"Certain people who care about me a lot have said 'You don't play the game, and if you don't play the game, you don't get picked for the team all the time"
About this Quote
Perez is naming the dirty secret of show business in plain, almost conversational language: talent is only half the job; compliance is the other half. The line lands because it frames “the game” as something everyone pretends not to see, a set of unwritten rules that sit between work and reward. She doesn’t even have to define it. In Hollywood, “the game” can mean networking rituals, political alliances, playing nice with power, staying quiet about exploitation, or sanding down your edges so you’re legible to gatekeepers. The vagueness is strategic: it captures an entire ecosystem of soft coercion without turning the quote into a lawsuit.
The tender pivot is “Certain people who care about me a lot.” She’s not dismissing advice; she’s acknowledging love that arrives wearing pragmatism. That makes the tension feel lived-in: the people closest to you want your survival, but survival sometimes requires a kind of self-betrayal. Perez’s voice - blunt, street-smart, allergic to pretense - has always carried the charge of someone who came up without institutional cushioning. When she says she doesn’t “play,” it’s both moral stance and biography: an insistence on autonomy in an industry built on permission.
The kicker is the sports metaphor: “picked for the team.” It’s childish on purpose, a reminder that casting can resemble playground politics as much as meritocracy. You can do everything right and still get benched, not because you can’t perform, but because you didn’t flatter the coach.
The tender pivot is “Certain people who care about me a lot.” She’s not dismissing advice; she’s acknowledging love that arrives wearing pragmatism. That makes the tension feel lived-in: the people closest to you want your survival, but survival sometimes requires a kind of self-betrayal. Perez’s voice - blunt, street-smart, allergic to pretense - has always carried the charge of someone who came up without institutional cushioning. When she says she doesn’t “play,” it’s both moral stance and biography: an insistence on autonomy in an industry built on permission.
The kicker is the sports metaphor: “picked for the team.” It’s childish on purpose, a reminder that casting can resemble playground politics as much as meritocracy. You can do everything right and still get benched, not because you can’t perform, but because you didn’t flatter the coach.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
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