Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with me,
Speaker 1: Tommy di Dario, it is always so much fun for
Speaker 1: me to have an artist on my show whose work
Speaker 1: makes so many people feel seen. That is the power
Speaker 1: of TV and film. I always say it. It's the
Speaker 1: way that a character can make someone feel, I don't know,
Speaker 1: a little less alone in the world. It's just so awesome,
Speaker 1: and that is exactly what my guest today has become
Speaker 1: known for. Anthony kay Vaughan joins my show who you
Speaker 1: most likely are currently watching in the smash hit Netflix
Speaker 1: series Exo Kitty, which just got renewed for a much
Speaker 1: deserved season three. Anthony has been portraying various roles in
Speaker 1: film and TV since five years old, but perhaps became
Speaker 1: a household name by playing raheem and unrestrained and hysterical
Speaker 1: queer student in the series Love Victor. Now in Nexokitty,
Speaker 1: his character Q also explores themes of identity within the
Speaker 1: LGBTQ plus community as he navigates his relationship with a
Speaker 1: fellow athlete. He also plays Kitty's best friend, and every
Speaker 1: line he delivers Ugh his comedic gold. He's an actor
Speaker 1: that you very much sh be keeping your eyes on
Speaker 1: because he is a rising star in Hollywood. So let's
Speaker 1: see if today we can get Anthony to say something
Speaker 1: that he has never said before.
Speaker 2: Anthony, how are you? My friend? It's so good to
Speaker 2: be with you.
Speaker 3: I'm doing good. Good to be here.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me, Happy to have you.
Speaker 1: You have so much going on, so many exciting things
Speaker 1: are happening in your life. I know there's some big
Speaker 1: news that we are fresh off of, which we're going
Speaker 1: to dive into all of that. But first of all, like,
Speaker 1: how has this whirlwind been for you? You know, the
Speaker 1: show Likes So Kiddy Season two came out. I imagine
Speaker 1: it's just like a roller coaster that you're just kind
Speaker 1: of strapped onto.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, a bit. It's very surreal. I from the beginning,
Speaker 3: I keep pinching myself because I don't know. I have
Speaker 3: like this crazy imposter syndrome. I feel like I've been
Speaker 3: doing this a long time, but every day I feel
Speaker 3: like am I supposed to be doing this? Like? Is
Speaker 3: this real? Is this actually happening? Like I'm very pessimistic
Speaker 3: about it all, but it is insane how amazing this
Speaker 3: journey has been and how successful the show has been
Speaker 3: so Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: It's so funny that such a seasoned actor and artist
Speaker 1: like yourself still feels like that, like even in the
Speaker 1: game since you were five, and you're You're like, should
Speaker 1: I be here?
Speaker 2: Like that's wild to me.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I mean, I think I've just been
Speaker 3: dealing with a lot of rejection over the years. I'm
Speaker 3: like conditioned to believe that this isn't real, this isn't happening.
Speaker 3: But I don't know, I've put in a lot of work,
Speaker 3: a lot of time, so I have to like remind
Speaker 3: myself sometimes that like it's okay to be okay with
Speaker 3: all of this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, like to allow yourself like, oh wow, I can
Speaker 1: enjoy the success because it's happening then and I'm here,
Speaker 1: and like I imagine you have to remind yourself to
Speaker 1: kind of live in that moment too.
Speaker 3: Yeah I do. I do, And like my castmates are
Speaker 3: great at reminding me, especially like she and I kind
Speaker 3: of like have the same mindset when it comes to
Speaker 3: this kind of stuff, like no way we're doing this
Speaker 3: right now, like this is this isn't happening, like that
Speaker 3: we don't deserve this, this is crazy. But then we
Speaker 3: have to like remind ourselves, like, no, no, We've worked
Speaker 3: our whole lives to be here. We are here because
Speaker 3: we are the best people for the job, and that's okay.
Speaker 3: We need to just understand that at this point.
Speaker 1: Do you think that comes from, like you said, so
Speaker 1: much rejection over the years that you just almost can't
Speaker 1: believe you are at this point of your life and
Speaker 1: point in your career, or what do you think that
Speaker 1: it stems from? Because I look at you and I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: he's been on successful shows and he's a small percentage
Speaker 1: of people actually doing it. So it's so strange from
Speaker 1: an outside perspective to hear someone like you be like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, I feel like I'm I'm suffering from
Speaker 1: imposter syndrome. More like it can be taken away because
Speaker 1: I'm like, you're in it, You're doing it.
Speaker 3: I think it's just yeah, I think it has been
Speaker 3: just I mean, for every job that I have, there
Speaker 3: are a hundred, if not a thousand no's, So it
Speaker 3: is kind of like, is this actually happening? Or I
Speaker 3: have to be very cautious with my excitement when it
Speaker 3: comes to these kinds of things, Like I've done a
Speaker 3: ton of pilots that never went to series. I've been
Speaker 3: given jobs that were actually like actually, just kidding, we're
Speaker 3: going to give it to someone else. And I've been
Speaker 3: in that position where I was the guy who was
Speaker 3: given the job after someone else has been cast. So
Speaker 3: there's just so much volatility in this industry that, like
Speaker 3: it's I try not to get excited until I'm like, actually, there,
Speaker 3: the ink is dry and I'm in front of the
Speaker 3: camera because then it's like, okay, well, at least even
Speaker 3: if they do fire me, I'll still get paid for.
Speaker 2: This, right, right. And it's self protection, right, I get it.
Speaker 1: I get that you want to guard your feelings and
Speaker 1: kind of guard your heart before you get super excited
Speaker 1: about something. I think that's relatable to people in many
Speaker 1: different professions as well. But I hope you've been taking
Speaker 1: a minute to you celebrate as much as you can
Speaker 1: everything you've accomplished, especially with XO Kitty and your entire career.
Speaker 1: I think it's really cool because you're someone who seems
Speaker 1: to find themselves in these sort of coming of age
Speaker 1: stories and they resonate in such a big way with
Speaker 1: so many people because it's so relatable. So for you,
Speaker 1: what do you love about being a part of that genre?
Speaker 2: So to speak?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I never really intended for this to happen,
Speaker 3: like so close in proximity to the last job. But
Speaker 3: I love telling these stories because there's an element of
Speaker 3: realness to them and like all of these stories, I
Speaker 3: feel someone has been in these shoes before, and it's
Speaker 3: amazing to get to like walk those same footsteps as
Speaker 3: someone else and like show that representation and be a
Speaker 3: part of this story, whether it be a queer coming
Speaker 3: of age story or just like a kid figuring their
Speaker 3: shit out? Can I cuss on your you? Can?
Speaker 2: You can say whatever you want on here.
Speaker 3: And like for some and like myself, I look up
Speaker 3: to the people that I'm working with, like if I'm
Speaker 3: putting myself in my sixteen year old shoes, like I
Speaker 3: would be watching these shows and feel seen and feel
Speaker 3: heard so and just like reading the messages that people
Speaker 3: have sent and seeing how much these performances and these
Speaker 3: stories has impacted them, it makes it so worth it.
Speaker 3: And like I don't know, again, I never saw myself
Speaker 3: in this genre growing up. I never thought like, oh
Speaker 3: I want to be doing like why shows, but they
Speaker 3: are so important and they are so needed. I feel like,
Speaker 3: so it's been really cool that I've gotten to do
Speaker 3: what I've been doing for the past few years and
Speaker 3: continuing to do it.
Speaker 1: And what's so cool about your work is I think
Speaker 1: back at some of those more coming of age stories
Speaker 1: that I grew up with, and throughout my life I
Speaker 1: can kind of pinpoint the moments that made me look
Speaker 1: back at those shows or movies and made me think like,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, I felt totally seen and like I could
Speaker 1: relate to that moment in my own life, and I
Speaker 1: think that's something people carry with them forever. So in
Speaker 1: some ways, you know, all genres are great and important,
Speaker 1: but in some ways, this genre is I think so
Speaker 1: personal for so many people.
Speaker 3: I agree and like, just like what you were saying.
Speaker 3: I get stopped sometimes by grown men who are like
Speaker 3: your performance on The Victor has resonated with me so
Speaker 3: much like and that to me is like, Wow, this
Speaker 3: isn't just for like people coming of age. This is
Speaker 3: for people of all ages who didn't get these stories
Speaker 3: or media representation in their childhoods or in their growing
Speaker 3: up and now are seeing it and it's like healing
Speaker 3: the inner child within them and it's it's really an
Speaker 3: honor to do what I do and to be a
Speaker 3: part of someone's like coming of age story. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think I'm rambling, but it really
Speaker 3: is to a freaking, like weird but amazing and special,
Speaker 3: magical thing that I get to do, and I never
Speaker 3: ever imagined it would be this impactful.
Speaker 1: Well, and for that reason, and among many other reasons,
Speaker 1: people are so psyched that a season three just got announced.
Speaker 2: Were you were you? Did you have a feeling that
Speaker 2: was coming?
Speaker 1: Were you like, all right, we got this or how
Speaker 1: does that work for you when you let go of
Speaker 1: a season you're waiting for a new pickup?
Speaker 2: Were you mentally?
Speaker 3: You know? It's so interesting because if you had asked
Speaker 3: me two years ago while we were filming season one,
Speaker 3: I honestly was like, Oh, I feel like this is
Speaker 3: such a niche show. No one's really gonna watch it.
Speaker 3: Like I fully wrote it off in my head that
Speaker 3: this is going to be a one season show. It's
Speaker 3: going to go away and no one's going to talk
Speaker 3: about it. And then the show came out for season
Speaker 3: one and the audience reaction was so intense. I was
Speaker 3: really taken aback by it all, and then we immediately
Speaker 3: got a second season, and then the strike happened and
Speaker 3: then we didn't hear anything. We went dark for like
Speaker 3: eight months. So I was like, oh, maybe our show
Speaker 3: is just going to go away like so many other
Speaker 3: shows did. But no, like Netflix and the studio were like,
Speaker 3: we're going back as soon as the strike is over,
Speaker 3: We're going back, and we did it. So coming into
Speaker 3: season two, I felt like really confident that people the audience,
Speaker 3: the creatives, and the people at the studio were confident
Speaker 3: in us and our show. So when season two came out,
Speaker 3: I felt honestly like, yeah, I think we are going
Speaker 3: to do a third season. Everyone's been talking about it.
Speaker 3: While we were filming season two. They were already talking
Speaker 3: about season three. But it's easy to fall back into
Speaker 3: that kind of pessimistic mindset that I've been conditioned to
Speaker 3: have growing up, that like, okay, yeah, well, you know,
Speaker 3: you can't take everyone's word for it, Like people say
Speaker 3: things all the time and then it doesn't come to fruition.
Speaker 3: But I don't know. Usually I'm like checking every day
Speaker 3: with my team. Have we heard anything yet? Have we
Speaker 3: gotten a pick up letter? Has the studio reached out
Speaker 3: for dates yet, and I didn't this time. I was
Speaker 3: just kind of like, I think, I honestly think it's
Speaker 3: going to happen, and I think I can say this.
Speaker 3: Back in October, I found out that the writers went
Speaker 3: back in the room and started writing season three. So
Speaker 3: I'm like, this is all like all signs are pointing
Speaker 3: to yes. And so I didn't lose any sleep over it.
Speaker 3: I honestly was like, it's a good chance that it's
Speaker 3: going to happen. I'm prepping myself. I'm like buying all
Speaker 3: the things that I need from when we go back
Speaker 3: to Korea. So I just kind of had that in
Speaker 3: my head that it was going to happen. And then
Speaker 3: Jessica called us a few weeks ago, our showrunner, and
Speaker 3: told us the news, and it was almost like yeah,
Speaker 3: I figured, yeah, we're going back, We're going back, and
Speaker 3: like I was like, oh my gosh, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 3: Like I feel like I normally would have because something
Speaker 3: just inside me knew that this story wasn't done being
Speaker 3: told yet.
Speaker 2: Look at that.
Speaker 1: That is what I think is called growth, Right, You're
Speaker 1: like stepping out of that pessimistic mindset and allowing what
Speaker 1: you deserve to come your way and being like yeah, cool,
Speaker 1: that feels right, okay, awesome, which which is pretty right
Speaker 1: on your character. He's people just adore him. Q means
Speaker 1: so much to so many people. He's very confident and
Speaker 1: put together and you know, sure of himself.
Speaker 2: Are you all those things? Can you relate to Q?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: My god?
Speaker 3: No, no, no no. It's so fun playing C because
Speaker 3: it gets it feels like I'm playing like a way
Speaker 3: more confident version of myself. I always said this, like
Speaker 3: I've never felt more comfortable than when I'm pretending to
Speaker 3: be somebody else. This is why I do my job.
Speaker 3: Like I am one of the most anxiety people you'll
Speaker 3: ever meet. So getting to like play a character who's
Speaker 3: popular in high school and is confident in his own skin,
Speaker 3: it's not something that I normally am, or was when
Speaker 3: I was Q's age, because I think you, like sixteen seventeen.
Speaker 3: I'm twenty four now and I'm still working on all
Speaker 3: of this. So it's nice to play these characters because
Speaker 3: I get to take pieces of them. It's like my
Speaker 3: own kind of like therapy, which sounds so messed up,
Speaker 3: but like I see what Q's capable of and I'm like, well,
Speaker 3: if he can do it, then I can do it,
Speaker 3: and I take that home with me sometimes. So to
Speaker 3: answer your question, no, I don't feel like I am
Speaker 3: like Q in a lot of ways, but I am
Speaker 3: starting to grow into that a little bit and take
Speaker 3: parts of him with me when I go home.
Speaker 1: Well that's pretty cool, and that's that's always fun to
Speaker 1: me when I think an artist can learn from who
Speaker 1: they're playing and pull something from at least you know,
Speaker 1: their their life to better enrich your own, right, Yeah.
Speaker 3: Usually it's the other way around, Like you put your
Speaker 3: own personal experiences into your characters, and honestly, like that
Speaker 3: does work too. But for the characters that I have
Speaker 3: been playing recently, I've learned a lot about myself because
Speaker 3: of playing them, and it's like someone's giving them a
Speaker 3: script already and I know the outcome and so I
Speaker 3: get to like play with that in my real life.
Speaker 1: Well that's cool, though, because that tells me you're someone
Speaker 1: who's very open to growth and learning and not, you know,
Speaker 1: not digging your feet in the ground and saying I
Speaker 1: am who I am and there's no room for change.
Speaker 2: It's like, no, I want to be better. I want
Speaker 2: to keep evolving.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's why we're put on this earth. Like people
Speaker 3: think when you graduate high school, you got everything figured out,
Speaker 3: and that's not the case. Like I am constantly learning
Speaker 3: and having life lessons being taught to me all the time.
Speaker 3: And that's what I think is like beautiful about doing
Speaker 3: my job is I get to meet so many new people,
Speaker 3: experience different cultures, and continue to grow. Like that's all
Speaker 3: that I really want to do as a person and
Speaker 3: an artist.
Speaker 1: You work with Anna Cathcart very closely. You play her
Speaker 1: best friend. I had her on my show. She adores you.
Speaker 1: I imagine working with her is just the best.
Speaker 3: It really is. It's funny because we didn't know each
Speaker 3: other prior to the show. We had one like chemistry read,
Speaker 3: but it was over zoom and so like we didn't
Speaker 3: really get a feel for each other. And I remember
Speaker 3: we were about to start filming season one. We had
Speaker 3: just kind of like landed in Korea, and I was
Speaker 3: walking out of the hotel and she was being driven
Speaker 3: back into the hotel like in the ballet area, and
Speaker 3: she like swings open the van door and I look behind.
Speaker 3: I'm like, are you Anna, And she's like, are you Anthony?
Speaker 3: And like we like run and like it's almost like
Speaker 3: that season two episode one scene where we like embrace
Speaker 3: each other and like spin around and we're like, I'm
Speaker 3: so happy to meet you. And from that moment on,
Speaker 3: I was like, this girl is real. She's not some
Speaker 3: random little screen on my computer. She's a real person.
Speaker 3: And we clicked immediately. And I think also because the
Speaker 3: both of us had quite a bit of an experience
Speaker 3: in the industry, whereas like a lot of our cast
Speaker 3: members were pretty green and didn't have a lot of
Speaker 3: well some of them actually never had worked or acted before,
Speaker 3: so there was that kind of like mutual understanding of like, Okay,
Speaker 3: we're entering a new space and we're going to be
Speaker 3: in Korea and doing this thing together with a bunch
Speaker 3: of people who don't really know what's going on. So
Speaker 3: we immediately bonded on that. And also, like our scenes
Speaker 3: just kind of like flew by, we were the ones
Speaker 3: that like the eighties would come up to us and
Speaker 3: be like we knew you'd be able to get us
Speaker 3: home on time, and that it was just like fun
Speaker 3: to be able to do that for our show and
Speaker 3: with each other. And I just remember like season two,
Speaker 3: we had one scene. It was the first scene for
Speaker 3: me of the season, and the sun was setting and
Speaker 3: it was an outdoor scene and we only had like
Speaker 3: fifteen minutes to get this scene in both of our coverage,
Speaker 3: which isn't a lot of time. And then we started
Speaker 3: rehearsing as they're setting up camera and I remember the
Speaker 3: script supervisors like you what are you reading? We're like
Speaker 3: the scene? What do you mean? This is the scene?
Speaker 3: And she's like that's not the scene anymore. And I'm like,
Speaker 3: we didn't get the new pages because like sometimes they
Speaker 3: like print out stuff like day of and then they
Speaker 3: expect you to like memorize it, and they someone forgot
Speaker 3: to like give us a new so they gave us
Speaker 3: the new pages, and I remember us like yelling the
Speaker 3: lines at each other and then they're like almost done
Speaker 3: setting up and they like finished setting up and they're like, okay,
Speaker 3: hate your marks. And then we do the scene. We
Speaker 3: did it in like two takes, and I remember us
Speaker 3: looking at each other and be like, we're so back.
Speaker 3: We're so back, Like we have this amazing chemistry on
Speaker 3: and off camera, and I love working with the girl
Speaker 3: because it's just so obvious to everyone else. And it's
Speaker 3: so easy. That's what. That's the best way I can
Speaker 3: explain our work, our professional and our personal relationship is
Speaker 3: just easy.
Speaker 1: Well to the point of I think people confuse the
Speaker 1: both of you with your characters because it feels so natural,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yeah, that's awesome. That's a
Speaker 1: testament to the work that you guys do well. I
Speaker 1: know people are so excited for more of that in
Speaker 1: season three. And you've shared a little bit about what
Speaker 1: you want to see for your character in season three,
Speaker 1: But is there anything else that you haven't really said
Speaker 1: yet that you want to explore for Q?
Speaker 3: I don't know, Like I kind of want him to
Speaker 3: have his own love triangle, some drama for Q, because
Speaker 3: I feel like you's the one that's always like so
Speaker 3: put together and like has everything figured out and isn't
Speaker 3: like the one that the drama or the chaos is surrounding.
Speaker 3: So it'd be cool to like get to step into
Speaker 3: kiddy shoes a little bit and like, look some shit up.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Do you ever have say in what happens to
Speaker 2: your character or No?
Speaker 3: I mean, like I can I can talk to the
Speaker 3: writers and ask them, like, Hey, what are you thinking
Speaker 3: for this like what if we did that? I was
Speaker 3: very adamant on like being true to myself in terms
Speaker 3: of my heritage and like having them add that we
Speaker 3: were I was Iranian and Filipino and they were super that,
Speaker 3: which I'm very grateful for. But as in terms of story,
Speaker 3: like that's the writer's job, I have no say, Like
Speaker 3: my job is to say the lines, basically, but like
Speaker 3: it is nice to like kind of, you know, go
Speaker 3: in and be like, what if we did this? And
Speaker 3: usually they're very collaborative and very open to what I
Speaker 3: like suggestions I have, but no, I have no idea
Speaker 3: what's in store first. I mean I have a little
Speaker 3: bit of an idea, but I don't know what's actually
Speaker 3: written and what's on paper.
Speaker 1: I would be so tempted to be hounding the writers like, hey,
Speaker 1: have you worked on anything today?
Speaker 2: Anything takes a lot.
Speaker 3: It takes a lot to not be like that because
Speaker 3: I used to be like, so, what's happening? What's happening?
Speaker 3: And like nine times out of ten, like if you're
Speaker 3: filming season two and you're like, what are you thinking
Speaker 3: for season three? They'll give you ideas, but those things
Speaker 3: change so much, like based off of audience reaction of
Speaker 3: the season. The studio has opinions, the network has opinions
Speaker 3: of what they want the show to look like, so
Speaker 3: like they could have ideas, but like it could be
Speaker 3: completely different by the time you actually start filming the season,
Speaker 3: which has happened on every show that I've been.
Speaker 2: On so on. Behalf of all the fans.
Speaker 1: When I announced you as my guest, I feel like
Speaker 1: it is my duty to ask you this question.
Speaker 2: You look nervous.
Speaker 3: I'm a little nervous.
Speaker 2: I know I just made it very dramatic.
Speaker 1: People are very interested who you want the endgame for
Speaker 1: Kitty to be.
Speaker 3: I knew this was coming, did you? I knew this
Speaker 3: was coming. Yeah. Everyone always wants to know this answer.
Speaker 3: I okay, how do I say this? I really hope
Speaker 3: that whatever happens in terms of Kitty's love story is
Speaker 3: what she wants. I hope that it is a relationship
Speaker 3: of growth and understanding. I think, and this is I
Speaker 3: don't want to be like I don't want anyone to
Speaker 3: take this as the word of Exokitty. I have a
Speaker 3: feeling it could be minho. Just the way that the
Speaker 3: writing has gone, it is very like k drama. E
Speaker 3: of them to do the slow burn. I can see
Speaker 3: it happening that way, but at the same time our
Speaker 3: show is constantly throwing curveballs, So season three, something else
Speaker 3: could happen. I have no idea, but for me as
Speaker 3: me personally as a viewer, I think Kitty and Minho
Speaker 3: are really cute. But I love the that she got
Speaker 3: to explore that with Yuri as well in season two
Speaker 3: because she is by and that's you know, there's I
Speaker 3: feel like a lot of people have opinions on like
Speaker 3: a bygirl ending up with a boy, which some of
Speaker 3: it's valid and some of it's not. And I just
Speaker 3: really want Kitty to be happy. That's all I want.
Speaker 3: Like the whole reason why she came to Korea was
Speaker 3: to discover herself and what she wants and understand who
Speaker 3: she is in terms of who she loves and who
Speaker 3: her family is. So I just want to see Kitty
Speaker 3: like just for that and be okay, that's really my goal.
Speaker 3: I hope that was sufficient enough answer.
Speaker 2: That is that's a good answer.
Speaker 1: That was spoken like a true best friend in character
Speaker 1: and out of character Kidi and Annas, So I think
Speaker 1: that's that's.
Speaker 2: Really really cool.
Speaker 1: I love that you play these characters who, just as
Speaker 1: I alluded to earlier, means so much to so many people.
Speaker 2: Of course, from Le Victor to this show.
Speaker 1: The representation alone that you provide through your work for
Speaker 1: so many is something that just makes it makes people
Speaker 1: feel like, oh my god, I may not have this
Speaker 1: in my small hometown, but I can see it on
Speaker 1: screen and I feel like, okay, cool, Like I am valid.
Speaker 1: I'm seeing things are going to get better for me.
Speaker 1: I imagine for you. You must wear that badge of honor with pride.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a complete honor. Again, I told, like I said,
Speaker 3: I never expected my career to be and it's such
Speaker 3: an amazing surprise and such an honor. So yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 3: I take that with so much pride, and I am
Speaker 3: so grateful that I get to be that like beacon
Speaker 3: of representation to so many people across so many different spectrums.
Speaker 1: It's sexuality, it's ethnicity, it's a race, it's all of it.
Speaker 1: And I love that you told the writers it was
Speaker 1: really important for you to truly show you know where
Speaker 1: you're from in this character, and that's something that you,
Speaker 1: I know, didn't always get the chance to do growing up,
Speaker 1: and you don't always feel like you fit in a
Speaker 1: box in terms of representation, and you know.
Speaker 2: You can pass.
Speaker 1: I think you've said you can pass for different things,
Speaker 1: but you want to make sure people know, like, this
Speaker 1: is my background, and I imagine that for you also
Speaker 1: makes playing Q so important because you're allowing your heritage,
Speaker 1: your background, to truly be seen.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. I mean my entire career, I've played characters that
Speaker 3: I can't couldn't relate to on a personal level because
Speaker 3: of where their background, who they are in terms of
Speaker 3: their background, Like I know I look a certain way,
Speaker 3: but that doesn't mean that I can bring the authenticity
Speaker 3: required for someone who speaks Spanish or comes from a
Speaker 3: Puerto Rican background. And I've played so many of those
Speaker 3: characters before, and I got to a point where I
Speaker 3: was like, at some point, I'm taking this opportunity away
Speaker 3: from someone else who could bring forward that authenticity that
Speaker 3: I just couldn't. Like, yeah, I can speak Spanish. I
Speaker 3: took Spanish for years in school, but I didn't grow
Speaker 3: up speaking it like in my home. I didn't grow
Speaker 3: up eating the foods that these characters are talking about
Speaker 3: in their shows. So when I finally felt like I
Speaker 3: reached a point in my career where I did have
Speaker 3: some sort of say in that, And when I got
Speaker 3: the audition for Q, it was like Middle Eastern ambiguous
Speaker 3: or like North African, And so when I got closer
Speaker 3: to actually like getting the job, I was like, I
Speaker 3: would really love it if we could do this instead,
Speaker 3: because I could play this, but it wouldn't feel real
Speaker 3: to me, and whoever's watching this, if they look me up,
Speaker 3: they'll see, oh, he's not actually this that or the other,
Speaker 3: and it would just feel an authentic And our show
Speaker 3: is so diverse and it has so many areas of representation,
Speaker 3: it would feel weird to have like one of the
Speaker 3: main characters not represent that. And luckily Jenny and Sasha
Speaker 3: were super down. They were so down to do it,
Speaker 3: and I was able to like bring in little bits
Speaker 3: and pieces of that throughout both seasons, and like certain lines,
Speaker 3: I'd drop hints that I, oh, you know, I'm from
Speaker 3: the Philippines or my mom's Filipino and my Lola made
Speaker 3: this and da da da da da so and I
Speaker 3: feel like the fans of the Filipino fans especially were
Speaker 3: super grateful for that. I get so many dms and comments,
Speaker 3: are like, when you mentioned this, I felt so much pride,
Speaker 3: and that's so important to me and I never had
Speaker 3: experienced that before. So yeah, I think, you know, going forward,
Speaker 3: if I were to hopefully continue to do my job,
Speaker 3: would love to continue that conversation with the creatives and
Speaker 3: hopefully continue doing the same thing in terms of representation.
Speaker 1: Anthony, it's so wild to me that you've grown up
Speaker 1: in this business because you seemingly are so grounded and
Speaker 1: you know, live your life from a place of gratitude
Speaker 1: and haven't gone to a place where sometimes people who
Speaker 1: think artists who grow up in the business can potentially
Speaker 1: go to.
Speaker 2: And I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think about me sometimes in that respect, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: if I grew up in front of a public facing forum, Laurie,
Speaker 1: it would be I was I would be a hot mess,
Speaker 1: Like I don't know how I would do it. So
Speaker 1: has that been a weird experience for you? And how
Speaker 1: do you stay so kind of level headed? Because it
Speaker 1: really is seemingly who you are to me, at least
Speaker 1: from just meeting you.
Speaker 3: Well, thank you for that. I have been in therapy
Speaker 3: for quite a while, which has helped because there's a
Speaker 3: lot of like fakeness in this industry and like faking
Speaker 3: it till you make it kind of thing. And like
Speaker 3: I said, the imposter syndrome is a huge thing that
Speaker 3: I continue to deal with. But honestly, my parents have
Speaker 3: helped me so much in terms of staying grounded, Like
Speaker 3: they keep me humble. They don't fluff up any of this.
Speaker 3: They're just like, oh, okay, so when's your next job?
Speaker 3: Like when are you getting your next job? Though, like
Speaker 3: it's it's not special to them anymore, which helps me
Speaker 3: a lot. Kind of keeping that groundedness in a way,
Speaker 3: and also just remembering where I came from, like it
Speaker 3: was a struggle to get here. You know, my mom
Speaker 3: quit her job she was climbing the corporate ladder and
Speaker 3: put her career aspirations on hold so that I could
Speaker 3: follow my dreams. And my dad took up a second
Speaker 3: job and he was mopping floors at one point to
Speaker 3: keep the lights on so that I can continue to
Speaker 3: do what I'm doing. And none of that is lost
Speaker 3: on me. I remember when I'd done this independent film
Speaker 3: when I was nine or ten years old, and it
Speaker 3: had premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and we couldn't afford
Speaker 3: to go and everyone in our family pitched in for
Speaker 3: airfare and hotels and we all went and saw my movie,
Speaker 3: and that I remember to this day that like every
Speaker 3: person in my family has helped me get to where
Speaker 3: I am. This isn't just because I'm super talented and
Speaker 3: need like and very like deserving of being here. Everybody
Speaker 3: has put in work and sacrifices so that I could
Speaker 3: do this. So it's that concept reminder that like, I'm
Speaker 3: not doing this just for me, I'm doing this for
Speaker 3: every person in my family who's had a little piece
Speaker 3: of the puzzle in terms of my journey. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I don't know, and like seeing my parents who are
Speaker 3: still working today and my brother who's going to college,
Speaker 3: like everything else in my life is very very normal,
Speaker 3: So doing what I'm doing, it's a constant reminder that
Speaker 3: this is like once in a lifetime opportunity and that
Speaker 3: I'm getting to follow my dream right now, and this
Speaker 3: isn't normal for most people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well that's probably what makes it so much more
Speaker 1: rewarding for you, And you truly do come from a
Speaker 1: place of feeling grateful for everything that's come your way,
Speaker 1: and it's hard, as you said, you know, like I
Speaker 1: think therapy is such an amazing thing, and there's some
Speaker 1: much noise in the business, and there's a lot that
Speaker 1: you kind of have to try to tune out of
Speaker 1: for your own protection of your mental health. And I
Speaker 1: know you've very, very publicly spoken about the importance of
Speaker 1: being good to your mental health and taking care of yourself.
Speaker 1: Was that an easy choice for you to make, because
Speaker 1: I feel like even ten years ago, a lot of
Speaker 1: artists would choose not to talk about that.
Speaker 3: Yes and no. I both of my parents are immigrants,
Speaker 3: so like the idea of therapy was a little weird
Speaker 3: for them, and they were like, you don't need therapy,
Speaker 3: You're fine. What's wrong with you? Like you got food
Speaker 3: in your belly and a roof over your head, like
Speaker 3: everything's fine, So like kind of breaking that mold a
Speaker 3: little bit. I went into therapy when I was nineteen,
Speaker 3: and it was because I didn't like my own thoughts,
Speaker 3: Like I didn't like being alone with my own thoughts.
Speaker 3: I was the type of person that I had constant distractions.
Speaker 3: I was always hanging out with people, I was always
Speaker 3: making plans so I didn't have to think about anything.
Speaker 3: And it was right before COVID and right after I
Speaker 3: had done like my third pilot that didn't go to series,
Speaker 3: and I was just at a really low point and
Speaker 3: I didn't I didn't want to be like that anymore.
Speaker 3: I didn't want to feel like that, and I went
Speaker 3: and saw a psychiatrist. I literally like took my insurance
Speaker 3: card and on the backside it was like mental and
Speaker 3: behavioral therapy called this number, and I called the number
Speaker 3: and I was like, I don't know what I need
Speaker 3: right now, but I don't want to feel like this.
Speaker 3: And I found a psychiatrist and I found a therapist
Speaker 3: and it was so life changing. I put my guard down.
Speaker 3: I left that stigma that therapy is for the week behind,
Speaker 3: because that's how I was raised. And I finally like
Speaker 3: left everything out on the table and allowed myself to
Speaker 3: like heal and growing up doing what I'm doing. Like
Speaker 3: there's a lot of damage done. There's so much Like
Speaker 3: I've had casting directors tell me when I was younger
Speaker 3: that I was like chubby and that I wasn't going
Speaker 3: to get the role because I looked fifteen pounds heavier
Speaker 3: than my headshot was and say the most awful things
Speaker 3: you could say to a kid. I had a makeup
Speaker 3: artist tell me that I was growing a unibrow and
Speaker 3: she was annoyed that she had to pluck it. Like,
Speaker 3: I'm thirteen, Like I'm going through changes in puberty. You're
Speaker 3: putting these thoughts in my head. So going through and
Speaker 3: breaking all that down and understanding where I am right
Speaker 3: now and like why I got there was super important
Speaker 3: to me so that I could continue to live normally.
Speaker 2: Yeah, change of that, Yeah, I know, And thank you
Speaker 2: for sharing.
Speaker 1: That's so it's so wild to me that as we
Speaker 1: grow up and we evolve and we are growing into
Speaker 1: who are meant to be, that so many out side
Speaker 1: factors and noises in people's opinions are the most damaging.
Speaker 1: And it's like, well I was fine before you said that,
Speaker 1: but now that you said that.
Speaker 2: You're kind of in my head, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So it's such a wild thing. But that's awesome
Speaker 1: that you do talk about it, and I know it
Speaker 1: means a lot to so many people who do follow you,
Speaker 1: and I'm a huge proponent of all of that. So
Speaker 1: really really really happy that people like you who have
Speaker 1: platforms do talk about that. As we wrap up, I mean,
Speaker 1: I could talk to you for four more hours, but
Speaker 1: I won't take up your whole day. The name of
Speaker 1: the show is called I've never said this before, And
Speaker 1: I cover a lot of red carpets and movie premieres
Speaker 1: and junkets, and you're no stranger to them, and you get,
Speaker 1: you know, a minute and a half on a carpet
Speaker 1: or six minutes at a junket, and I just saw
Speaker 1: people longing to speak about other things than just SoundBite
Speaker 1: movie or TV show conversation. It was like something in
Speaker 1: their eyes like, Oh, I feel like if we had
Speaker 1: for a few more minutes, they would reveal something that
Speaker 1: they don't get to always share, give us a little
Speaker 1: more insight into who they are.
Speaker 2: And it's so hard in those settings. So that's how
Speaker 2: this show was born.
Speaker 1: So while you've been so open and completely vulnerable today already,
Speaker 1: I feel like, is there anything else that you can
Speaker 1: think of that you've never said before that you want
Speaker 1: to share today?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I was like,
Speaker 3: oh God, what am I going to say? Like there's
Speaker 3: so many ways I could go about this, But actually
Speaker 3: I realized this last night in the shower. I was like, wait,
Speaker 3: I had never actually talked about this before, and it's
Speaker 3: the fact that I actually passed on the audition for
Speaker 3: Exo Kitty, and I was not wanting to do the
Speaker 3: show at first, Like I wasn't familiar with the films.
Speaker 3: I mean I was, but I hadn't watched them before
Speaker 3: and I didn't want to. I was already on a
Speaker 3: YA Show spinoff series of a YA movie. I was like,
Speaker 3: this feels like a lateral move for me, and I
Speaker 3: just wasn't. I didn't want to do it, and so
Speaker 3: I had passed on the audition because the casting director
Speaker 3: actually reached out to my team to have me tape.
Speaker 3: I was like, I don't know, like this doesn't feel
Speaker 3: like the right move for me, and I passed and
Speaker 3: they came back and they're like, we really really want
Speaker 3: Anthony to tape. And I was like, okay, all right,
Speaker 3: I'll tape. I'll I'm sure someone else will catch their
Speaker 3: eye and I'll just be one of a thousand tapes.
Speaker 3: So I taped again and or a taped for the
Speaker 3: first time, and they came back and they were like,
Speaker 3: oh my god, that was a great tape. We're gonna
Speaker 3: pin Anthony. And I was like, what you mean, You're
Speaker 3: gonna pend me? And then they were like, can he
Speaker 3: send another tape with an accent because they didn't know
Speaker 3: where they wanted the character to go, and I was like,
Speaker 3: I don't. I don't want to. I don't want to
Speaker 3: be locked on a show playing a character with an accent,
Speaker 3: like I feel like it could come off as like
Speaker 3: a caricature of a middle Easter in person, and that
Speaker 3: doesn't feel right to me. And so they said, well,
Speaker 3: if you don't send another tape, we're going to release
Speaker 3: your pin and I was like, okay, I'll send a tape.
Speaker 3: And I sent a tape with the worst accent possible
Speaker 3: because I was like, you're going to hate this, like
Speaker 3: I know you're going to hate it, and I made
Speaker 3: it like the worst and they came back and they're like,
Speaker 3: you're right, don't we don't want an accent. I was
Speaker 3: like okay, and then I was still like on the fence.
Speaker 3: I was like, I don't know if I want to
Speaker 3: be like typecast as the gay best friend. I don't
Speaker 3: think I want to be in Korea. Like I had
Speaker 3: so many like mental blockages that I was just not
Speaker 3: open to the idea, which is so wild to me.
Speaker 3: Now I'm like, I want to go back and like
Speaker 3: shake my twenty year old self and be like, what
Speaker 3: the hell were you thinking? But that's also like a
Speaker 3: testament to I do believe that what you were meant
Speaker 3: to do is already written for you, like you you know,
Speaker 3: fate is a real thing, Like, yes, you can alter
Speaker 3: some things, but your path is your path. And this
Speaker 3: was very It became very adamant to me that this,
Speaker 3: no matter what I tried, like this was going to
Speaker 3: be part of my journey, and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker 3: Like looking back now, I'm like, I am so glad
Speaker 3: I sent those tapes and I ended up doing this
Speaker 3: show because I have some of the best friends in
Speaker 3: my life who are going to be at my wedding
Speaker 3: one day probably and be a part of my life forever.
Speaker 3: And I have these like I never went to college,
Speaker 3: so like this was like my semesters abroad in a way,
Speaker 3: I discovered so much about myself and not only as
Speaker 3: a person but as an artist. So I am very,
Speaker 3: very grateful for the opportunity to get this job. But
Speaker 3: it's just wild to me that I at one point
Speaker 3: was not wanting to do it and was super closed
Speaker 3: off to the idea and that I actually fully passed
Speaker 3: on the show and was like, this isn't for me.
Speaker 3: I want to slap myself right now.
Speaker 1: It's so hard to imagine you not in that role
Speaker 1: I've been for everybody. I mean, it's it's just you
Speaker 1: make it seem so seamless.
Speaker 3: It's wild to me that, like if I was like
Speaker 3: put my foot down and was like, no, I'm not
Speaker 3: doing this show, that someone else would be playing this
Speaker 3: character and it just it doesn't feel right. And I'm
Speaker 3: so so glad that I listened to my team. Everyone
Speaker 3: was telling me like, what do you This is a
Speaker 3: huge piece of IP, Like this is a really big show.
Speaker 3: It's a Netflix, for God's sake. So I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: if I want to do it, I don't want to
Speaker 3: be in Korea. That seems really far. And it was
Speaker 3: really it was the imposter syndrome. I didn't believe that
Speaker 3: I deserved a job like that. I think I think
Speaker 3: I was scared to like put myself in those shoes
Speaker 3: and be like one of the leads of a show
Speaker 3: in Korea that's groundbreaking in so many ways. I was
Speaker 3: so close off to the idea and I'm like, I
Speaker 3: can't I cannot believe that. I I'm so sorry, Jenny Hawn, like,
Speaker 3: I'm sorry I put you all through that, like they
Speaker 3: and they kept saying like we want you, this is
Speaker 3: this job is for you, Like people at the studio
Speaker 3: are like, there's no one else and I was, I
Speaker 3: was so close off to the idea and it's just
Speaker 3: insane to me. But I'm so glad that everything worked out.
Speaker 3: I'm really really glad that I took the chance and
Speaker 3: that they took the chance on me, because I can't
Speaker 3: imagine my life without this show now.
Speaker 1: I think that story is the perfect example of sometimes
Speaker 1: the things in life that you were the most afraid
Speaker 1: of reap the biggest rewards. So the lesson here is
Speaker 1: if it's scarce the shit out of you for everybody listening,
Speaker 1: just do it, just do it, because look what can happen. Yeah, Oh, Anthony,
Speaker 1: that's a great story. What a great way to end
Speaker 1: this episode. I'm so happy we could connect and that
Speaker 1: you could come on. I, like I said, I could
Speaker 1: talk to you for four more hours. I think you're
Speaker 1: just an awesome artist and an awesome human and we
Speaker 1: look forward to just following your career.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Tommy. This has been a really refreshing take
Speaker 3: on an interview, like I had the best start and
Speaker 3: I really appreciate you sitting down with me.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Don't keep us waiting too long for season three now, Okay, hey, we're.
Speaker 3: We're gearing up, so don't you worry. We're gonna start soon.
Speaker 3: I don't think I can talk about specific dates, but soon.
Speaker 2: All right, we'd love to hear it. And when you're
Speaker 2: in New York, let me know.
Speaker 3: Sounds good.
Speaker 2: Thanks for me, all right, be well you too.
Speaker 1: I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
Speaker 1: This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Piglici at iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: and by Me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Speaker 1: Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
Speaker 1: podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
Speaker 1: subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
Speaker 1: tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy Dedario