Cesar Perez: Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor, Aspiring Hollywood Actor, Best-Selling Author of Chase the Light

<div>In one devastating blow, dreams are shattered. Although this week’s Team Never Quit guest, Cesar Perez, went from rising Hollywood star to miraculously surviving a head-on collision with a drunk driver, he shines brightly with the resilience of the human spirit. Cesar starred alongside Daniel Ratcliff (Harry Potter) in the action thriller <em>Beast of Burden</em> for which he also did graphic design work. He was also cast as a major lead character Javier in the action thriller <em>Blind Trust</em>. Despite his severe brain injury, having his face shattered, and learning how to breathe, walk, and talk again, Cesar lives a life of courage and shows us firsthand that even in the darkest of moments, life has meaning.</div> <br> <div><strong>In this episode you will hear:</strong></div> <ul> <li>I did a video tape audition that got me a role with Daniel Ratcliff {Harry Potter}. My life was really on the rise.</li> <li>I was driving to see my girlfriend when a drunk driver hit me head-on going over 70mph. He spun me around and then a big rig hit me – also going 70mph, and then I don’t remember anything for the next 2 weeks.</li> <li>If life had a reset button, I must have pressed it.</li> <li>I was making a statement with my life and then it got cut abruptly.</li> <li>I thought if I can get out of this, there’s nothing I can’t do.</li> <li>The first thing I said to the guy that hit me was “the last thing I ever wanted to see is someone from my country behind bars.”</li> <li>I wanted my life back and no one could give me that back.</li> <li>Talking and facing that demon helped me put the period at the end.</li> <li>My family never left me – they showed me what true love actually is. That was the love that got me through it.</li> <li>My family’s sacrifice gave my life meaning when my life felt meaningless.</li> <li>Once I could finally run, I thought “I’m gonna do more”, and that’s what got me back to where I am.</li> <li>The drive I had as a kid is more intense now. It was running hot, but now it’s running with a d