Rosie Perez reveals Johnny Depp motivated her, ‘you are too good for this’

Rosie Perez shared how Johnny Depp helped her during her initial days, whom she shared the screen in the 1990 TV drama 21 Jump Street.

Perez, 58, who later starred in movies such as Do the Right Thing and White Men Can't Jump, recalled the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 59, helped her boost her confidence, which inspired her to fire her then-agent.

“My first scene, Johnny Depp whispered in my ear, ‘Oh, darling, you’re too good for this [expletive]’” Perez shared in a new interview with Variety.

“Then he invited me to his trailer, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God, Johnny Depp’s invited me to his trailer.’ He’s on the phone, and he goes, ‘Yeah, yeah, she’s amazing. Her name is Rosie Perez. Hang on. Hey, Rosie – over here. Say hello to my girlfriend, Winona Ryder.’ And I fell over laughing.”

Perez continued, “after, we talked seriously, and he said, ‘I’m gonna tell people about you. You know, you’re right for the good stuff.’”

The Flight Attendant star admitted that Depp’s pep talk gave her the motivation to fire her agent at the time, “I don’t want her to be cancelled, but she told me that if I dyed my hair blond and got a nose job, ‘I can get you more jobs. Because you’re not Black.’ I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. Like, thank you, fired,’” she said.

Depp starred in four seasons of the show as Officer Thomas “Tom” Hanson Jr, while Perez made a cameo as an illiterate drug dealer’s girlfriend.