Taylor Zakhar Perez is more than happy to usher in a new era of male nudity on television.
The Kissing Booth star is stripping down for his role as Shane on HBO Max's Minx, premiering March 17th. The series is centered around the publication of the first erotic magazine for women in the 1970s. Perez plays a firefighter who quickly becomes the leading candidate to be the cover star of the first issue.
The project, obviously, calls for a bunch of male nudity, which is something the 30-year-old actor is embracing. "I'm all for it. If the project and the scenes call for it, why not?" he told Entertainment Weekly on Feb. 25th. "But I think just to throw a bare-chested woman or ass-out guy into the scene without it making sense, then it's gratuitous and takes away from the quality of the content."
It's a big shift for Perez, who is best known for locking lips with Joey King in the second and third installments of Netflix's The Kissing Booth franchise.
"It's funny going from playing a 17-18 year old kid a few years ago and being in a different type of project," Perez said. "The show is very scandalous. I think it's going to be exciting, fun, and just like a 'wow' moment."
Perez said he called upon the aura of Ashton Kutcher's Kelso from That 70's Show as inspiration, in an attempt to give depth and heart to a character who could have so easily been a vapid sex symbol.
While Perez is excited to show off a more versatile—and erotic—side of his acting abilities, there's still one person who might have something to say about it.
"I haven't been this excited for a show in a long time. The world's just really going to enjoy it. I think it'll be shocking at first," he joked. "But I think when my mom sees it is when I will be a little freaked out."
Minx premieres March 17th on HBO Max, with two new episodes debuting each week through April 14th.