A Quote by Nico Santos
The fact that I get to play a queer Filipino on television and another queer character in 'Crazy Rich Asians' is huge. I never thought I'd have a career being myself. I always thought that being an actor in Hollywood meant that I would have to put that side of me on the back burner.
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People often ask me why I choose to primarily play queer characters, and my answer is that as a queer man, I choose to align myself with projects in which I can be of service for a purpose greater than myself: to be for an audience of queer people of color, something I didn't have the privilege of seeing as a young man.
I'm queer - and queer, to me, is not being stuck in a binary and being kind of fluid.
I auditioned for 'Crazy Rich Asians' four times and it was very, very hard for me to not get it, because it was like, these 'Crazy Rich Asians' people were the cool kids and I was the one being left out.
A lot of artists I like end up being queer. Or maybe it's a subconscious thing that you can identify of, like, 'Oh this person understands the nuances of the romantic narrative of a queer person, or the social narrative of a queer person.' And then you discover, lo and behold that they are a queer person.
I read everything and anything related to being queer. I found solace in reading authors like Audre Lorde and bell hooks, who would become my activist staples - their words helped me grow up and taught me how to be bold and courageous. By studying them, I came to understand that being young and queer and black would not be easy.
I never imagined myself as an actor who would be in films. I always only thought of myself being in a play or a musical.
I was on MTV's 'Real World' at the time when 'Queer Eye' came out. I remember, the first time I won an award, I got the award, and they were like, 'It's a tie! With 'Queer Eye!'' I never thought that I would one day follow in their footsteps.
I never thought in a million years I'd be involved in a project that celebrated the fullness of my identity of being queer and Asian.
When I first started to write, I was aware of being queer, but I didn't write about it. Queer poems would probably not have been accepted by the editors I sent them to.
I never thought an opportunity like 'Crazy Rich Asians' would ever come my way.
I think, in general, straight actors should be able to play queer roles just as much as queer actors should be able to play straight roles. I think the reason why the debate is there is because we haven't had enough queer actors being cast in anything. People are in need of that representation in general.
After the 'Fallon' set, I had a lot of queer people message me about how much it meant to see a queer perspective on late night TV.
Eventually, if your career goes higher and higher, that's just how it is, but it's a little frightening. When I was younger and I thought about being an actor, I thought of the old Hollywood style of glamour, and that was so beautiful and appealing to me. Now, if you want to be an actor, it's not the same.
I am pansexual as I actually remember also being attracted to women as well and thinking that maybe this like, thing where I was attracted to men was just like some weird phase or if it was something I could just ignore. My mom is queer and I have a queer uncle. So, I wasn't completely, you know, shielded from queer representation.
The fact that I am a Filipino actor playing a Filipino role is crazy. Filipinos are the second largest Asian minority in the United States, and we're hardly represented in the media and on television.
The fact that I'm able to portray these complex, fully realized, queer Asian characters? I never thought it would be in this position. You just never see those types of characters and that type of representation.
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