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]
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 Netflixmysterydrama 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 westernscience 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]
^Rollerskates & Worm Races, Figure It Out, Jeff Sutphen, Elle Young, Lorenz Arnell, 3 July 2012, retrieved 23 August 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
