Taylor Zakhar Perez talks about sustainability and the representation of Latin American cultures in Hollywood

He is best known for his role as the son of the US President, Alex Claremont-Diaz, in the global Prime Video hit Red, white and royal blueWhile actor Taylor Zakhar Perez has indeed become a central figure in Hollywood and social media—from being named an ambassador at the SAG Awards earlier this year to traveling around the world for various fashion shows and other special events—he remains conscious of his efforts to make smarter choices about our environment and expand the opportunities for his creative colleagues.

Also known for his acting roles in projects such as Slut And The kissing booth Films, I recently met with Zakhar Perez, 32, around the time when the Red, white and royal blue When the sequel was announced, people wondered what he thought his priorities were today beyond Hollywood and how he uses his influential public platform to advance his passionate causes.

Zakhar Perez said: “Hmm, that’s a good question. When I was growing up, my mom was a big proponent of organic food. We had a little garden in the back of the house – I mean, it kind of got out of control because we had horses, and when they were gone, my mom planted this incredible garden back there – lots of manure, lots of fertilizer – and it just kept growing. For us as kids, organic was like a dirty word, but (my mom) had this holistic attitude, she was like: No plastic – reuse your bag and bring it back home and I think that really fed my love of sustainability.”

The Red, white and royal blue star went on to say that he feels that sustainability and “environmentalism” have sometimes become a marketing ploy in our society, adding that “organic people today associate naturalness, and naturalness is not the same as organic.”

Zakhar Perez continued: “Sustainability is a big issue! I work with this woman called Harriet Vocking from the UK. She is just a steward of the earth and just so intelligent, and I get all my information and reading from her. That is something I have to take into account when I work with brands, because it is so, What are you doing for the world? Are you doing 1% for the planet? Are you recycling? Are you finding different ways to reduce production and stop cutting and sewing and now everything comes out in one piece? This stuff is very important to me.”

Vocking is CEO of Eco-Age, a global agency that develops systemic solutions in line with science, in harmony with nature and in solidarity with human rights. In recent years, Zakhar Perez began taking Eco-Age on supply chain trips to the Woolmark Company, an Australian non-profit organization that is considered the world authority on the natural, renewable and biodegradable fiber wool, because he “wanted to know more about where our stuff comes from; what it’s made of, where it comes from and how many hands touch it before it ends up in our stores.”

In recent months, Zakhar Perez has thanked the Woolmark Company on Instagram, posting photos of himself taken on location. The company gave him “the complete farm-to-fashion store experience” and introduced him to the wearability and versatility of wool.

Beyond his ongoing sustainability efforts, Zakhar Perez is also focused on supporting his Latino community while continuing to evolve in the ever-evolving landscape of the entertainment industry.

He said, “Latino talent is constantly underrepresented in mainstream media today. In the United States, 19% of the population is Latino, right? That’s not representative in TV/film. I think less than 10% of actors are Latino and only 5% or less of showrunners and directors are (of Latino descent). That’s crazy because Latino-led TV shows are some of the most watched projects globally on our streamers. I’m in the process of launching a production company and those are the metrics I look at to… What kind of stories do I want to tell?”

Zakhar Perez added, “25% of Americans are Latino moviegoers, and if they can’t see themselves on screen, I think it’s detrimental to their mental health. You need to see positive representations of yourself on screen. My goal is to find talented producers and talented writers who want to tell these stories in an independent and commercial way and really advocate for Latino people in the media. There will be 34 to 35 million Latinos eligible to vote this year, and the future looks so bright. I think most Latinos in the U.S. are (currently) 11 years old, and in the next 10 to 20 years they’re going to make up the industry, and I think that’s really exciting.”