On Friday night, Dominican actor Manny Pérez received the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Dominican Film Festival in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood, home of the festival, Pérez's youth and Pérez's present.

The Third Annual Dominican Film Festival runs from June 18-22. As part of the festival's "1,000 Friends of the Dominican Film Festival: Spring Soiree" celebration, Armando Guareno, festival executive director and curator, presented Pérez with the prestigious award at Washington Heights' Vacca Grill & Lounge.

"I've known Manny for over 20 years, and he has always been very supportive, not only of the Dominican community, of the Latino community in general," Guareno told Latin Post at the event. "I really respect his work. I been working as a film curator and film festival director for over 20 years, and I think Manny is one of the most flexible actors nowadays working in Hollywood."

"Flexible" may be an understatement in describing Pérez. He's been in about 60 films, shorts and television series since the '90s including 2006's "Bella," 2009's "La Soga" and Showtime's "Homeland."

"I'm a little nervous because it's such a big title, but it feels great," Pérez told Latin Post Friday before receiving the award. "Being Dominican, this part of the Dominican Film Festival, I feel like [it's] a big honor for me to be involved, to be looked at as like, 'Oh wow, you're getting something for your lifetime.' I'm not even halfway in my lifetime. I'm very grateful."

It's not just Pérez's diverse acting background that got him the award, however. Pérez, who was born in the Dominican Republic, came to Washington Heights as a kid and continues to live there today. In fact, in 2002 he produced, wrote and starred in "Washington Heights," further solidifying his connection and commitment to the neighborhood and also earning him the 2002 Best Actor Award at the Milan International Film Festival. Because of this, Pérez outshone other Dominican stars like Zoe Saldana ("Avatar"), who grew up in New York City, and Judy Reyes ("Scrubs," "Devious Maids"), a Bronx native.

"... the idea of choosing Manny was because he's so pro-Dominican," Guareno explained. "He's so pro-Washington Heights. He's a really big star, but he still has his apartment ... here in Washington Heights so I think he deserves it. We didn't choose the person because how big or small that person is in Hollywood. It's [based on] how connected to the Dominican community the person is."

"I think its quite interesting to have a ... Dominican artist stand out the way Manny has and be able to put us on the map the way he has," Soledad Hiciano, event attendee and executive director of the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, told Latin Post. "He really is trying to make headways into dramatic filmmaking that can put us on the next level of being recognized as being Dominican American artists that are in the United States trying to break into the business and be ... able to get better roles."

Receiving the award in his own neighborhood was "special" to Pérez. Perhaps his dedication to his people comes from his family, who he says teaches its members to follow Dominican culture and keep traditions alive, no matter where they go.

"The truth is I feel like my people have grounded me, and my work is grounded here," he said. "... I know a lot of actors that move out to a different area, then they lose that identity. They start doing roles that have nothing to do with what they are, what made them. So I feel like hey, I love my neighborhood. I love my culture. I love my people. I love my food. I love my apartment."

It's no secret that some minorities in Hollywood forgo sticking to their "identity" in an effort to avoid being typecast. When it comes to Pérez, who admits he's "always sort of the bad guy ... with a heart," enhancing different dimensions of his characters prevents this.

"I don't really believe that 'typecast' really is such a thing," he said. "I don't think it exists. I think people lock themselves into this type, but you can come out of it by showing different layers, what you can do to that 'type.' That's how I look at it."

Pérez has indeed perfected playing the multi-layered bad guy, making appearances in many crime shows like "Person of Interest," "Criminal Minds," "Cold Case," and "Law & Order," just to name a few.

"[The bad guy] is not always the same guy," Pérez explained. "... That's the beauty of just being human. You don't know why people do what they do, but they do."

Fans of the actor have no complaints of his bad guy repertoire.

"I think he's a very sincere actor; it plays out in every role that he does," Hiciano said. "He takes on every single role, and he just plays it out in such a way that you believe it from beginning to end. I think that's what I admire most about him and also what sets him apart from a lot of the other actors out there. I think that what might be what gets him over ..."

"Greencard Warriors"

Pérez's latest film "Greencard Warriors" premiered on March 28 and will be featured at New York City International Film Festival's Latino Film Day on May 31, as well as the Dominican Film Festival.

"For me, as a film festival director and curator, I think it's one of the most well-acted films that I've ever seen in the last 10 years; especially Manny's acting is beautiful," Guareno said. "It is one of his best works."

In the powerful movie, Pérez plays Jesus, a father from El Salvador who allowed his son to enter the U.S. Military in the hopes of obtaining greencards, a U. S. government promise that becomes broken upon his son's death.

"Emotions-wise I couldn't prepare for that because I read the script and I couldn't stop the emotions coming out," Pérez said of the role.

"Greencard Warriors" is especially appropriate for the Dominican Film Festival as it highlights a festival theme of connecting viewers to the various cultures, stories and struggles of Latinos.

"We are all immigrants," Pérez explained. "This country's all built on immigrants. That's what this country about: dreams. ... Everyone's getting deported for just little things. People are trying to close the border [when undocumented immigrants] are just trying to find a better life for their family."

Pérez also compared the high rate of Latino immigration to that of the Irish from the 1800s-1920.

"Now its like the Latinos [are doing it], and all of a sudden it's like the worlds gonna end. People got to look at that again and figure it out," he continued. "I hope 'Greencard Warriors' just opens the discussion. That's it. Because I don't think things are gonna change overnight. ... Let's talk about The DREAM Act, lets talk about it. That's it. That to me is good enough."

Check out Pérez in "Greencard Warriors" and other great pieces from Dominicans at the Dominican Film Festival next month, because as Guareno said, if you haven't seen Dominican cinema yet, you're "missing everything." Afterwards, keep your eyes on Pérez because although he has a Lifetime Achievement Award, he's not done achieving.

"If I keep working I'll be a happy fella," he said. "When I'm not on set is when I'm miserable. When I'm on set, I'm like 'Yay!'"

---

Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.