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Fil-Am in 'Superstore' talks about coming out, politics

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Balitang America

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lnUMLHVIrww?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></figure>The role of Mateo in NBC&#x27;s hit show &quot;Superstore&quot; is considered as groundbreaking as an open gay Asian character.A little flamboyant, and Nico Santos is mighty fine with that.&quot;Just because a gay person is feminine or a lesbian is masculine, does not make them less [of a person]. That&#x27;s a whole, you know, color and diversity of the gay community and we shouldn&#x27;t shy away from that,&quot; said Santos.You may not have guessed it, but the outspoken actor did not come out of the closet until he moved to the US.&quot;I had to come out to my mom over the phone because she was still in the Philippines. And I called my mom. I remember this, I was a senior in high school when I called my mom and I was like, &#x27;Mom, I&#x27;m gay.&#x27; And she was like, &#x27;Oh, I thought we talked about this last year already,&quot; he recalled.Another big win for Mateo of &quot;Superstore&quot; is he&#x27;s the first undocumented Asian character on national TV.<ul class="op-related-articles" title="Read">	<li>READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/24/16/superstore-reveals-undocumented-pinoy-character">&#x27;Superstore&#x27; reveals undocumented Pinoy character</a></li></ul>&quot;A lot of them are Filipinos, a lot of undocumented people are from our community and it&#x27;s important to sort of portray them in this light, that we&#x27;re all contributing members of society. We pay our taxes, we just wanna have the same opportunities as everybody else. We came here for the American dream,&quot; he said.To Donald Trump, who made the immigration issue one of his battle cries, he has this to say: &quot;He has this vision in his head that all immigrants are rapists and murderers. We&#x27;re, in fact, probably the hardest working people in this country,&quot; he said.Kidding aside, Santos&#x27; political knowledge also includes the Philippines. &quot;We&#x27;ll see how this plays out, but I hope it all turns out well for everybody,&quot; he said of the current administration.Just like the actors, &quot;Superstore&quot; tackles many issues with a wink and a smile. There are many fun episodes coming up including an election special, where Santos gets to speak more Filipino.Santos has come a long way but he still has not forgotten his Filipino roots, especially food.&quot;Actually, anything ube. Ube is my comfort food,&quot; he admitted.He also came upfront about his favorite Filipino actress.&quot;Well I remember growing up, Sharon Cuneta. I was like, &#x27;Oh my god, I love her movies. Sharon and Gabby Concepcion,&#x27;&quot; he recalled.

The outspoken actor did not come out of the closet until he moved to the US.