez came to Providence, could not speak English and today is an emerging force in Hollywood -- an amazing story and we have not seen the ending yet.