Jordan Peele’sNopemay have beenall about spectacle, but the real scene-stealer isBrandon Perea’s Angel Torres.
An exhausted, worn-down electronics tech who brings much-needed comic relief to the sci-fi horror, Angel is key to helping OJ (Daniel Kaluuya), and Em (Keke Palmer) tackle the alien phenomenon they’ve named Jean Jacket—but the actor says Angel was initially a very different character.
Speaking with Variety, Perea shared that Peele had written Angel as a happy, friendly Fry’s employee but decided to take the character in a different direction for his audition when the cheery role didn’t match Perea’s personal experience with salesmen.
“No one is really happy to be working at a tech store. That was a real place for me,” theOAactor said, recounting how he and his brothers often frequented the electronics retail chain while growing up, and admitted he pulled a considerable amount of inspiration from his siblings' tech careers.
“My cheat code for this role was my brothers: one is a computer tech for Dell who goes to businesses and fixes problems. I hear all these stories like, ‘These people try to sound like they know what they’re talking about and it’s so annoying.’ My other brother used to run a print shop and when I’d be in the store he’d look back at me when the customers said something annoying.”
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Perea’s Audition Got Peele to Rewrite NopeScript
Though the character that Perea brought to his audition was very different from the character on the page, Peele was immediately impressed—so much so that the director was willing to rewrite large portions of the script.
Peele invited Perea to an improv session via Zoom after viewing his initial audition, telling the actor, “The character you brought was way different than what I wrote for and I’d have to rewrite my entire script.”
While Perea was convinced that meant he wasn’t getting the part, Peele had other plans, adding: “That’s what I’m going to do. You got the part”—and the rest is history.
The actor isn’t sure what’s next for him, but he saysNopewill be a hard project to top.
“I’m putting pressure on myself trying to choose the right thing. I’m reading and taking meetings but I don’t have a clue about what the next right thing is. I do think shaping a career means being open—I’m not afraid of a small indie movie or a small part in a bigger movie, as long as it’s good.”
“But I was definitely spoiled by working with Jordan Peele on this one.”
