12 Little Known Facts About The Late Chance Perdomo
Actor Chance Perdomo died in March 2024 from a motorcycle accident. He was known for his roles in popular streaming series like Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and Amazon Prime Video's "Gen V." Though he initially intended to study law after graduating from high school, Perdomo took a chance on acting, moving to London and training in the craft. His start came on British television with roles in the children's drama series "Hetty Feather" and the long-running crime show "Midsomer Murders."
The actor's breakthrough role was that of Ambrose Spellman, Sabrina's pansexual warlock cousin in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." This marked his move to American television and he continued to appear in other popular franchises, like the "After" movies. His time on "The Boys" spin-off series "Gen V" put another significant series under his belt, allowing him to showcase his talents to new audiences and continue to secure his place in the industry.
At the time of his death aged just 27, the actor was on his way to Toronto to film the second season of "Gen V." In remembrance of his life and work, here are some little known facts about Chance Perdomo.
Acting helped him focus his energy as a child
Though he didn't decide to pursue acting professionally until after school, Chance Perdomo explored his talents as a child as a way to focus his energy. "I have a lot of energy. I used to get into trouble a lot when I was younger," he shared with The Last Magazine. "When I discovered acting I was able to focus my energy obsessively, actually. My grades kicked up. My social skills kicked up."
The actor believed that if you can help a child find their passion, it can change their life. At the Identity School of Acting, Perdomo continued to hone his focus. The school's philosophy of knowing yourself helped him to really focus on his characters. The idea of "finding who you are, knowing who you are, so you can stand aside and bring the character forward" is what Perdomo utilized for every role.
His time in training helped him learn how to get out of his head. He revealed that he used to listen to a certain piece of classical music over and over if he ever got stuck while preparing for a role. The first time he tried this as a remedy, he knew right away that he was onto something. "It calmed me down and I kept listening to it," he recalled. "I was like, 'Holy s***, it works.'"
He tried to change perspectives with his acting
Chance Perdomo had three questions he asked himself for every project. This approach helped him ensure that he portrayed the role to the fullest. The first question was if he was serving the character. "If you can understand what drives your character, your audience can too," the actor said during his interview with The Last Magazine. This involved figuring out their emotions. In some cases, like when he played Jerome Rogers in "Killed by My Debt," this included visiting areas and establishments the person went to during their life or studying different speech patterns.
Perdomo then questioned whether he was serving the story as an actor. Finally, he combined those two questions, asking if the character was serving the story. By asking these questions along the way, he felt that he wasn't just filling a role — he was doing something more meaningful than just playing a part. "There's no point in just ranting at someone, but if you can connect with them emotionally, and have them think outside their peripheral vision to somewhere else, then that can change perspectives," Perdomo said in a BAFTA Breakthrough Brits interview, speaking to his intentions as an actor.
He looked up to Marlon Brando, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis
Like many other young actors, Chance Perdomo had professional peers he looked up to. He thought everyone who wants to be an actor should watch Denzel Washington and Marlon Brando. Speaking to Backstage, he said that Brando's performance in "The Godfather" is "just gold." He also mentioned Daniel Day-Lewis, citing all three as "acting heroes" for him, though for slightly different reasons. "Daniel Day-Lewis is on a whole other level," Perdomo continued. "He's like, method acting to the very top of where you can take it." He noted that Washington and Brando "are more on the accessible type of acting," lining up more with his three-fold method of acting where "you have to be yourself and the character together."
Perdomo would have loved the chance to play Washington's son on screen, he once admitted. The late actor auditioned to play Jughead Jones in "Riverdale," a character made famous by Cole Sprouse. When asked by PopBuzz who he thought could have played Jughead's parents if he had landed the role, he immediately answered with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. He joked later in the interview that his familiar would be "Denzel Brown," a combination of Denzel Washington and singer James Brown.
He served on the BAFTA Film Committee
Chance Perdomo earned a television BAFTA nomination for leading actor for his role in "Killed by My Debt." While he ultimately lost out to Benedict Cumberbatch for his role in "Two Cities," the youngster clearly made a big impression on the higher-ups at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Perdomo was named a Breakthrough Brit by the organization in 2019, and he later became a member of the BAFTA Film Committee. According to the BAFTA website, their various committees "oversee key areas of the organization's global activity."
Perdomo announced his involvement in March 2022 on Instagram, confirming he would be a committee member through May 2023. He spoke highly of his involvement with the organization during an interview with Numéro Netherlands. "What they're doing definitely ripples through the zeitgeist of the industry and it was a pleasure to play a small role and to see how it all unfolds," the actor said. "I'd love to continue and build upon my relationship with BAFTA as the years progress. They're truly at the forefront of the industry (on this side of the pond)."
He was training to pursue action movies
Chance Perdomo was looking ahead in his career at the time of his death, making plans with his team on what types of projects he wanted to tackle next. The actor hoped to do "hard hitting drama" and "large scale action" in the future, noting that this was what he was "pushing for creatively" to Numéro Netherlands. While Perdomo had his eyes locked on specific genres, he was open to what those projects may look like, adding that it was okay if they took "the form of large budget studio productions or taking things of a more independent nature to market."
He was also adding skills to his resume to achieve that goal. As of February 2024, Perdomo was "training to better allow the insurance of whichever production I work on to subsequently allow me to do that." While he didn't specify what type of training that was, it could be he was taking different action or stunt classes or genre workshops. Speaking in a Prime Video promo spot for "Gen V," Perdomo's castmate Derek Luh revealed that their fellow cast member Asa Germann "did all of his own stunts" during the first season of "Gen V." This might have opened up the possibility for Perdomo to do something similar in the series.
He was Team Narvey on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Like many teen dramas, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" encourages fans to pick which love interest they believe should be the endgame for the main character. In this case, it is whether Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) should be with her human boyfriend Harvey (Ross Lynch) or warlock Nick (Gavin Leatherwood). Chance Perdomo had two ideas on how the main romance in "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" should end that he shared with PopBuzz.
He said that his character Ambrose would think that Harvey is a "lovely, lovely young man," and would root for Sabrina and Harvey to be together. He noted that Ambrose knows a lot about Nick and that he, as Sabrina's cousin, might be uncomfortable with Nick's age, which he isn't entirely sure of. As such, Perdomo believed his character would lean towards Harvey as Sabrina's romantic interest. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he commented that Harvey and Nick each represent one of her halves, arguing they should "transmogrify them into one being."
However, the actor himself was on Team Narvey, a ship name Perdomo used while speaking with PopBuzz to refer to the relationship between Harvey and Nick. He further encouraged fans to start writing fanfiction about the two characters. While shipping Sabrina's two love interests together, he did not say if he thought Sabrina should be with a different character or focus on herself.
He had some social media controversy
In the fall of 2023, Chance Perdomo faced controversy over his Twitter likes and who he followed on Instagram. Fans noticed his official Twitter account liked tweets from Andrew Tate, a podcaster known for his misogynistic views, along with tweets that seemed to support the anti-vaccination movement, among other controversial views. On Instagram, his official account was following several accounts associated with the alt-right movement.
Fans on Reddit were concerned, especially considering the types of characters he portrayed and the projects he was involved with. In a since-deleted statement on his Instagram, the actor condemned the likes and follows. He confirmed that he and his team were looking into the "recent mismanagement of [his] Twitter & Instagram handles" and that "the operator in charge of social engagement & audience growth has since been fired." He reinforced that the likes and follows did not "reflect [his] personal beliefs or viewpoints."
Previously in his career, Perdomo spoke of how social media plays a part in the casting process. "Both unfortunately and fortunately, you can now get quite a lot of clout through things like Instagram followers," he commented to Gentleman's Journal. "I know people who have lost out on jobs because they didn't have enough followers. Even if you're neck-and-neck on acting ability, it'll go to the one with 1,000 more followers."
He reconnected with his biological father when he became famous
Family is a significant part of Chance Perdomo's life. "My family are my world," he shared with MTV Impact. "To spend any time with them as much as possible, it's so fulfilling." He sees his mother as a "best friend and confidant" because she had him when she was young. The actor sometimes took his mom with him on the red carpet, as featured in a photograph on his Instagram. While speaking to Heatworld, he commented that the best part of his day was "seeing his family," answering immediately and confidently.
Perdomo's love for his family came up in almost every interview the actor ever did, highlighting how happy they made him and how close he and his mother were. He told MTV Impact that while he didn't know his biological father well growing up, they had reconnected as part of Perdomo being "more vulnerable and emotional." He said: "Since then, I've been able to be more in touch with myself and my emotions." He kept further details about their relationship private.
He loved listening to Sheryl Crow
When asked by MTV Impact how he relaxes, Chance Perdomo answered with several methods. He noted that he had "a lot of energy" and was "always moving," leading him to use meditation or the gym as a way to combat stress. If he wasn't doing physical activity, he was breathing and listening to famed American country-rock singer Sheryl Crow. "The greatest hits of Sheryl Crow usually makes me cry," the actor shared in the interview. "I actually quite like having a cry at the end of a bad day. It will usually be me doing the dishes or something, Sheryl Crow will be playing, and I'll be sobbing, but with a smile."
In another interview with Nylon from 2019, Perdomo went into detail about his end of day routine. Part of being alone in the evening for him was getting settled into bed and watching Marvel Cinematic Universe videos on YouTube. However, this often led to him going down a rabbit hole, with the algorithm feeding him videos about conspiracy theories and childbirth before he had to reset and go back to Marvel videos.
He once told his mom he wanted to be President of the United States
Chance Perdomo had several different career aspirations in his youth, just like most kids. While we know he originally intended to study law before following his passion for acting, when he was only a toddler, he expressed major political aspirations to his mother.
Perdomo is a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom, having been born in Los Angeles before spending his childhood in Southampton, England. "When I was about two years old, I told mum I wanted to be two things," the actor stated in his BAFTA Breakthrough Brit video. One of them was being in the children's TV show "Barney & Friends." The other? "I said, 'I want to be the first Black President of the United States."
While Perdomo did not pursue a career in politics, that didn't stop him from having a vested interest in the topic. "I can talk about socio-political issues for hours," he shared with Heatworld. "I can riff on American politics for days." He also liked speaking about racial inequality and equal representation.
Ross Lynch taught him to let things be
As part of his de-stressing routine, Chance Perdomo tried "to understand that everything is transient," that different times "come and go," and that he had to "just be" as he moved through life. He credited his "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" co-star Ross Lynch, who played Sabrina's amiable boyfriend Harvey, as someone who is "very, very, very good" at letting things be. "I learn a lot just from being with the dude," the actor commented to MTV Impact.
In addition to his co-star helping him in this way, Perdomo looked to his peers for artistic inspiration and made plenty of memes about his cast mates. "I make memes about everything and anything," he stated during his interview with Nylon. "I make memes of Kiernan [Shipka], I make memes of Gavin [Leatherwood], I make memes of Ross, I make memes of everybody — no one's safe." Many of these memes "never see the light of day," he added.
He had bagel dates with one of his Gen V co-stars
The cast of "Gen V" spent plenty of time together when they filmed the first season of the show, decamping to Toronto for four months. Part of that time for Chance Perdomo included getting bagels with Lizze Broadway, the actor behind Emma, the supe with the ability to change her size. In a series of behind the scenes interviews released by Prime Video, Perdomo commented that "Lizzie is a gem" and shared their bagel ritual. "We get bagels every other week," he revealed.
It's not clear if this was only during filming or if the actors kept it up after production wrapped. Perdomo continued praising his co-star in the featurette, noting that he thought he and Broadway would be "tight for a good long time" after working together on the spin-off series. Broadway paid tribute to Perdomo after his death on Instagram, writing, "Chance possessed so many interpersonal gifts that I treasured deeply. He was a vital part of my growth as an individual, his gentle spirit lifting me up when I needed it most."