Nico Santos (actor)

Last updated

Nico Santos
NationalityFilipino American
OccupationActor
Years active2013–present
Spouse
Zeke Smith
​
(m. 2023)​

Nico Santos is a Filipino-American actor [1] known for portraying Oliver T'sien in Crazy Rich Asians and sales associate Mateo Liwanag in the NBC series Superstore . [2] [3] On December 10, 2018, Santos was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. [4]

Contents

Early life

Santos was born in Manila, Philippines. Santos moved with his family to the United States when he was sixteen, settling in Gresham, Oregon. He and his brother attended Gresham's Centennial High School, where they were the only two Filipinos in attendance. In his junior year, he attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's summer seminar for high school students, where he discovered his love for theater. [5]

Santos attended Southern Oregon University because of its proximity to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He studied acting there before transitioning to costume design due to discouraging remarks from his acting teacher. [5] However, he later dropped out when he came out as gay, and his family refused to continue paying for his education. [5]

Career

Santos worked for several years in the costume department as a dresser at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. [5]

In 2001, he moved to San Francisco where he worked at various luxury retail stores in Union Square for eight years while doing stand-up comedy, often going to open mics right after work. [5] [6] He later moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a stand-up career, but found it difficult to advance due to comedy club politics. [6]

In 2012, he started appearing regularly on the late night talk show, Chelsea Lately , as a panelist while working concurrently as a restaurant host. [7] [8]

Santos transitioned his focus back to acting in 2014, when he landed a spot in the annual CBS Diversity Showcase. He originally got in as a writer, but did some acting when he substituted for another Asian actor who dropped out.

As a result of the showcase, which is presented to a slew of industry professionals which includes agents and casting directors, [9] he soon found himself being invited to more and more auditions, eventually landing him a role on the NBC comedy television show, Superstore. [6] He premiered as Mateo Liwanag, a gay, undocumented Filipino, [7] often mistaken as Mexican, [10] [11] retail store associate, on Superstore in Fall 2015. [12]

Santos performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in 2017. [5]

He had a supporting role in the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians , directed by Jon M. Chu. [13]

Santos appeared in the Off-Broadway play, Happy Talk, in spring of 2019. It is written by Jesse Eisenberg and directed by Scott Elliott. [14]

In June 2022, Santos was revealed to have been cast in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 . [15]

Personal life

Santos is gay [3] and married to Zeke Smith, [16] [17] who participated on the 33rd (Millennials vs. Gen X) and 34th (Game Changers) editions of the CBS reality game show Survivor . [17]

The couple met in June 2019 at a gala to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots—an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement: Queerty named him one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people". [18]

Santos's parents were both undocumented before becoming citizens. Santos's mother is supportive of his career and has often attended his open-mic performances. [6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Santos revealed that both his mother and stepfather contracted the virus. His stepfather died while his mother recovered. [19]

Filmography

Key
†Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2015 Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Heath
2017 The Clapper Buffet Person
2018 Crazy Rich Asians Oliver T'sien
2021 Wish Dragon Buckley (voice)
2023 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Recorder Theel
Happiness for Beginners Hugh
The Re-Education of Molly Singer Ollie
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2012-2013 Chelsea Lately HimselfTalk Show Roundtable
2014 Ground Floor Airline AttendantEpisode: "The Decision: Part Two"
Go-Go Boy Interrupted Nick4 Episodes
2 Broke Girls BarryEpisode: "And a Loan for Christmas"
2015–2021 Superstore Mateo Fernando Aquino LiwanagMain Role, 113 episodes;
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2018, 2019)
2016Noches con PlatanitoHimselfEpisode: "Lauren Ash/Nico Santos/Damiana Villa/Carlie Craig/Voces del Rancho"
2019-2020 25 Words or Less 6 episodes
2020 A Little Late with Lilly Singh Episode: "Nico Santos, Sabrina Jalees"
2020-2021 The Kelly Clarkson Show 2 episodes
2021 The Prince Robert (voice)2 episodes
2022 Tuca & Bertie Jamie (voice)2 episodes
2023 The Muppets Mayhem Jackson CanneryEpisode: "Track 10: We Will Rock You"
Hailey's On It! Jonathan (voice)Recurring role
Is It Cake? HimselfEpisode: "Body By Cake"
The Muppets Mayhem Jackson CanneryEpisode: "Track 10: We Will Rock You"
The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib Banker Baby Benny6 episodes
2024 Not Dead Yet Teddy ThompsonEpisode: "Not Owning it Yet"
After Midnight HimselfEpisode: "Billy Eichner, Nico Santos, Pete Holmes"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Shakespeare Festival</span> Repertory theatre in Oregon, United States

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary plays not limited to Shakespeare. During the Festival, between five and eleven plays are offered in daily rotation six days a week in its three theatres. It welcomed its millionth visitor in 1971, its 10-millionth in 2001, and its 20-millionth visitor in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Asian cinema</span>

Southeast Asian cinema is the film industry and films produced in, or by natives of Southeast Asia. It includes any films produced in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The majority of the films made in this region came from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia where its filmmaking industries in these countries are already well-established with film directors such as Lino Brocka, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Joko Anwar are well-known outside of the region. Notable production studios in Southeast Asia include Star Cinema, Viva Films, TBA Studios and Reality Entertainment in the Philippines, GDH 559 and Sahamongkol Film International in Thailand, Rapi Films in Indonesia, Astro Shaw in Malaysia, Encore Films in Singapore, and Studio 68 in Vietnam

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Park</span> American actor (born 1974)

Randall Park is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Louis Huang in the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aicelle Santos</span> Filipino musician

Aicelle Anne Coronel Santos-Zambrano is a Filipino singer, songwriter, pianist and actress who first emerged in the Philippine music scene as a contestant in Star in a Million. She has been known as the "First Undefeated Pinoy Pop Superstar", when she achieved eight straight wins in GMA Network's Pinoy Pop Superstar, She is an International Stage Diva who played Gigi in Miss Saigon, "Eat Bulaga's Traffic Diva", and known as the one and only "Asia's Soul Flair Songstress".

<i>Ploning</i> 2008 Filipino film

Ploning is a 2008 Philippine romantic family drama film directed by Dante Nico Garcia, who won Best Director at the 2008 Asian Festival of First Films. Based on a popular Cuyonon song of the same title about a girl's hidden feelings, the film stars Judy Ann Santos in the title role. Filming was done in the municipality of Cuyo in Palawan, Garcia's hometown. The film was the official entry of the Philippines for Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards.

Nichole Sakura is a Japanese-American actress best known for her role as Cheyenne Thompson in the NBC sitcom Superstore (2015–2021).

Amir Arison is an American actor, best known for his work as FBI tech expert Aram Mojtabai on NBC’s The Blacklist for ten seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Fisher (actor)</span> American actor

Ray Fisher is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of the superhero Victor Stone / Cyborg in the DC Extended Universe media franchise, first appearing in a cameo in the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and then in a lead role in the films Justice League (2017) and its 2021 director's cut. In television, he played roles in the third season of the crime drama series True Detective and the limited series Women of the Movement. He made his Broadway debut in the 2022 revival of the play The Piano Lesson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronny Chieng</span> Malaysian comedian and actor

Ronny Xin Yi Chieng is a Malaysian comedian and actor based in the United States. He is a senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and he created and starred in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student. He has also appeared in films such as Crazy Rich Asians and the English version of Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.

<i>Superstore</i> (TV series) American comedy television series

Superstore is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 30, 2015, to March 25, 2021. The series was created and produced by Justin Spitzer. Starring America Ferrera and Ben Feldman, Superstore follows a group of employees working at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box chain store in St. Louis, Missouri. The ensemble cast includes Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Sakura, Mark McKinney, and Kaliko Kauahi. A Spanish-language adaptation, titled Supertitlán, debuted on the Mexican television network Azteca 7 on May 30, 2022.

<i>Superstore</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Superstore, the U.S. television series, was ordered on January 14, 2015. The series was picked up by NBC on May 7, 2015. It debuted on November 30, 2015, with a two-episode premiere. The series was created by Justin Spitzer, who also serves as an executive producer. The season ended on February 22, 2016. The first season originally had an episode order of 13 episodes, but it was later trimmed by NBC to 11 episodes due to scheduling, and The Voice returning to schedule.

<i>Superstore</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of Superstore, the U.S. television series, was ordered on February 14, 2017. The season premiered on September 28, 2017, and contained 22 episodes. The series continues to air in the same timeslot Thursday at 8:00 PM, though the episode "Christmas Eve" aired on Tuesday, December 5. The season concluded on May 3, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asia Kate Dillon</span> American actor (born 1984)

Asia Kate Dillon is an American actor. They are known for their roles as Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black and Taylor Mason in Billions. Dillon identifies as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Their role on Billions is the first non-binary main character on North American television, and earned them a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. They also played the Adjudicator in the action film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

<i>Crazy Rich Asians</i> (film) 2018 film by Jon M. Chu

Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama directed by Jon M. Chu, with a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh in lead roles. The story follows Rachel, a Chinese-American professor, who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick and is shocked to discover that Nick's family is among the wealthiest in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Golding</span> British actor (born 1987)

Henry Ewan Golding is a British actor. He began his career as a television presenter before being known for his film work. He has starred in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), the thriller A Simple Favor (2018), the action comedy The Gentlemen (2019), as well as playing the title character in the action-adventure Snake Eyes (2021), and appearing in the ensemble cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024). He worked as a presenter on ESPN, the BBC and Discovery Channel Asia before refocusing on acting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Michael Smith</span> American actor (born 1983)

Brian Michael Smith is an American actor and LGBT advocate. He is known for playing Paul Strickland in 9-1-1: Lone Star.

<i>Superstore</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of Superstore, the U.S. television series, was ordered on February 21, 2018. The season premiered on October 4, 2018 and contained 22 episodes. The series continued to air in the same timeslot Thursday at 8:00 pm. The season concluded on May 16, 2019.

<i>Superstore</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of Superstore, the U.S. television series, was ordered on March 4, 2019 and filming began in August 2019. The season premiered on September 26, 2019 on NBC. The series continues to air on its Thursday at 8:00 PM timeslot. The season was set to contain 22 episodes, but production was shut down after the completion of the 21st episode due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Superstore</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth and final season of the American sitcom Superstore was ordered on February 11, 2020, and premiered the same year on NBC on October 29. Created by Justin Spitzer, the series continues to follow a group of employees working at Cloud 9, a fictional big-box store in St. Louis, Missouri. The ensemble and supporting cast features America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Sakura, Kaliko Kauahi, and Mark McKinney.

References

  1. ↑ Chavez, Yong. "Pinoy comedian part of new NBC show 'Superstore'". ABS-CBN News.
  2. ↑ Webber, Stephanie (October 5, 2017). "Superstore's Nico Santos: Mateo Would Drive Me Nuts in Real Life". Us Weekly.
  3. 1 2 Ermac, Raffy (September 21, 2016). "'Superstore's' Nico Santos Wants You to Know Diversity on TV Is Important". pride.com.
  4. ↑ Hammond, Pete (December 10, 2018). "Critics' Choice Awards Nominations: 'The Favourite' Tops with 14, 'Black Panther' A Marvel, 'First Man' Rebounds; 'The Americans' Leads TV Series". Deadline.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How Nico Santos went from a Gresham 'band of freaks' to NBC and comedy". The Oregonian. April 22, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Jung, E. Alex (January 10, 2018). "Nico Santos on His Superstore Breakthrough and Crazy Rich Asians". Vulture. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Nico Santos on 'Hitting The Lottery' with 'Superstore' & 'Crazy Rich Asians' Sequel | In Studio , retrieved January 7, 2020
  8. ↑ Lambe, Stacy (March 8, 2018). "'Superstore' Scene-Stealer Nico Santos Proves He's More Than a Shady Queen (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  9. ↑ Fernandez, Maria Elena (November 10, 2017). "CBS Diversity Showcase Was a Racist, Homophobic Mess for Years, Participants Say". Vulture. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Magazine Profile". Superstore. Season 1. Episode 2. November 30, 2015. NBC.
  11. ↑ "Shots and Salsa". Superstore. Season 1. Episode 3. December 28, 2015. NBC.
  12. ↑ Lowry, Brian (November 24, 2015). "TV Review: 'Superstore'". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  13. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (May 16, 2017). "'Superstore's Nico Santos Boards 'Crazy Rich Asians'".
  14. ↑ Clement, Olivia (March 27, 2019). "Crazy Rich Asians' Nico Santos Joins Susan Sarandon and Marin Ireland in Jesse Eisenberg's Happy Talk". Playbill. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  15. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (June 14, 2022). "'Crazy Rich Asians' & 'Superstore' Actor Nico Santos Joins 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3'". Deadline. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  16. ↑ Santos, Nico [@nicosantos] (February 14, 2022). "I feel so lucky I get to kiss this man..." – via Instagram.
  17. 1 2 Greene, Jordan (November 6, 2023). "Nico Santos and Zeke Smith Are Married! Inside Their 'Silly, Bougie' Wedding in Palm Springs (Exclusive)". People Magazine. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Queerty Pride50 2019 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  19. ↑ Malkin, Marc (April 24, 2020). "'Superstore' Star Nico Santos Remembers Stepfather Who Died of COVID-19". Variety. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.