The ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ star talks proper queer on-screen representation, the sequel, and showing a little skin.

AYLOR ZAKHAR PEREZ is glowing. Yes, partially from beads of sweat still left on his skin from wrapping a Men’s Health “Train Like” video, but more so because of some particularly electric professional news. Just hours before busting out a couple of hip thrusts, Prime Video announced that Red, White & Royal Blue, a romantic comedy based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston, will be getting a well-deserved sequel. In the first film, Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, the incredibly suave and slightly arrogant first son of the United States whose extreme disdain for Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), heir to the British throne, gradually morphs into a disaster-filled love affair between the two men.

The follow-up movie comes with no source literature, but original author Casey McQuiston and screenwriter Matthew Lopez will write the new script together. The unknown of it all is something the 32-year-old star finds more exciting than nerve-wracking.

“Casey even asked me, ‘I would love to hear where you see Alex going, because. you’ve lived with him for so long,” he recalls the author saying. “‘Though I created him, where do you think he would go next?'”

More to Alex’s story has yet to be written, and the same could be said of Perez himself—but things are looking promising. He’s made his rounds through awards season in the finest of suits, signed with an extremely notable talent agency, and continues to grow his already stacked, wildly loyal following (can everyone say 5.1 million?). It’s clear the 32-year-old is earning his place in Hollywood, slowly but surely, with his talent, yes, but also a charming smile and surprisingly quaffed hair—even post-workout.

Lounging back in gym clothes and high socks, Perez sat down with Men’s Health to talk about accurate LGBTQ+ on-screen representation, showing a little skin, and the power of fan-casting.

MEN’S HEALTH: What’s your ideal journey for Alex in Red, White & Royal Blue 2?

TAYLOR ZAKHAR PEREZ: I think Alex being a blue-collar kid in an extraordinary situation is the American dream, in a way. His father was brought to the United States when he was five, and then raised in Texas, and then wound up in the White House. Following Alex on this journey into his political career would be such an aspirational story, and inspirational to people that maybe don’t see themselves represented on TV.

MH: What in particular stands out about Red, White & Royal Blue‘s message to you?

TZP: I’ve seen a lot of poorly focused and not well executed queer films. And I watched more and more after I got cast in this and there was a clear distinction of what kind of movie I didn’t want to make.

The cool thing was that yes, these are two queer men, but the landscape is politics in the United States [and] politics in the United Kingdom. It’s less about self-acceptance, because these two guys are like, ‘Oh wow, okay, this is love, this is happening.’ And they’re into it and they’re open to it. But the issues come when you have the political landscape of what are the ramifications of The Crown, what are the ramifications of his mom’s second election if this comes out? I liked how it was less focused on them coming to terms with who they were, and more about the world and the repercussions of going public.