spolight With all the crazy tales you hear about working re-
tail, especially during the holiday season, we thought it might be the perfect time for a behind-the-scenes-look at what it’s really like. What better place to begin, then with NBC’s new smash-hit series, Superstore, starring America Ferrera (Amy), Ben Feldman (Jonah) Lauren Ash (Dina), Colton Dunn (Garrett) Nichole Bloom (Cheyenne), Mark McKinney (Glenn) and sardonic funnyman Nico Santos, who plays the ever-ambitious, scheming Mateo? Santos has taken quickly to his role as “Mateo,” creating him from scratch and making the character his own from the very first audition. The original script called for the character to have a “Latino gangster/ ghetto vibe,” but Santos knew that wasn’t in the cards for him. He is quoted as saying, “There’s no way…I’m not that much of an actor that I could pull that off. I can play butch but not that butch, okay?” Lucky for us, Santos is a master at “selling it” and
made producers see there was an even greater op- portunity, with a storyline that included such a diverse character as Mateo, an ambitious, gay, first-generation, Filipino immigrant. And, because of that diversity, Superstore has become one of those remarkable shows that manages to take on serious subjects and handle them deftly. Poking fun with humor and insight and showering levity into sometimes humorless places. Something, we are all in need of right about now. Thankfully, the outspoken Nico Santos has the wisdom and insight to face adversity and find his way out of any big box…Offering laughter for all as he does.
Tell me a little about your career so far. I understand that you began in stand-up? I did! I was working as a dresser/wardrobe assistant
at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the late ‘90s and one of the actors there kind of casually asks me if I’ve thought about doing stand-up. It didn’t really dawn on me to consider that’s something I should be pursuing and it was like a light bulb went off. Later that year, I packed my bags and moved to San Francisco and eventually started exploring the thriving, comedy scene there. I was doing stand-up in San Francisco while working in retail simultaneously, then about six years ago, I decided to take the plunge and moved to Los Angeles. It was a little harder to break through in L.A., since everyone here wants to be in entertainment, but I got lucky. After a couple of years, I started doing the round table for Chelsea Lately every few weeks or so, while working my day job at a restaurant. (Laughs) Then a couple years ago, I auditioned for theCBS Diversity Showcase and that kind of pivoted my career
Comedy has always been about being inclusive, not
exclusive and the best comedy comes from the truth and how relatable it is.”
NICO SANTOS
LIFE IN A BIG BOX SUPERSTORE’S
STORIES FROM THE INSIDE by joel martens
from stand-up to acting. I started booking small parts here and there, then eventually landed the role of Mateo onSuperstore. I’m curious, were you funny as a kid? Not really. I don’t think I started realizing
that people thought I was funny until high school, but I was never consciously a class clown or anything like that. I was a dorky kid and still am. (Laughs) I grew up in the Philippines and I played Dungeon and Dragons, video games and collected comic books. When I moved to the U.S. as a teenager, I got involved in theatre and choir
34 RAGE monthly | DECEMBER 2016
in high school. I got super into it and was in every production and concert. That’s when I discovered that I was comfortable in front of people and on a stage. Where did you get your sense of humor from? I think it just developed as a defense/ coping mechanism. I was a fat, closeted kid in high school and I moved to a completely new country as a 16-year-old, so it was a rough transition. I took comfort in comedy, because if I didn’t laugh, I would have cried. (Laughs) Seeing how people reacted
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