White Men Can't Jump star Rosie Perez on nerding out over Alex Trebek, whether she could host Jeopardy!

Watch the full episode of Couch Surfing streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.

What is an all-time great scene?

Appearing on the latest episode of PeopleTV's Couch Surfing, Flight Attendant star Rosie Perez reflected on her breakout role in the 1992 basketball classic White Men Can't Jump. For much of director Ron Shelton's film, the focus is on the hustling antics of Sidney (Wesley Snipes) and Billy (Woody Harrelson), but Perez's Gloria takes over the final act with a victorious appearance opposite the late Alex Trebek on Jeopardy!

"I thought that they were going to get an actor to play Alex Trebek," shares Perez. "On the day of filming the scene we didn't have any real rehearsal, we just started shooting and out comes Alex Trebek and my mouth dropped. And all of a sudden I was so nervous. You can see in the scene my shoulders are kind of hunched and I'm holding on for dear life because I was shaking, I was literally shaking, because I'm a nerd and watched Jeopardy! and then watched Wheel of Fortune afterwards. In this scene, I mess up the word and I say, 'What is Mount Suvius?" And I was mortified and Alex Trebek ad-libbed in that scene and said, 'Well, let's check with the judges. Yes, we will accept that answer.' And I was like, "Oh my gosh!" Then when they yelled cut I ran over to the director and said, 'We've got to do that again, I messed up.' He goes, 'Oh no, that scene is in the film.'"

The aforementioned director Shelton spoke to EW for an oral history on White Men's 25th anniversary, revealing that during casting Perez came in and made Shelton completely reimagine the role of Gloria, originally written as a white, upper-class Southern woman. "You can't invent that," he recalls of watching the actress. "That's original."

And Perez knows that the "wonderful" Trebek is an original, saying after filming they both requested a hug from the other. After the legend's death last month, the game show recently announced a string of guest hosts in lieu of immediately naming a permanent replacement. Could Perez return to Gloria's big stage?

"No," she said with a laugh on Couch Surfing. "No, I would not be a good host for Jeopardy!. It would be a pleasure and it would be an honor... but, to follow Alex Trebek, no. I think someone much more scholarly should do that, not me."

But that doesn't mean she believes Gloria wouldn't still fair well. When asked earlier this year by EW how Perez thinks her character would have done on Jeopardy's recent "Greatest of All Time" special, without hesitation, she declared, "Gloria would have blown everybody away."

Watch the clip of Perez above.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Birds of Prey star Rosie Perez on fighting hurt, refusing to be whitewashed, and winning Jeopardy!
• White Men Can't Jump: Behind the auditions, hustling, and dunks
• Watch Alex Trebek's other TV and movie appearances