Biography - Nico Santos

Who is Nico Santos?

Nico Santos is an actor by profession, American, and Filipino by nationality. He is best known for starring in the films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Crazy Rich Asians as Oliver T'sien, and TV series Superstore as Mateo Fernando Aquino Liwanag.

Nico Santos – Age, Parents, Siblings

Nico Santos was born on April 7, 1979, in Manila, Philippines. His full name is Nico Wellenbrink, his father’s name is Egon Wellenbrink, and his mother’s name is Lisa Wellenbrink. He is not the only child of his parents and has three siblings- sisters Susanna Wellenbrink, and Clarissa Wellenbrink, and older brother Kuya Wil Wellenbrink.

When he was 16 years old, the Wellenbrink family moved to the United States and settled in Gresham, Oregon.

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Nico Santos attended Centennial High School. He joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's summer seminar for high school students and later attended Southern Oregon University. 

Although he studied acting, he changed his major to costume design due to constant discouraging remarks from his acting teacher. Santos eventually dropped out after his family refused to pay his tuition fees, having come out as gay.

His ethnicity is Filipino.

Nico Santos – Boyfriend, Husband, Children

Currently, Nico Santos, who is openly gay, is in a relationship with writer and comedian Zeke Smith. He and his boyfriend have been dating for a couple of years, their anniversary being in April, and often feature each other on social media. 

He is yet to marry his partner and take him as his husband. They do not have any children yet.

Nico Santos – Career

Early Days

Nico Santos began working in the costume department as a dresser at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a position he held for several years. He eventually moved to San Francisco in 2001 and worked at various luxury retail stores for eight years. He also did stand-up comedy at that time.

Santos then moved to Los Angeles but his career in stand-up comedy was hindered due to comedy club politics. So, he began to appear regularly on the late-night talk show, Chelsea Lately, as a panelist. This was in 2012 and he also worked as a restaurant host.

Nico Santos eventually got back to acting in the year 2014 after landing a spot in the annual CBS Diversity Showcase. Although he initially got in as a writer, he did some acting jobs to fill in for another Asian actor who left the production. This eventually led him to appear as a guest character in the TV series Ground Floor (2014) and Go-Go Boy Interrupted (2014).

Films, TV Series

Finally, in 2015, he landed the role of Mateo Fernando Aquino Liwanag in the TV series Superstore. He portrayed the main character for a total of 113 episodes, until 2021, and is considered his breakthrough role.

Over the years Santos has starred in the films Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015), The Clapper (2017), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and The Re-Education of Molly Singer. Moreover, he has also had guest roles in the TV series Tuca and Bertie (2022) and Noches con Platanito (2016).

Co-stars

On the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Nico Santos has worked alongside Reinaldo Faberlle, Stephen Blackehart, Adelynn Spoon, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Daniela Melchior.

Nico Santos – Awards, Nominations

For his work in Superstore, Nico Santos was awarded the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in the years 2018 and 2019.

Nico Santos – Net Worth, Salary

The figure on the net worth and annual salary of Nico Santos is under review.

Nico Santos – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Santos is active on social media handles such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.