Jordan Peele rewrote ‘Nope’ to cast Fil-Am Brandon Perea

Brandon Perea, the first Filipino American lead in a Jordan Peele movie, found fame as the youngest professional roller skater in the world. He moved to LA at 16 to pursue acting and landed roles in Dance Camp, Netflix’s “The OA”, etc. When he auditioned for Jordan Peele’s new movie “Nope,” Peele was so wowed by Brandon Perea’s interpretation of Angel Torres that he rewrote the entire script to fit him into it. We sat down with Perea as he reflected on his time with co-stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer and his journey as a Filipino actor. Follow Brandon on social media @brandonperea, and be sure to catch him in Jordan Peele’s “Nope” in theaters on July 22, 2022!
#Nope #JordanPeele #BrandonPerea #OneDown
0:00 - How Brandon Perea got Jordan Peele to rewrite ‘Nope’ to cast him
0:13 - Moving to LA to become a Filipino actor
0:34- Nope’s Breakout star is a win for Filipino representation
1:12 - Playing Angel Torres in Jordan Peele’s new movie
1:35 -How his Audition for ‘Nope’ made Jordan Peele rewrite the script
3:43 - Working with his role models Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya
5:28 - Advice for aspiring Filipino actors
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Thank you to our team for bringing this project to life:
Directed and Edited by: Sarah Albea
Producer: Leo Albea
Associate Producer: Eugene Luna, Reese Leyva
Creative Associate: Marc Mariano
SEO Strategist: Manna Dellota
Featuring: Brandon Perea
Special thanks to:
Tremendous Communications
Universal Studios
Glass Engine
One Down is committed to creating a sustainable platform for original and groundbreaking content that showcases our culture, contextualizes Filipino American narratives, and prompts dialogue surrounding the diverse experiences, identities, and talents that are often overlooked, suppressed, or erased; engaging with and building connections between community members both online and in the Greater Los Angeles area; working with established professionals to create avenues for the next generation of Filipino movers to advance in careers across the entertainment industry.

[@eansmith2448]

I loved angel from start to finish. This man has got talent

[@yaslygonzalez1102]

Congrats Brandon!! Can’t wait to see more of his projects

[@MoonieTheMenace]

As a Filipino-American, this literally warmed my heart so much :')

[@mando1964]

hands down my favorite character !!!

[@harleylaufeyson6136]

Actually very proud of him because as a Filipino, an aspiring film maker, wannabe actress and a fan of Jordan Peele and his works, I'd love to see more Filipinos in horror movies both local and international that have a deeper meaning

[@TheMinniepink16]

Love his analysis of the character bc it reads more realistic

[@hannahlung]

What an incredible interview! So awesome hearing his perspective.

[@yippiepieyay]

love how he talks about his experiences and what he learned from his co-stars. really tells you how much fun he probably had around the cast. cant wait to see you in bigger things, brandon!

[@allyli1718]

We all thought he’d die in Nope for sure lol the scene with barbed wire gave us plot armor vibes. That was probably just projection on our part, bc he really was amazing at portraying a college kid in all his annoying glory!! Loved him!!

[@anniem2777]

He’s beautiful . I immediately had to look him up post watching NOPE. Also he’s a pretty talented actor.

[@milankoly6648]

The fact that Brandon's name in this film is Angel... Could be a reference to The OA?

[@dancerdude83]

Congratulations Brandon!

[@shhmaya]

I reeeeeally reeeeally would love to know if Brandon Perea's character's name was a happy coincidence or if Jordan Peele is a The OA fan. Probably a coincidence since the name was already in the script before his casting. Still, I like to think Peele is a fan ^~^

[@milankoly6648]

This. When Keke called him "Angel" for the first time, I got goosebumps because I remembered Brandon as one of The OA characters. Then the alternate dimensions from The OA suddenly came into my mind. "What if this movie ties with the OA multiverse?" 😂😂

[@202cardline]

Major respect to Perea for creating the character and major respect for Peele for putting in the work to rewrite the script - totally payed off!! People are still talking about this movie 🤠

[@devamclean]

Loved his character. ❤❤❤❤

[@SUPER_ORION]

I watched the movie, they are all great in the film but his character is my fave. I didnt know he was part filipino and i already find him very attractive.

[@JoCal]

Congratulations

[@duckburgz]

🎉🎉🎉🇵🇭🇵🇷🎉🎉🎉

[@josevelajr]

Loved him in The OA

[@icedcarlo]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@glukaise]

5 stars, Angel. 5 stars.

[@Brian.SB1005]

Yo pensé que era Puertoriqueño y como ví que le colocaron el papel de latino en la película NOP creí que lo era.

[@sharon877]

Es puerto-riqueño y filipino. El título debe de decir eso perro se les olvidaron

[@Brian.SB1005]

@@sharon877 ho gracias por disipar mi duda.

[@direcircumstances]

Total scene stealer!

[@midasmusa3660]

Lead?

[@bimbam9603]

I have a crush on him back when he stared in The OA, didn't know he is Filipino too, soooo mind blowing, but was kinda sad cause he is "Bro" straight. That is a bummer FR.

[@1ty04S]

I thought he played a gay character in American insurrection(2021) and there was even a make out scene. I rlly hope he's gay or bi or pan or something tho 😭

[@eliolovesgaymovies1117]

But he's representing Latin community though and his character was Latino... I get that his part Filipino though but the movie wasn't about a Filipino character - so the representation he's talking about is somehow disconnected.. Maybe if speaks in general term like more people of color. It doesn't sound right to talk about NOPE movie when it was written for a Latino character but connects it to Filipino representation lolssss... If the character was Filipino-Puerto Rican then that would be spot on... This is like High School Musical Gabriela as Filipina but they made her Latina lols...

[@kcue9466]

Probably because part Filipinos are latino-passing plus we have Spanish Surnames

[@dayday4532]

TBIJSIATF

[@vidgood8682]

just watched the movie. noticed no filipino representation in the movie lol. unless i missed it? like sure filipino representation offset, but not in the movie... so not sure what's the big deal here. gotta love how pinoys bait themselves 🤣🤣

[@Qwark909]

Cause being filipino in a movie doesnt mean you have to do filipino shit in a movie

[@vidgood8682]

@@Qwark909 yeah but that's it? was hoping that when they talked about how the director/producer changed stuff because of him, was hoping that he changed it to accomodate his ethnicity. so why'd they need to mention his filipino-ness if he aint doing no filipino shit in the movie? moving forward, will we be identifying him as filam? they better identify it everywhere just like how people identify themselves as non binary.

[@eliolovesgaymovies1117]

Agreed. Prolly the questions pushed Brandon Perea to talk about Filipino roots when in fact his character was a Latino.. This interview could've been better if he speaks the general term people of color representation but being specific and connecting it to Filipino representation is a stretch and disconnected...