For the first time in 28 years, Academy Award-nominated actress Rosie Perez is going back to the Oscars. Perez’s name was among the first group of stars confirmed to serve as an Oscar presenter at the 94th annual awards show.
Last year, Perez, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1994 for her supporting role in the film Fearless, said that over the last nearly three decades, she was saddened by the fact that the Academy never once invited her back to the ceremony.
“Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing – and I’m a member,” Perez told Variety in 2021. “I love the Academy Awards. I cheer on my peers, but it hurts. It’s like when your home team doesn’t ask you to come back into the stadium after you got up to bat and hit the home run.”
Along with Perez, some of the other actors who were revealed as presenters included Oscar winners Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves), Lady Gaga (A Star is Born), and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari), and actors Zoë Kravitz (The Batman), and Chris Rock (Top Five).
“Movies inspire us, entertain us and unite us across the globe,” said Oscars co-producer Will Packer. “That’s the precise goal of the show this year, and we’re thrilled to welcome the first of a stellar lineup joining the Oscars stage to help us celebrate the power of film and honor the year’s best in filmmaking.”
The 94th annual Academy Awards take place March 27 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. The ceremony will be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes.
