2022 Rewind: 'Minx' Star Taylor Zakhar Perez Thinks His Mom Would Be Shocked by his Part on Cheeky Series

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"Guys, am I draping my penis over the fire pole or what?" asks Shane, played by Taylor Zakhar Perez on "Minx," the new HBO Max series. His question comes towards the end of the show's opening episode when Zakhar-Perez is posing with only a fireman's vest standing next to a pole, his lengthy endowment all but hugging it.

This isn't, though, a contemporary calendar shoot; rather, it is the late 1970s, and the place is the LA home for a number of adult magazines. And Zakhar-Perez is making history, of sorts. His photo will be the featured centerfold in a new magazine aimed at women that will feature nude males.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, the story of "Minx" is based upon that of such titles as "Viva" and "Playgirl," which mixed feminist messages with full-frontal male nudes. It was a formula that worked: At the peak of its success, Playgirl sold around 1.5 million copies a month.

The show is part of the trend to normalize male nudity on the tube, at least on shows seen on streaming services.

" 'Minx' follows in the footsteps of shows like 'Euphoria' and 'Pam & Tommy' in its use of nudity, especially of the full-frontal male kind. In the pilot, there is a montage of naked men as the characters search for a centerfold model," writes MamaMia.com in an interview with lead actress Ophelia Lovibond.

"The series is about a porn magazine, so the nudity is not unexpected. And while explicit, the scenes never feel gratuitous or there for shock value.

"Intimacy coordinators were on set to make sure everyone was safe, secure and supported, and centerfold model Shane (Taylor Zakhar Perez) wears a prosthetic penis."

"It was all approached very professionally," Lovibond said.

The 30-year old Zakhar Perez likened Shane to an iconic character from a show set in the period – "Kelso in 'That '70s Show,' noting that the Ashton Kutcher character shares a similar unexpected emotional depth," reports Entertainment Weekly in an interview.

"When [people] see a stereotypical dumb blonde or dumb jock, they go straight to [thinking] they don't have emotion, they don't understand the world, they're unintelligent," Perez told EW. "I knew from the beginning that he wasn't that. The biggest thing was grounding him, making him likable, and also playing against the line."

Acknowledging that the nudity is part of an emerging trend, Zakhar-Perez said: "I'm all for it. If the project and the scenes call for it, why not? 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."

Calling Shane a "70s snack," the role marks something of a change for Zakhar-Perez, who more recently played Marcos on Netflix's hit films, "The Kissing Booth 2" and "The Kissing Booth 3." "It's funny going from playing a 17-18 year old kid a few years ago and being in a different type of project."

"The show is very scandalous," he added. "I think it's going to be exciting, fun, and just like a 'wow' moment... 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," Perez said with a laugh. "But I think when my mom sees it is when I will be a little freaked out."

Check out pics from Zakhar-Perez's IG: