TV host, founder of Heart Break Anonymous, and co-host of the “I Don’t Get It” podcast, Naz Perez has been a trailblazer in the entertainment and entrepreneur industries.
Spotlight sat down with Perez to hear all about her career journey, challenges, favorite celebrity moments, award show predictions, and so much more.
What sparked your interest in the entertainment industry?
I’ve always known that I wanted to interview people. Ever since I was little, I would watch the local news station interview actors in movies and I thought ‘God, I would love to talk to someone after I see a movie that inspires me.’
What sparked my interest in the entertainment industry was my love for people and curiosity about why people do things and what lights them up. I wanted to see how I could be a connector—a bridge—to help inspire others watching.
How did you get your start working in the entertainment industry? What challenges did you face at the beginning of your career journey?
I majored in Broadcast Journalism and thought I wanted to be a sports broadcaster but figured out right before I graduated that I wanted to go into entertainment. I wanted to be a TV host. Instead of moving to LA to take hosting classes, go to auditions, and get an agent, I actually started in production.
I started out as a Production Assistant on the Ellen Show, and then I was a PA for E! Live From the Red Carpet. From there, I produced seven seasons of The Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise. It was on Bachelor that I realized the challenge I was facing was coming out from behind the camera and going in front of it.
You have produced and hosted television segments with E!, The Bachelor franchise, T-Mobile, and, now, Fandango. What made you decide to switch from producing to hosting? Was this challenging?
Everyone has their own journey. I really loved producing and I’m so glad I did produce because it helped me become such a better host. It was on the Bachelor that I thought ‘Wow, I moved to LA seven years ago. I really want to be a TV host.’
I took a major risk leaving that show—and I had nothing. I started working for the Dodgers. I thought people would take me seriously as a host because the Dodgers are such a well-known organization. That job completely terrified me because I never had a part-time hosting gig. And, it was live in front of 50,000 people, with no teleprompter and people yelling at you.
It was petrifying but I was so happy to do it because it was a great hosting boot camp. If you can host in a stadium, you can literally host anywhere.
The biggest challenge I faced was trying to prove to people that, yes, I was a producer, but I could host too. Thankfully the Dodgers took a chance on me and from there I was able to host on E!, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, etc. I’m grateful for the journey.
You have interviewed many celebrities including the casts of Barbie, Aquaman, and Joker. What is one of your favorite memories of interviewing celebrities?
My favorite interviews were with Batman and Barbie. Batman was the first ever 20-minute interview I did with five people at the same time. It’s kind of like you’re live because you get 20 minutes with the cast and you can’t just stop and say ‘Ahh, nevermind!’
I was really proud of myself for doing the Batman interview. I was really nervous because Batman is such a beloved character—it’s been around for like 80 years! I knew I needed to service the people who have loved Batman forever and love the comics, but also needed to come up with questions that haven’t been asked by someone else playing Batman.
So many people have played Batman: Michael Keaton, George Clooney, and Christian Bale! There was the challenge of making this different. Also, I thought, ‘How do I service the people who only care about Zoë Kravitz being Catwoman?’ and ‘How do I make everyone in the interview feel seen while keeping the conversation organic?’
What is so incredible about interviewing is that you are literally building a plane while flying it. I like to Naz-ify every interview and bring a sense of consciousness. At the time of the Batman interview, I was researching a lot about masculine and feminine energy. I thought about how Batman is masculine and Catwoman is feminine so I asked Zoë Kravtiz ‘How did you tap into your feminine for that role?’. It’s kind of scary to tap into that feminine, sexy role—Catwoman is like the sexiest superhero ever.
I was really proud of myself for asking that question because it resonated for so many people. My interviews are never about me—they’re for the fans. I just want to connect and be the bridge for so many people. The entire cast felt so seen, so for me, that’s one of my proudest moments.
Barbie was major, of course. I got one of the first exclusive interviews with the cast of Barbie. It was the highest-grossing film of the year last year. Barbie was my best friend growing up—I was like a tomboy who loved playing with Barbies, I had the bedsheets too. This film changed people’s lives. We don’t even say Hi anymore, we say ‘Hi Barbie!’
I felt like I did justice to the doll and at the same time gave the cast their flowers. I love all of my interviews, they’ve all taught me so many things, but Batman and Barbie I am especially proud of.
How did the strikes in Hollywood affect your work? How were you able to overcome these challenges?
The strikes were major! When the writer’s strike happened, I knew Hollywood was going to come to a halt. The writers are the crux of everything, they’re the heartbeat of Hollywood. I was still able to interview a few people for shows that were going on at the time.
I do remember when I went to interview the cast of The Little Mermaid, Lin Manuel Miranda wasn’t there—he wrote most of the music for that movie. It felt weird internally. I wanted everyone to be working and feel like they were being paid correctly and treated fairly.
When the actor’s strike happened, that shut down Hollywood even more. I couldn’t interview anyone but the directors. It was an interesting time, but just like any other time when the world has stopped, I used it as a time to refine my skills and be extremely grateful to do what I do.
You are also a co-host of the “I Don’t Get It Podcast” with Ashley and Lauren Laconetti from the Bachelor franchise. What is your favorite part about podcasting? Why?
My favorite part about podcasting is that Ashley and Lauren feel like my sisters—I feel like we were separated at birth. As opposed to anything else I do, I love doing a lot of research and prep for my work, but I don’t have to do that for the “I Don’t Get It” podcast. I literally just get to be Naz; I roll out of bed and don’t put on any makeup. It is such a beautifully raw, unfiltered version of m myself.
I feel so grateful and so lucky. I’m getting paid to talk to my friends. I grew up watching Seinfeld. I love Larry David and Curb Your Enthusiasm. There are so many things that we just don’t get in the world. It’s fun to pontificate those and learn about what other people don’t like. We make people feel seen through our “I Don’t Get It’s.”
You also founded Heart Broken Anonymous, a support group for those dealing with heartbreak. Why did you decide to start this community?
When I left the Bachelor, I had nothing lined up. I was unemployed. I was dating a guy at the time but it was pretty toxic. I was with someone I wouldn’t hear from for days—one of those types of situations. One day, I got a knock on my door from my neighbor. She was going through a heartbreak and didn’t know who to talk to.
She felt so much better talking to someone who didn’t know her or her situation. All of a sudden this lightbulb went off in my head and I thought ‘We’re more willing to tell strangers how we feel than our own friends and family.’
I was reflecting on my time with The Bachelor. A lot of people think The Bachelor is a dating/love show, but it’s a heartbreak show. Out of 25 people, 24 go home. What I learned sitting with people on the cast of The Bachelor, I realized it’s really about heartbreak and that’s why people love that show. It makes people feel seen.
The guy I was dating totally blindsided me and it was the greatest gift. I went into extreme heartbreak. I was like ‘Oh my god, this feels awful.’ I tried to go to therapy, but I was unemployed and didn’t know anyone else in the entertainment industry who had an extra $800 a month just to feel better.
That is when I started doing research on the definition of heartbreak, which is overwhelming distress, which is surprising because everyone thinks it’s romantic. Heartbreak is losing your dog or having a bad day or getting in a fight with your mom or being lonely.
I thought, ‘When we’re hungry we can go buy food to eat, when we want to workout we can go to the gym, when we want to read we can go to a bookstore. But, where the hell does one go when they feel heartbreak?’ There was nowhere.
I studied and went to AA and other support group meetings. So, in 2017, I started a support group for people who feel heartbreak. It’s a place where people can go so they don’t have to feel alone.
How do you see Heart Broken Anonymous evolving in the next few years?
My plan is for Heart Broken Anonymous to scale. I rely on my gut so much. I have had so many instances where people want to buy Heart Broken Anonymous or make it a TV show, but I am in such unwavering faith that when the right thing comes along, it will scale.
For now, it’s an amazing virtual and in-person system where moderators host sessions. In 2024, we’re offering three virtual meetings a month. People from all over the world join Heart Broken Anonymous meetings, which has been so beautiful and astonishing.
I host in-person meetings once a month in Venice, California. For now, those are the people that are reaching, but of course, my dream is for it to scale one day. We have a major event with O p e n coming up on February 16th in Venice for those who are feeling lonely around Valentine’s Day!
What is your favorite movie or television series right now? Why?
Succession is one of my favorite TV shows, to me, it’s one of the best-written shows of all time. It is quite literally on the list of best TV shows ever and I’m so lucky I got to watch it when it came out. I loved being able to watch a show unfold in that way. I got to interview the cast and they said that they’re encouraged to step on each other’s lives—because that’s how people actually talk. It’s so well done.
I am also watching season two of The Bear. It is 99% certified fresh on the tomato meter. All of the thirst traps of Jeremy Allen White have been so fun to watch—we love a hot chef! The Bear is such a great dramedy. It’s so real and so fun to watch.
Movie-wise, of course, Barbie! Also, Poor Things with Emma Stone. I feel like she has a really high chance of winning Best Actress at the Oscars this year for this role. Yorgos Lanthimos directed it. She also did The Favorite with him and they’re like a match made in heaven—kind of like Zendaya and Luxury Law.
It is kind of like a female Frankenstein, but I love it because it’s all about being a woman in this age, agency, empowerment, and freedom. The costumes are fire, it’s funny, it’s beautiful. It makes you feel like you’re in a Salvador Dalí painting.
What are you anticipating the 2024 award show season will be like?
This is going to be one of the most star-studded award seasons we’ve ever had. If you think of the casts in all of the movies that are nominated, it’s truly insane. You have Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling—who are literally mother and father—walking the red carpet together. Barbie has nine nominations for the Golden Globes and I think they’ll win in the newest category which is for Box Office Achievement.
Then you have Leonardo Dicaprio in Killers of The Flower Moon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, and Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, and Air with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Poor Things with Emma Stone, Past Lives with Greta Lee—there are so many incredible stories that are being championed.
It’s going to be a star-studded season.
What can we expect from you in 2024?
A major uplevel. I think this is the year of majorly up-leveling my career, relationships, friendships, and style. I want to take everything to the next level. Expect major up-leveling for Naz Perez this year!
** All images courtesy of Naz Perez.
