Who Plays Alex Claremont-Diaz In Red, White & Royal Blue?
Whether you're unfamiliar with Casey McQuiston's hit novel "Red, White & Royal Blue" or you've read it cover to cover multiple times (bonus points if you have the collector's edition), the movie adaptation is primed to become the sleeper hit of the summer — and you won't want to miss it when it hits Amazon Prime. The story, where McQuiston imagines a world in which a fictional First Son of the United States and the younger of two Princes of England fall hard and fast for each other, is sweet, heartfelt, really funny, and deliciously dirty — and in the adaptation, fans of the book will finally get to see their Prince Henry and Alex Claremont-Diaz.
The former is played by British heartthrob-in-the-making Nicholas Galitzine, and First Son Alex is portrayed by Taylor Zakhar Perez. Zakhar Perez, a Chicago-born actor of Mexican, Meditteranean, and Middle Eastern heritage, is stepping into the role of Alex, and he definitely seems like the perfect choice to play a whip-smart biracial son of the United States' first female president, Texas firebrand Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman). So where have "Red, White & Royal Blue" fans and newcomers alike seen Zakhar Perez before, and what can they expect from his leading performance?
Taylor Zakhar Perez has popped up in a ton of TV shows
Zakhar Perez's career initially kicked off thanks to a smattering of small television roles, starting back in 2012 with a guest spot on the popular Nickelodeon show "iCarly." He followed that up with appearances on shows like "Suburgatory," "Alpha House," "Awkward," "Young & Hungry," "Code Black," and "Scandal." His biggest break in television arrived in 2022, though, thanks to the new HBO series "Minx."
"Minx," which stars Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson, tells the story of a young woman, Joyce Prigger (Lovibond), fighting for feminism in the 1970s — who decides that the best way to do that is to start the first ever erotic magazine marketed specifically to women. Johnson, a favorite from "New Girl," plays the sleazy publisher Doug Renetti who helps her get the publication off the ground... and Zakhar Perez shows up as Shane Brody, a young male model who's the first ever cover model of the in-universe magazine, also titled "Minx." Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the risqué role, Zakhar Perez said, though Shane isn't the brightest light, it was important that he be relatable in some way. "When [people] see a stereotypical dumb blonde or dumb jock, they go straight to [thinking] they don't have emotion, they don't understand the world, they're unintelligent," the actor said. "I knew from the beginning that he wasn't that. The biggest thing was grounding him, making him likable, and also playing against the line." Zakhar Perez only appears in two episodes of "Minx," but it's easy to see how this spicy role may have helped him land "Red, White & Royal Blue."
The Kissing Booth sequels put Taylor Zakhar Perez on the map
Before taking on a much more adult role in "Minx," though, Zakhar Perez earned his leading man bona-fides in two majorly popular Netflix sequels — "The Kissing Booth 2" and "The Kissing Booth 3." After Joey King's Elle is romanced by Jacob Elordi's Noah in the first young adult movie, Zakhar Perez shows up to throw a wrench into the situation in the second film as Marco Valentin Peña, a new transfer student. As in the first film, Elle is helping with the school fair's kissing booth, and the pressure is on for her to bring Marco in as one of the kissers — and the attraction between them grows when they end up competing as a couple in a local dance competition so that Elle can put money towards college tuition. (Yes, they end up kissing.)
Zakhar Perez reappears as Marco to cause more issues between Noah and Elle in "The Kissing Booth 3," popping up when Elle and Noah head to Noah's family beach house and find out that Marco has a job at the beach for the summer. This obviously causes issues between Noah and Marco, especially because Marco isn't subtle about still having feelings for Elle... but ultimately, Marco accepts that Elle loves Noah, and exits into the night.
What do we need to know about Alex Claremont-Diaz?
So what should you know about Zakhar Perez's newest character, Alex Claremont-Diaz? As the brilliant and politically-minded son of the first female President of the United States, Alex is funny, too smart for his own good, and deeply involved with his family's ascent to the White House — as the narrative of the story opens, he's actively working to re-elect his mother after her first term. Zakhar Perez spoke to GQ in June of 2023 alongside his co-star Galitzine, showing off the pair's easy chemistry, and he revealed the direct inspiration for his character: Sam Seaborn, the starry-eyed but often mistake-prone deputy communications director played by Rob Lowe on "The West Wing." "I think he's probably who Alex would want to be," the actor said.
When the story of "Red, White & Royal Blue" kicks off, Alex is questioning his sexual identity — which totally changes after a surprise kiss from Galitzine's Henry, which fans have already seen in the movie's trailer. The looser and arguably more emotional half of this relationship, Alex is ready to fight for the man he loves, despite having to fight both portions of the American public and the famously conservative British monarchy. Zakhar Perez feels like the perfect choice to play Alex, and fans of McQuiston's book can likely rest easy with him in the role.
"Red, White & Royal Blue" drops on Amazon Prime on August 11, 2023.