Meet Melissa Perez | Actress

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
I would say that one of my favorite books that I’ve read so far is “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. It was an eye opener for me. It contains the formula to achieving any and everything you want out of life. The first time I read it I was in High School. Our English professor made us read it because we were going to be tested on it, and I’m so glad she did. It has been my go to book every time I start feeling sidetracked. It’s basically the pathway to success in every area of life: career, family, health, wealth and love.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before I tell you more about my “why”, we need to go back to where it all started. I was born and raised in Habana, Cuba. When I was very little, I used to be in the school dances for pre-k. You could say I made my debut on tv on a show that consisted of a group of kids listening to some kids stories by an adult, it is all I remember haha. My parents then decided to put me in the Cuban National Ballet, where I danced in one of the most prestigious theaters in Habana, The Gacía Lorca. I was very little but I still remember meeting the National figure that was Alicia Alonso, among others that leave a bittersweet taste in my heart (to say the least) like Fidel Castro and Vilma Espín. I remember having so much fun every time we had a performance, but not so much when we had to rehearse for it. After a couple of years I decided I no longer wanted to be a ballerina. It was then when my mom put me in piano lessons, singing, and private English classes. The singing was a big failure, I’ve now come to terms that the shower is the place for me when it comes to showing off some vocals. The English classes I hated it so much, but one thing I remember vividly was my parents desire to move to the States, and so English for them was just as important as getting good grades in school. I also took a short course where I learned how to work with Puppets. I think we can all agree that my mom was trying to help me find my artistic side, since I never really liked sports. When I got to middle school, I joined a theater group called Espejo, with Carlos Sarmiento. This is where I truly fell in love with the art of story telling. This group was only accepting 15+, so when I went in for my audition I said I was 15, but I was actually 14. Once I got in that I had to reveal my actual age, they were impressed by my work so they allowed me to stay. I was the youngest one of the group, everyone else was either in High School or College level. I did street performances, theater performances and dance. I would get home after long long hours of rehearsal, starving and tired, but as happier as ever. The theater became my home, the training was very hard as you can imagine and it required of a lot of strength physical and mental, this is where the ballet came in handy after many years hahah. I loved learning and studying the characters I was to portray and really tried to do my best in every performance, as little or big that it was. It wasn’t all about acting in this group, we also had some dance performances in which one of them I had to go see a dermatologist cousin of mine because I had a big bruise circular shaped in my back and we didn’t know what it was. Turns out it had been caused by the friction of my skin with the floor in one specific routine. I know it sounds insane to say this, but I don’t have any regrets, all the bruising and crying and laughter’s and sweat was what I was living for. I also took some private acting classes with Ysmercy Salomón a Cuban actress and Mónica Guffanti an Argentinian actress. When I was of age, I auditioned for the National School of Arts (ENA), that is considered the most prestigious acting school in Habana, where thousands of known actors have trained. I went in with little to no preparation, I had a conversation with Dennis Ramos a Cuban actor that helped me with some pointers before my audition. At this point in my life it was almost secure that me and my family were going to be moving to the states, but I wanted to do that audition for myself, I wanted to see all my hard work paying off. Needless to say I was heartbroken when I didn’t get accepted. I had never cried so much in my life, and my mom with me. I thought that was the end of my career, I couldn’t grasp my head about the fact that the best acting school in my country hadn’t accepted me, even though I didn’t go in with the right preparation because I had made my decision of wanting to audition very late. That same day after crying for hours, a friend of my mom was able to put me in contact with Aramís Delgado, one amazing and very recognized actor in Cuba. My mom took me to his house and we talked for hours, he had been a judge many years ago at the ENA, and his words was what helped me to feel a little better. He then gave us tickets to go see a Play that same night, and to help me get my mind of things. A couple of months later me and my family moved from Habana, to Miami, FL on 03/27/2012. I can’t even begin to tell you how this transition was for me and my family. We were happy that after almost 10 years of trying to flee from the communism, we had finally made it and all together; but we were also devastated to have left the family I grew up with and my friends behind. For months I cried every time I would speak to my grandmother and family from cuba on the phone. It was very hard, because I was happy to be in America but very sad at the same time. What made it a little bit easier for me was going to a High School where mostly everyone was Hispanic, specially Cubans. I started as a sophomore there, as I had done my freshman year in Habana. Coming from a third world country, it was difficult to get used to the school system and the school hallways haha. I made friends very quickly that would help me get from one class to another, and honestly I realized that all the English I had learned in Cuba, hadn’t helped much. I was put in ESOL classes, but everyone including the professor would still speak to us in Spanish and I believe that’s the reason why I never really fully lost my accent, I was also 15 years old when I moved to Miami. I had stopped with my acting career all of my time while I was in HS. I was afraid to not be good enough because of my failure of getting accepted to that school in Cuba and now to have to do it in English. Which is why it came as a surprise to many that I wanted to get a Bachelors in Fine Arts (BFA) with a specialization in Theater. I graduated top 15 of my class in High School and went straight to Barry University to pursue my career. I then was part of every single play that was presented at Barry, being a total of 8. My favorite was “The Motherfucker with a Hat” where I reprised the role of Veronica, a Puerto Rican conflicted woman. It wasn’t all that great while attending there given that one of my instructors would not let me participate or take me seriously because I had an accent. This is where my insecurities about my accent came from, because I’m Hispanic, a minority and trying to pursue the acting career with a strong accent. There aren’t many good roles for Latino women, and the ones that exist are very stereotypical, which I honestly hate about the industry. But these are things that give me the power to want to grind harder, to be able to make a difference. I am constantly evolving and growing, that’s why in the summer of 2018, I decided to take an acting intensive at the American Academy of Dramatic arts. It was a 7 week program, and the best summer of my whole life. While everyone back home was enjoying the beach and the parties, I was in Los Angeles, for the first time visiting, and doing what I love the most. We had classes Monday-Friday, and then on the weekends we would explore the city. I became really close friends with my roommates that summer, and we all became like a little family. It is amazing when you surround yourself with people that love this craft as much as you do. That understand the dedication and responsibilities that comes with wanting to be the best version of you in that sense. We had so much camera work, that I had never done before, since I was a theater based actress. I decided to audition for the school and got accepted. AADA is the first acting school founded in America, and is one of the most prestigious ones, with a campus in New York and here in Los Angeles. Getting accepted there was my redemption for not getting into the National School of Arts in Cuba. It was my dream come true, this time I was trained and prepared for what it was to come. I moved from Miami after graduating from Barry University, I flew in with my parents that helped me get all settled in. This was my first time living on my own, out of state and away from the people that mean the most to me, but I was ready. I had never been more excited to start classes. When you do what you love, while it might be tiring and draining, it also feels so satisfying. I was breathing acting day and night, because it doesn’t end when classes end. Even though I loved going to AADA as a full time student, I was disappointed to not have gotten more camera work, it is an amazing school, but very theatrically based. I had moved to LA to pursue TV and Film. Sadly a pandemic came and we had to finish our first year on zoom classes. It wasn’t the same! During covid I went back to Miami for a couple of months, and I wasn’t really sure what was next for me. See every artists biggest fear is the “what’s next” and “if anything will be next”, specially during a pandemic. Almost a year later I joined Central Casting which through them I then became SAG-AFTRA elegible. For those who don’t know SAG-AFTRA is the holy grail for career actors. I have now worked in a few commercials, done background jobs, student films, worked as a standing and continue to audition 24/7. As one of my mentor’s used to say “a working actor is the one that auditions, getting the job is just the cherry on top”. I am also working on myself now more than ever, in a mental and physical way. Learning how to apply the information given in the book “The Secret” and “La Voz de tu Alma”, which speaks about growth in all aspects of your life: career, health, wealth, love and family. I am still a work very much in progress, it’ll soon be 3 years since I moved to LA, and I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. This is my home and where my career is going to advance because I believe in myself and that people will feel something when they see me acting. That is my goal, to be able to voice characters that people can relate to and feel for.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
While Miami has pretty good beaches, it doesn’t have any mountains. Hiking is my favorite thing to do when I have free time, I love going on hikes I haven’t done before, the more challenging the better. I like running at the beach and then having some refreshing açaí bowls. LA has many amazing and very tasteful restaurants, but as a Cuban that very much loves Cuban food haha, I have to say El Floridita and El Cochinito are my two favorites. That’s my home away from home. I would also recommend them to take some classes at Playground LA, they really do live up to the hype, and go see some theater plays. Before covid, that was how I spent most of my free time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family deserves all the recognition and credit! They have been my number one supporters since day one, specially my Mom, my Dad and my Sister. Because my Hispanic family is very big. I also want to give thanks to every professor/trainer that have been part of my growth as an actress. The mentorship I’ve received since my very beginnings in ballet, have shaped me into this woman I have become. Although there’s still so much more room for progress and growth, I want to thank everyone that is part of my life and that believes in me.

Website: https://www.backstage.com/tal/melissa-perez-2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melprod/