Filipino comedian Nico Santos has been added to the cast of "Crazy Rich Asians," the upcoming Hollywood movie based on Kevin Kwan's best-selling book.
On Wednesday, Deadline reported that Santos, who is based in the US, will be part of the all-Asian ensemble headed by "Fresh Off the Boat" star Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and Ken Jeong.
Directed by Jon Chu, "Crazy Rich Asians" is a romantic comedy centering around a woman living in New York City with her boyfriend Nick. Much like Kwan's book, it gives a glimpse of the wealthy lives and lavish lifestyles people lead.
Santos expressed excitement over his newest project on social media.
Santos is known for his role in "Superstore," a hit comedy show from NBC with "Ugly Betty" stars America Ferrera and Ben Feldman. He plays an undocumented immigrant in the series about the lives of workers in a super-sized store.
"A lot of them are Filipinos, a lot of undocumented people are from our community and it's important to sort of portray them in this light, that we're all contributing members of society," he told Balitang America of his role.
"We pay our taxes, we just wanna have the same opportunities as everybody else. We came here for the American dream," he added.
Before his big television break, Santos regularly performed as a stand-up comic. He is a self-confessed fan of popular love team of Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion.
Prior to news of Santos' casting, Kris Aquino was widely speculated to have a role in "Crazy Rich Asians" but there has been no confirmation of it so far.