Joey King and his Kissing Booth co-star Taylor Zakhar Perez looked over the moon while as part of Variety Actors About Actors series.
But the conversation took a somber turn when Taylor, who played one of the lead roles in Red, White and Royal Blue, spoke about the difficulty of filming the popular gay romantic comedy knowing his sister Kristy would never see him in it. , as she had died of an aggressive form of cancer shortly before the Netflix film’s release.
The actors, who first appeared together when Taylor joined the cast of The Kissing Booth 2, also recalled the beginning of their working friendship and how Joey’s experience as a child actress in Hollywood allowed her to mentor Taylor.
Taylor, 32, mentioned his late sister when he recalled how he became the de facto oldest brother in his family, despite being the sixth of eight siblings, as his older siblings were considerably older and had already moved out by the time he still lived with his parents and younger siblings.
“First of all, I just wanted to tell you that I’m so sorry about your sister’s passing last year,” Joey said sympathetically after Taylor mentioned the 12-year age difference between him and his late sister Kristy, who was the oldest child. . in her family.
Joey King and Kissing Booth co-star Taylor Zakhar Perez looked over the moon while out as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series. But their conversation took a somber turn when Taylor recalled the death of her older sister last year.
Zach’s older sister Kristy died in June 2023 at age 44 from stage four colorectal cancer. She was survived by her husband and her three children; Kristy (right) pictured with her sister Maria.
“She was so amazing and seemingly such a bright light,” he added, before admitting that he didn’t know Taylor’s sister well.
‘She loved you!’ Taylor responded, pointing out that Kristy often asked how Joey was doing.
He reflected that his co-star reminded him of his sister because they shared several personality traits.
‘You had very similar qualities. Simply love, care, accept always,’ she said. “She was the glue that held our family together.”
Taylor went on to explain how difficult the release of Red, White & Royal Blue was, as her sister was no longer alive to celebrate her career milestone.
He died in early June 2023, the same month Taylor appeared on the cover of GQ to promote her Netflix romantic comedy, and just one month before the film’s release and two months before its August 2023 release.
“It was hard to do Red, White and Royal Blue, and I’m going to start crying, knowing she didn’t get to see it,” he said, though he managed to hold back tears.
“My director, Matthew Lopez, said to me, ‘Do you mind if I put ‘For Kristy’ at the end of the movie?” Taylor recalled.
“It was hard to do Red, White and Royal Blue, and I’m going to start crying, knowing she didn’t get to see it,” he said, though he managed to hold back tears. He shared a photo of himself as a child with Kristy shortly after her death last year.
“My director, Matthew Lopez, said, ‘Do you mind if I put ‘For Kristy’ at the end of the movie?” Taylor recalled, calling the offer “very thoughtful.”
“That blew my mind, that someone would be so thoughtful when thinking about my family in our time of need and mourning. We’re approaching a year and it’s hard,” Taylor admitted as her eyes seemed to glaze over.
“In the creative world, people throw themselves into projects to forget or calm down,” he continued. But I can’t do that. I need to be with my family.’
Shortly after Kristy’s death last year, Taylor shared a sweet black-and-white photo of himself as a child with his older sister to commemorate her death from stage four colorectal cancer. He was survived by her husband and her three children.
“Rest in power, my wonderful sister Kristy,” she wrote in her Instagram post at the time. ‘This photo was taken in Chicago in 1993 at our father’s body shop. The place he raised us and gave us our family values, work ethic, and understanding of what it takes to make money. We all went through this “life training” and she was with us guiding us every step of the way.
“She taught me not to sweat the small stuff and to love unconditionally, she also taught me to ‘fuck’ and know how lucky we were,” he continued.
“She was the proudest sister, she knew every quote, dance, and song in my projects, and she wanted to see RWRB so much that I can’t imagine it premiering without her,” Taylor recalled. “She will continue to be our guide as we walk with us through life and celebrate us as we continue to grow with her in spirit.”
He concluded with sweet parting words: “I love you to infinity and beyond.”
Elsewhere in their filmed chat, Joey lit up as he recalled watching Taylor’s kiss scene with co-star Nicholas Galitzine in Red, White and Royal Blue.
“I was sitting in bed kicking and laughing under the covers, because I had to rewind that scene about 14 times to see you say, ‘Shut up, stop talking,’ and grab him and kiss him,” she said of the on-screen kiss. “So exciting, so sexy.”
He added: “This movie is huge for the LGBTQ community and that’s a big responsibility.”
The actress also recalled her first days on the set of The Kissing Booth 2 with Taylor and how he asked her about the future prospects of their friendship.
“I remember you asked me a question in the middle of filming: ‘Do you usually stay friends with the people you work with? Or do you get really close to them on set and then you just don’t talk to them much? “Afterwards?” she recalled.
Elsewhere in their filmed chat, Joey lit up as he recalled watching Taylor’s kiss scene with co-star Nicholas Galitzine in Red, White and Royal Blue. ‘I was sitting in bed kicking and laughing under the covers, because I had to rewind that scene about 14 times…’; still from The Kissing Booth 2
He also recalled that Taylor asked him at the beginning of filming if they would still be friends once it was over; in the photo of The Kissing Booth 2
Taylor also took the opportunity to praise her former co-star for serving as an inspiration to her; still from The Kissing Booth
‘I’m going to say it: you run a set in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable. You increase energy levels and people want to come to work. “You were my intensive on how to lead,” he gushed about Joey.
“It was a sweet question because I felt like the subtext was like, ‘Are we going to be friends after this?’ And I was like, ‘It depends,'” he added.
Taylor also took the opportunity to praise her former co-star for serving as an inspiration to her.
“Kissing Booth was my first big project, with an incredible number 1 on the call list,” he explained. ‘I’m going to say it: you run a set in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable. You increase energy levels and people want to come to work. “You were my intensive on how to lead,” she gushed.
‘You have become a sister to me, but you are also a role model and a mentor of how I want to be. I carry it with me on every set I go to,” she continued. “It sounds cheesy, but you totally inspired me.”
