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Brandon Perea

Brandon Perea
Born (1995-05-25) May 25, 1995 (age 29)
OccupationActor
Years active2016–present

Brandon Perea (born May 25, 1995) is an American actor and professional jamskater, best known for his performance as Alfonso "French" Sosa on The OA and his breakthrough role of Angel Torres in Jordan Peele's 2022 science fiction horror film Nope.[1][2]

Early life

Perea was born in Schaumburg and raised throughout Chicago. He has an older brother, Mike, and a younger brother, Jordan.[3] He is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent.[4]

He has been breakdancing since he was a kid, his father being a breakdancer,[5] and would become the youngest-ever pro Jamskater.[6][7] From the ages of 14 to 16, he traveled the United States performing in roller rinks a mashup of disco-style skating with modern breakdance.[8] He moved out at the age of 16, with permission from his parents, to pursue his dreams in Los Angeles of acting.[9]

In 2012, Perea made an appearance on the Nickelodeon show Figure It Out, performing as a Jamskater, where he won the grand prize of a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge.[10] He would also appear on the tenth season of the reality competition show America's Got Talent with his jam skating crew, Honor Roll.[5][11] The group made it the Judge Cuts round, however was eliminated before Quarterfinals.[12][13]

Career

Perea was discovered by a talent manager at a skating convention in Las Vegas, whom asked him to audition for a movie. Although he did not get the role, it eventually led to his first gig years later.[14] Perea began his acting career playing Alfonso "French" Sosa on the Netflix mystery drama series The OA. He continued in this role from 2016 to the show's cancellation in 2019.[15] He also had his first minor movie role in the 2016 comedy drama Dance Camp, which was released onto Youtube Red.[3]

In 2020, Perea had a guest star role in DC's Doom Patrol television series as the Terrible Doctor Tyme, a clock-headed villain who uses a time-altering space mineral to throw roller disco parties.[16][17]

In 2022, he was cast as Romy Faith in the drama The Faith of Long Beach, set to be directed by Eric Amadio. As of 2024, the film is still in pre-production and unclear if it will continue.[18]

Perea got his breakout role in 2022 with Jordan Peele's American western science fiction horror film, Nope. His cast mates included Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. Peele originally wrote the character of Angel Torres as a "happy-go-lucky" geek-like character until Perea was cast as the character, who wanted to expand upon the character and portray him as more grounded.[19] Peele, who found Perea's audition portrayal more compelling, altered and expanded the script to create a larger character for him.[20] Perea was praised for his performance, being named a "scene stealer" for his comedic relief and depth.[21][22] Screen Rant's Ben Kendrick called his portrayal of Angel Torres a "stand-out" among the supporting cast.[23] The performance earned him a selection as a Breakthrough Artist at the 2022 BAFTA's.[24][25]

In 2024, Perea portrayed tornado wrangler Boone in the summer blockbuster Twisters, a stand-alone sequel to the 1996 film. He starred alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos.[26] He also had a small role in the 2024 horror suspense film Amp House Massacre, playing Niko.[27]

He is set to appear in Kogonada's romantic fantasy film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, alongside Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. The film is to release May 9, 2025.[28][29]

Personal life

Perea's main talents include acting, jamskating, dancing, and BMXing. He is also trained in boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA.[30]

Filmography

Key
Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Dance Camp Kenton
2021 American Insurrection Arjay
2022 Nope Angel Torres
2024 Twisters Boone
Amp House Massacre Niko
2025 A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Post-production
TBA The Faith of Long Beach Romy Faith Pre-production[31]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Figure It Out Self - Jam Skater Episode: "Rollerskates & Worm Races"
2015 America's Got Talent Self - Honor Roll Skate Crew Episode: "1002," "1010"
2016–2019 The OA Alfonso "French" Sosa Main role (12 episodes)[32]
2020 Doom Patrol Dr. Jonathan Tyme Episode: "Tyme Patrol"

Music videos

Year Song Role Artist(s)
2018 "One Day" Diego Logic, Ryan Tedder
2021 "Yours" Himself Maye

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2022 British Academy of Film and Television Arts U.S. Breakthrough Nope [24]

References

  1. ^ "We Need To Talk About The Hottest Character In "The OA"". BuzzFeed. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Brandon Perea Is A Scene Stealer In Nope, So Now We Want Him In Everything". /Film. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Wakeman, Gregory (28 July 2022). "From roller rinks to R-rated movies". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  4. ^ Manaloto, Nicolo (7 August 2022). "Meet Brandon Perea, the Filipino-Puerto Rican actor who stars in Jordan Peele's latest horror flick, Nope". UnGeek. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b Ramos, Dino-Ray (21 July 2022). "Brandon Perea Talks His Road To 'Nope', Jam Skating, Alien Existence And Impact Of Jordan Peele's Inclusive Cinematic Universe". DIASPORA. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  6. ^ Davids, Brian (18 July 2024). "'Twisters' Star Brandon Perea on the Daunting Task of Following Philip Seymour Hoffman and Why 'The OA' Isn't Over to Him Yet". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  7. ^ Miller, Stuart (28 January 2023). "'Nope' Scene Stealer Brandon Perea on How His Character Changed the WGA-Nominated Script". Variety. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  8. ^ LeBlanc, Pam (24 September 2012). "Brandon Perea jams it up at the skating rink". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  9. ^ Dougherty, Taylor (20 January 2017). "Man On The Rise: Brandon Perea – Contrast Magazine". Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  10. ^ Rollerskates & Worm Races, Figure It Out, Jeff Sutphen, Elle Young, Lorenz Arnell, 3 July 2012, retrieved 23 August 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ Ridley-Teal, Alice (18 February 2016). "SpinnerZ To Hold Jam Skating Competition Feb. 19th & 20th". The City Menus. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  12. ^ Ray, Lincee (3 June 2015). "'America's Got Talent' recap: 'Audition 2'". EW.com. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  13. ^ Taylor, Leah (17 August 2016). "Rollin' with the Homies: Honor Roll Skate Crew Gives us the 411". Flavorwire. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  14. ^ Minutaglio, Rose (30 May 2024). "Brandon Perea on His 'Brotherhood' Bond With Glen Powell and Being Labeled the 'New Hot Boy'". ELLE. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  15. ^ Adeyemi, Boluwatife (22 July 2024). ""Feeling It's Not Over": Controversially Cancelled Netflix Show's Future Gets Hopeful Update From Star". ScreenRant. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  16. ^ Stussie, Andrew (20 June 2020). "Doom Patrol Season 2 Photos Reveal The Super Weird Dancing (?) Villain, Dr. Tyme". ScreenRant. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  17. ^ Abdulbaki, Mae (25 June 2020). "'Doom Patrol' Season 2's bizarre new villain, explained". Inverse. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  18. ^ Grobar, Matt (24 March 2022). "'The Faith Of Long Beach': 'Nope's Brandon Perea To Star Alongside Common In Boxing Drama From 'Snowfall' Co-Creator Eric Amadio". Deadline. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  19. ^ Buchanan, Kyle (27 July 2022). "Why Brandon Perea's 'Nope' Audition Made Jordan Peele Cry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  20. ^ Casio, Jerome (18 November 2022). "Jordan Peele Reveals Heartwarming Video Of Moment Nope Star Was Cast". ScreenRant. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  21. ^ Cruz, Clarissa (23 July 2022). "'Nope' scene stealer Brandon Perea: 'No one's going to expect this'". EW.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  22. ^ Wittmer, Carrie (27 July 2022). "'Nope' Scene-Stealer Brandon Perea Says Jordan Peele Rewrote the Character Around Him". GQ. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  23. ^ Kendrick, Ben (20 July 2022). "Nope Review: A Haunting & Humorous Twist On Hollywood Sci-Fi". ScreenRant. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  24. ^ a b Yossman, K. J. (10 November 2022). "'Heartstopper' DP Diana Olifirova, 'Nope' Star Brandon Perea Among BAFTA Breakthrough Cohort 2022". Variety. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  25. ^ Ritman, Alex (17 November 2022). "How BAFTA Breakthrough Is Helping Rising Stars in the U.S. Propel Their Careers to the Next Level". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  26. ^ Jackson, Angelique (12 May 2023). "'Nope' Star Brandon Perea Joins 'Twisters' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  27. ^ DeFellipo, Michael (29 June 2024). "Review: 4 Digital Media's Amp House Massacre". Horror Society. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  28. ^ Kroll, Justin (3 May 2024). "Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon And Hamish Linklater Among Those Rounding Out Cast Of Imperative And Sony's 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey'". Deadline. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  29. ^ "Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell Romantic Fantasy 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' Sets Mother's Day 2025 Release". Yahoo Entertainment. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  30. ^ Wally, Maxine (15 September 2022). "'Nope' Star Brandon Perea Has Had Enough of Mid Culture". W Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  31. ^ "'The Faith Of Long Beach': 'Nope's Brandon Perea To Star Alongside Common In Boxing Drama From 'Snowfall' Co-Creator Eric Amadio". Deadline Hollywood. 24 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Two years later, The OA returns for Part II". Techaeris. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.