The eight-episode HBO Max streaming series The Flight Attendant follows Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco, who’s also an executive producer), a flight attendant whose life is such a mess that when she wakes up in a hotel with a dead man (Michiel Huisman), she has no idea what happened and has to start trying to put her life back together. Without all of the pieces to the puzzle, she turns to friends (Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet) and family (T.R. Knight), but also finds her life in danger, making the situation more than she ever could have imagined.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actress Rosie Perez talked about how Kaley Cuoco convinced her to sign on for the show, how hard she worked to convince the powers that be to give her more details about her character, why she feels so deeply for Megan Briscoe, and what most impressed her about Cuoco when they were on set. She also talked about what she enjoyed most about being a part of Birds of Prey, how she feels about her experience on the NBC series Rise, her memories of the time she spent working with Alex Trebek on White Men Can’t Jump, and the hard road to success that she’s had in her career.

Collider: Kaley Cuoco has said that she begged you to do this role. What was that conversation like? What did she tell you about the show and the character, and what made you want to do it?

ROSIE PEREZ: Well, I loved the material and I really did want to do it, but I hate flying. I hate traveling. I hate the whole thing. I’m over 50 and I like to stay home. So, I was like, “Nah, I’ll pass.” And she insisted on meeting with me. I was like, “No.” They were like, “She’s not taking no for an answer.” And so, I met with her and I guess they didn’t tell her why, they just said that I passed. She said, “What is it?” I said, “Well, I hate flying.” And she goes, “You do know it’s called The Flight Attendant?” I said, “Yeah, I know.” She goes, “Oh, my God, you have to do Megan. You just have to do Megan. You have to do this character. No one else will do. No one else.” She goes, “What are your other concerns?” And I said, “You know, I’m a professional, honey. I don’t like to waste time. When I get to work, I’m on my mark and I’m ready, set, go. I can’t stand people who mess about.” And she goes, “Oh, you’re speaking my language.”

We high-fived each other and just kept talking. It was supposed to be a 15-minute talk and it lasted over an hour. I just fell in love with her. She made me fall in love with her. That’s basically what happened? And so, I said, “Okay.” No, I didn’t tell her yes. She goes, “I promise you, I’ll take care of you. I promise you. Please, say yes. Oh, my God, I wasn’t supposed to say that. I was supposed to be this hard core, bad-ass producer. I wasn’t supposed to say that. Don’t tell anyone I said that.” And I said, “Okay.” We couldn’t stop laughing. And she goes, “But please do this. No, seriously. It was such a pleasure to meet you.” I go, “Nice to meet you, too.” She goes, “Please do this.” I go, “Kaley, I’ll call you.” She goes, “Please call me. Please. Just do it and say yes.” I called my manager and said, “Oh, my god, I’m in love with this girl.” He goes, “I told you.” I said, “I’ve gotta do this. I have to do this. I’ve gotta get over my anxiety of flying.” And I’m glad I did.

Once you did agree to do this, how much did you know about the story and about who the character would be? Did you have a good sense of what the arc of the season was, or did you just have little bits of what it could evolve into?

PEREZ: I had bits, but I fought to get more information before I said yes. I spoke with Steve Yockey, the creator/executive producer/head writer, and he was like, “We really can’t tell you.” And I said, “Well, then I can’t do this. I know TV people don’t know the arc of their character and they find out a week before the audience finds out. I can’t work like that. You’ve gotta give me some in. I’m sorry.” And he gave me some ins without giving me everything, and I went, “Oh, my God, it’s so good.” I loved it. He said, “Megan lives in her own universe. Megan is a part of the story, but she seems very separate from the story.” She’s a middle-class housewife who’s a flight attendant, she gets into a lot of trouble and is keeping a big, fat secret, and she’s the most sincere/worst friend possible. Her intentions are good, but what comes out of her is a whole other thing. That’s pretty much what I had to go on. Plus, I knew Kaley’s storyline, except for who the killer is. That’s the only thing they wouldn’t tell me. And I loved her story. I just loved it. I was like, “Oh, my gosh, a drunk flight attendant who sleeps with her first class passengers and then wakes up next to one, after she blacked out? I love it. I’m in.” That’s good stuff . . . And then, when we would get the episodes in bunches, I said, “I need more episodes.” They said, “No, we’re only giving the cast these episodes.” I said, “I don’t give a fuck! I need more episodes. This is how I work. Okay, party people? You’ve gotta tell me something.” When they finally told me the entirety of Megan’s journey, there was this gasp. My mouth dropped and I went, “I love it! I love you guys!” We were all jumping up and down and hugging, and I loved it. It’s a really nice role to play.

There are a lot of people that seem to have a lot of opinions about Cassie and her behavior. What does Megan really think of her?

PEREZ: Megan really thinks that Cassie is her best friend. She honestly thinks that and she honestly is really annoyed by her, but so entertained and lives vicariously through her wildness, that she excuses a lot of Cassie’s bad behavior. Once in awhile, she’ll give it to her, in Megan’s way, and get a little snippy with her. She’s really a delicate soul. I know that’s not how they intended it initially, but the way I saw it, and we all worked collaboratively on developing Megan, was that here’s this woman who’s menopausal, over a certain age, has a lot – has a beautiful, a great husband and a great kid – and she idolizes this alcoholic, hot mess of a flight attendant who’s probably 15 years her junior. I said, “That’s really sad and heartbreaking. I get it.” They said, “What do you mean, you get it?” I said, “None of you are menopausal. When you’re menopausal, you reassess your life. You really do. And you better have done a lot, so that you don’t feel unsatisfied when you get to that place because the hormones don’t care who you are. It’s gonna attack you.” Me, personally, I look back on my life and go, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe I did so much. This is great. I’m tired. I’m good with staying home. I’m good with being boring.” But if someone else, who never really did anything where they feel they could just kick their heels up in the sun, it’s sad. I don’t judge Megan, I feel for Megan. That’s why it was such a delight to play her. I think it’s sad, but I don’t think that Megan’s pathetic.

What was it like to actually get on set and work with Kaley Cuoco, not just as a co-star, but as an executive producer on the series, as well? What impressed you about the way that she approached the work on set?

PEREZ: She allowed everyone to play their position. I’m a sports head. I played sports when I was a kid, and I can be a really, really great team player. I can be extremely competitive, as well, in the best way possible for the team, and she has the same mind-set. She allows everyone to play their position. They did their due diligence in hiring the best people for the job and she just stepped back and let everyone do their thing, but yet you knew she was also in charge. When she had to be in charge and she had to be the heavy hand, she didn’t shy away from it, and she did it with such dignity and such fortitude. I remember one time I said, “You know, for real, you’re a bad-ass.” And she went, “Oh, Rose, coming from you, that means everything.” And I just burst out laughing and said, “Kaley, you kill me.” People don’t know how goofy she really is. She can be the boss lady and be in control, and she can do a sitcom like Big Bang Theory and have it be a hit, and then play Cassie Bowden, where she’s carrying this psychotic, dark comedy thriller, but the real Kaley Cuoco is so silly. We got along great because of that. My first day, I was very nervous with her. After the end of the scene, I go, “Oh, my God, I don’t know if that was good.” And she goes, “What?” I said, “I’m so nervous.” She goes, “But you’re Rosie Perez.” I go, “And?” And she goes, “I’m nervous, too.” I go, “Of course, you are. This is nerve wracking, what we do.” And we both fell out laughing. She goes, “Oh, my God, Rosie, I love you.” And I said, “Oh, my God, Kaley, I love you, too.” We had to stop talking and get back into character. She just burst out laughing and went back to her chair, and I went to my chair, and we got back in the zone. I loved working with her.

You also got to do Birds of Prey, which got a lot of acclaim. What did you most enjoy about getting to be a part of a movie like that and getting to see the reaction from all the people that really loved it?

PEREZ: I really loved getting to work with 87eleven, the stunt coordinating team and stunt directors. They’ve done everything from Mission: Impossible to John Wick, and I love those movies. So, walking into training for the first day, I was very, very nervous. When I saw those guys, we spoke each other’s language. I’m a fight fan, and they’re fight and action fans, so it was just hugs, all around. Unfortunately, I tore my meniscus disc in my right knee, my first day of training, which sucked. So, it was painful and I felt like I could have done a lot more action, but I was in such excruciating pain. I’m surprised I did as much as I did. But that was really exciting to me. The other exciting thing was that I got to hang out with those girls, especially Mary Elizabeth [Winstead]. She and I are still in touch. Margot [Robbie], Jurnee [Smollett] and Ella [Jay Basco], those girls really made it worth coming to work when you’re all bumped and bruised. That’s what I love. It was really those two things – the action/stunt coordinators and the rest of the ladies in the cast.

Had there been any major changes made to your character, either before you shot it or just from the edit of it?

PEREZ: That’s a question for the director. You do your job, and then the director takes it and edits it.

How do you feel overall about the experience that you had making Rise? Do you feel like that show didn’t get enough time to tell its story and find its audience, or are you happy with the story that you did get to tell with that?

PEREZ: I think that it didn’t have enough time, but I also think, to be fair, it was a little too over sentimental. I think that’s what hurt the show. Everyone kept comparing it to Glee, and that hurt the show, as well. It was a drama. It was a heavy, heavy drama. But I think that if it was given a chance for a second season, it really would have exploded, in the best way possible. Everybody was finding their rhythm and everybody was just settling into the roles and understanding that we should put a little bit more of an edge on it. It was getting in its groove, and then it didn’t get renewed for a second season, but that’s the business. I know a lot of the kids on that show, the cast members, were extremely devastated and disappointed, and they were perplexed by my reaction. I said, “Honey, I’ve been in this game for over 30 years. This is how it goes. If you’re gonna cry yourself a river, every single time something doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you’re gonna drown. We gave it its best shot, but it’s the entertainment business and the network decided to move on. Your best response is to thank the network for the opportunity and look for your next job.” I said that, especially to the younger guys. And a few of them called me back and said, “You know what? That actually really helped. That helped ease the pain.” And I said, “I’m glad.” This is a tough business. It really, really is. I didn’t have anybody telling me that until my former agent, Tom Burke, who’s now VP of casting over at Warner Bros., and he told me that straight on. He was like, “Listen, you signed up for a really tough gig,” and that helped me. I wasn’t that upset, oddly enough. I was like, “Okay, that was a great gig. That was a great experience. I met some great people and I really loved the executive producers. Now, keep moving.”

You got the opportunity to work with Alex Trebek in White Men Can’t Jump. What do you remember about filming that scene with him? What are your favorite memories of the time you spent with him?

PEREZ: I was so super nervous because I watched Jeopardy! all the time and spin over into Wheel of Fortune, no pun intended. So, I was very, very nervous and very, very intimidated and excited to meet Alex. We didn’t say hello before we started filming. We just lined up the shots and I stood behind that podium, and then out comes Alex Trebek. If you really watch it, my eyes are beaming out of my freaking head. I was like, “Oh, my god, I can’t believe this!” That’s what made me mess up. My speech impediment started to come to the surface because I was so nervous, and I was using the nervousness in the character, with Gloria. Otherwise, I would have had a panic attack. I said, Mount Suvius, which is now infamous, and I remember that my heart just sunk. I thought I was gonna vomit. I really did. And Alex Trebek, on cue, ad-libbed, “That’s incorrect, but let’s check with the judges. We will accept that answer.” We kept filming, and when they yelled, “Cut!,” everyone was laughing and I was mortified. I was like, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe that! Are we gonna do it over?” And the director (Ron Shelton) goes, “Oh, hell no! That’s in the movie.”

And then, Mr. Trebek comes up and goes, “Darling, it was a pleasure to meet you. I wish you the best on your career. You’re very funny, young lady.” And I said, “Oh, my gosh, can I give you a hug?” He goes, “Well, I was gonna ask you the same, but I’m a gentleman.” And I just bear-hugged him. I was like, “You don’t know! I can’t wait to tell my aunt and my nephew that I met you. Oh, my god!” Everyone was laughing at me. They thought I was being silly, but I was being genuine, and he knew it. He smiled at me, in such a sweet way. He was such a well-mannered, sweet man. We stood and talked for a little bit, and then he went off on his way and we were done. It was surreal.

You’ve previously talked about how you had no acting aspirations and that it was Spike Lee, who you met at a club, that changed your life. If that younger version of you could see how your career has turned out and the path that you’ve gone on since then, how do you think she would react to everything that you’ve done?

PEREZ: To be honest, I think that she would say, “My God, you had it tough.” I’m a Puerto Rican woman from Brooklyn, and the bigotry that I had to fight through was immense. If the bigotry did not exist, I would have been working a lot more. I had to turn down so many offers. I would refuse to do certain things. Everyone thinks that my career changed so easily and that, without effort, things just fell into my lap. No, honey, I worked really, really, really hard. I think she would say, “Oh, my gosh, I wouldn’t have thought it would have been that difficult,” but also, “Yay for us,” at the same time. That being said, I’m really, really, really, really happy and appreciative of all my hard work and effort, and I’m especially happy and appreciative that I have the right team that fought for me to get into those rooms. It wasn’t just me. I fired people two times, in my career. If I’m working this hard, you’ve gotta work harder. If I believe in myself this much, you’ve gotta believe in me even more. I have that team, and that makes a difference. Every time a person, regardless of their color, their nationality, or whatever, comes up to me and asks me, “Do you have any advice?,” I say, “Get the right team and work your ass off.” You can work your off, but if you don’t have the right representation, you’re not gonna do as well as you could have. And if you have the right representation, but you don’t put in the effort, you become a flash in the pan. Once the ass starts to spread, things get a little rough. You know what I’m saying?

I never feared that. My vanity is personal, in the sense that I’m vain because of my nationality. To be quite honest, we are very vain people. A lot of Puerto Ricans would say, “No, we’re not,” but yes, we are. We are obsessed with our hair and with leaving the house, looking right. I wouldn’t say all of us are obsessed with that, but the majority of us are, and our ancestry. From 5,000 years back, that’s the case. I always worried about gaining weight, being out of shape, and getting wrinkles for myself, but for my career, when I was younger, I used to say to myself, “You’re gonna get older and you might get a little pudgy. Not too fat because you’re too vain to get too fat, but you’ll roll with it.” And I did. It’s tough, in this game, to be able to do that, but I saw myself more as a character that didn’t have to have that as a priority concern, if you will.

My concern was getting better at my craft. And please note that I don’t say that with judgment toward other women. It’s just that I saw myself in a different light, as a character actress. This industry is so cruel to women. The sexism that exists is horrific, where we do feel pressured to get Botox and to work out like an insane person. That pressure is there. What I’m saying is that I don’t allow it to consume me to the point where it becomes obsessive. That’s what I wanna say. When I hang out with my friends or family members, and they make fun of an actress because they got so much work done, I just stay quiet because it hurts to hear that. I’m like, “You don’t know how hard it is for that person. You don’t understand the pressure. Why are you beating them up for it? And you know what? If they didn’t do that, you would call them a hag. Shut up. You’re so freaking hypocritical.” I let that out once at a family gathering, and never again, because I was just so annoyed, so hurt and so bothered by it. They were talking about a really fine actress and I was like, “But she’s killing it in this movie.” They were like, “Yeah, but her face don’t move,” and they were all cracking up. I just said, “Man, listen, she probably wouldn’t have been able to get that role, if she didn’t put all of this effort into the way she looks. Let’s be real. Let’s be honest.”

The Flight Attendant is available to stream at HBO Max.