Rosie Perez Reveals a Former Agent Suggested She Get A Nose Job And Go Blonde to Get Hollywood Roles

In this fickle entertainment industry where anyone can change trajectory at any given time, some artists are given the advice to ride whatever wave is the current one. One actress couldn’t believe the suggestion she was given to placate an industry that does not necessarily cater to ethnic “features.”

In an interview with Variety, New York City native, Rosie Perez discussed when a former agent advised her to change her look so she could obtain steady work in Hollywood. Who knows what might have happened if she went with the direction that this former rep gave her?

Brooklyn’s own Spike Lee discovered Perez and featured her in one of his classic movies, Do The Right Thing. Shortly thereafter, she choreographed the famous “Fly Girls” dance troupe on Keenen Ivory Wayans‘ hit television show, In Living Color, and she realized that she wanted different work as an actress. Little did she know that being in a scene with heartthrob Johnny Depp would change the way she was thinking at the time.

After he told her that she was too good to have a stereotypical role of what she had been known for at the time, he told her, ‘I’m gonna tell people about you. You know, you’re right for the good stuff.’”

She expressed that at that time, her agent suggested she dye her hair blond and get plastic surgery because she wasn’t Black.

“I don’t want her to be canceled, but she told me that if I dyed my hair blond and got a nose job, ‘I can get you more jobs. Because you’re not Black.’ I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. Like, thank you, fired,’” she stated. That’s when she realized that she “had nobody. I had no money.”

She also found an ally on the set of HBO’s Criminal Justice. Perez became cool with her co-star Jennifer Grey. After telling her about the former agent’s suggestion, she got on the phone and connected her with an agent at CAA (Creative Artists Agency).

“Jennifer and I clicked instantly,” Perez recalled. “I haven’t seen that woman in ages, but I just think she’s phenomenal. She’s like, ‘I cannot believe how racist this industry is.’ She picks up the phone and calls Jane Berliner at CAA and says, ‘You need to represent this actress.’”

After that introduction, Berliner, who is now a manager, signed Perez and helped her nail a pivotal role. She was cast in Ron Shelton’s White Men Can’t Jump playing Woody Harrelson’s girlfriend, a role that was written for a white woman.