ONTD Original: actors, musicians, and celebrities who you might not know are Filipino
In honor of Filipino History Month, I threw together a list of male celebrities who you may not realize are Filipino. Too often, everyone gets thrown under the umbrella "Asian" so let's celebrate these Pinoys! Part 2 with female celebs will be coming soon!
Lou Diamond Phillips
How you probably know him: La Bamba, Stand and Deliver, Young Guns, Longmire
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, a native of Candelaria, Zambales, is Filipina. His father was an American of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent. He was married to Julie Cypher before she began dating Melissa Etheridge.
Steven R. McQueen
How you probably know him: The Vampire Diaries, Chicago Fire
How Filipino is he? 25%
His paternal grandparents are actor Steve McQueen and Filipina actress Neile Adams. Neile’s niece is Filipina-Spanish socialite Isabel Preysler (mother of Chabeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Jr., and Enrique Iglesias, making McQueen and the Iglesias kids second cousins). He was born Steven Chadwick McQueen but uses Steven R. McQueen as his professional name. The R stands for his stepfather hockey player Luc Robitaille's surname.
Enrique Iglesias
How you probably know him: songs like Bailamos and Hero, dating Anna Kournikova
How Filipino is he? 50%
He is the third and youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His father Julio is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world. A few years after Enrique's parents divorced, his grandfather was kidnapped. As a result, Enrique and his older brother and sister (who had been living with their mother) were sent to live with their father in Miami. Enrique was born with a rare congenital condition known as situs inversus, where some of the body's major organs, such as the heart, are situated on the opposite side of the body from where they would normally be located. His older brother Julie Iglesias, Jr. was the winner of the CMT reality show Gone Country.
Cris Judd
How you probably know him: J Lo's second husband
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, Violeta (née Calventos) is Filipina, and his father, Larry Judd, is American. He appeared in several of J Lo's music videos including Love Don't Cost a Thing, Play, and I'm Real. He was also a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, *NSYNC, and Celine Dion. He has choreographed music videos for Usher, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Julio Iglesias. He also choreographed Jordan Knight's 2000 tour.
Evan Mock
How you probably know him: Gossip Girl reboot
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is Filipina and his father is American. Evan was a professional skateboarder, was the photographer for Travis Scott’s Astro World tour, and has modeled for Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Paco Rabanne, and Jimmy Choo x Timberland.
Darren Criss
How you probably know him: Starkid's A Very Potter Musical, Glee, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Filipina, and Spanish descent while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was of English, German, and Irish descent.
Mark Dacascos
How you probably know him: Iron Chef America, Double Dragon, Cradle 2 the Grave, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, John Wick 3
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii and is a martial arts instructor whose parents originated from the Philippines and were of Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish ancestry. His biological mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. His wife Julie Condra played Madeline, Kevin Arnold's crush on The Wonder Years.
Ernie Reyes, Jr.
How you probably know him: Sidekicks, Surf Ninjas
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His grandparents were Filipino immigrants. He was the martial arts stunt double for Donatello in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and was as cast Keno in the second TMNT movie.
Vincent Rodriguez III
How you probably know him: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
How Filipino is he? 100%
Vincent was born in San Francisco but his three older sisters were born in the Philippines. He got his start in musical theater, appearing in national tours of Anything Goes and Xanadu, as well as regional productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Here Lies Love, and the musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He married his husband Gregory Wright in 2015.
Nico Santos
How you probably know him: Superstore, Crazy Rich Asians
How Filipino is he? 100%
Nico was born in the Philippines and moved to Oregon when he was 16. He and his brother were the only two Filipino students at their high school. He later attended Southern Oregon University but had to drop out because his parents refused to pay for his tuition after he came out as gay. He started out doing stand up and then appeared as a panelist on Chelsea Lately.
Rob Schneider
How you probably know him: Saturday Night Live, The Hot Chick, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
How Filipino is he? 25%
His maternal grandmother was a Filipina who met and married his grandfather, a white American army private, while he was stationed in the Philippines. He is an old school (pre-COVID) anti-vaxxer who has been talking about how he thinks vaccines cause autism since at least 2012.
Bruno Mars
How you probably know him: his many #1 songs (Just the Way You Are, Grenade, Locked Out of Heaven, Uptown Funk)
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father is of half Puerto Rican and half Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from Ukraine and Hungary) and is originally from Brooklyn, New York. His mother emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii, and was of Filipina and Spanish ancestry. He has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Eight of his songs have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and his concert tours are some of the highest-grossing in history. He has received 15 Grammy Awards (including three Record of the Year wins), four Brit Awards, eleven American Music Awards, and 13 Soul Train Awards.
Conrad Ricamora
How you probably know him: How to Get Away with Murder
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to the United States when he was 10. His father is adopted and believed to be of Filipino descent while his mother is of German and Irish descent. Conrad is a theater actor who starred in Here Lies Love (about former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos) and Soft Power (written by David Henry Hwang). His Broadway credits include the revival of Little Shop of Horrors and The King and I.
Reggie Lee
How you probably know him: Grimm, The Fast and the Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
How Filipino is he? 50%
He was born in the Philippines and moved to Ohio when he was five years old. He was cast in the national tour of Miss Saigon when he was only 17 and later appeared in the original Broadway revival of Carousel. He was also a backup dancer for Prince.
Dave Bautista
How you probably know him: WWE, Guardians of the Galaxy
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is of Greek descent, and his father is the son of Filipino immigrants. He ie best known for wrestling under the name Deacon Batista in the WWE. He was part of Evolution with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton. In 2018, Bautista joined his castmates in support of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn after Gunn's firing over old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape. Bautista called Gunn's firing "nauseating" and declared that if Disney (parent company of Marvel Studios) did not use Gunn's script for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, he would ask to be recast.
Kirk Hammett
How you probably know him: Metallica
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is of Filipino descent and his father was of English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. He is a huge horror fan. In 2012 he published a book that detailed his horror/monster movie memorabilia. In 2014, he started an annual horror convention called Kirk Von Hammett's Fear FestEvil.
Manny Jacinto
How you probably know him: The Good Place, Nine Perfect Strangers
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
Manny was born in Manila, Philippines, and is of Chinese Filipino descent. His family moved to Canada when he was three years old. He has a degree in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Charles Michael Davis
How you probably know him: The Originals, Younger, For the People, NCIS: New Orleans
How Filipino is he? 50%
He is of African American and Filipino descent. His father is from Kentucky and his mother is from Manila.
Mike Inez
How you probably know him: Alice in Chains
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, Gladys Luz Ines, is a Filipina emigrant from Manila. He has also played with Ozzy Osbourne, Slash's Snakepit, and Heart.
Joey Santiago
How you probably know him: Pixies
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Manila and moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old. After the Pixies' breakup, he wrote musical scores for tv shows including Undeclared and Weeds.
Jerome Fontamillas
How you probably know him: Switchfoot
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Pasay, Philippines. His family moved to the United States when he was three years old. He plays several instruments including guitar, keyboards, and the accordion.
Laidback Luke
How you probably know him: DJ/music producer
How Filipino is he? 50%
He was born in Manila, Philippines, to a Dutch father, Kees van Scheppingen, and a Filipina mother, Lucy Baruelo. He practices kung fu, especially Choy Li Fut, and represented the Netherlands at the 2013 World Championship in China.
The Filharmonic
How you probably know them: The Sing Off (season 4), Pitch Perfect 2
It's rare enough to see an Asian male singer in mainstream American media, but six of them in one group? VJ Rosales, Joe Caigoy, Trace Gaynor, Barry Fortgang, Jules Cruz, and Niko Del Rey are all Filipino-American singers from the Los Angeles area. As The Filharmonic, they were eliminated from The Sing Off just before the finale but they parlayed the exposure into appearances in Pitch Perfect 2 and multiple appearances on the Riff Off segment of The Late Late Show.
Tanner Buchananan
How you probably know him: Designated Survivor, Cobra Kai
How Filipino is he? 25%
His maternal grandfather was Filipino.
Jacob Batalon
How you probably know him: Spiderman movies, Reginald the Vampire
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in in Hawaii to Filipino parents.
Eugene Cordero
How you probably know him: Takoma FD, Loki
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Filipino parents.
Anthony Keyvan
How you probably know him: Love, Victor
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father is Iranian and his mother is Filipina. He will be appearing in XO, Kitty (the To All the Boys I've Loved Before spin off series).
source: my brain and google image search
Lou Diamond Phillips
How you probably know him: La Bamba, Stand and Deliver, Young Guns, Longmire
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, a native of Candelaria, Zambales, is Filipina. His father was an American of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent. He was married to Julie Cypher before she began dating Melissa Etheridge.
Steven R. McQueen
How you probably know him: The Vampire Diaries, Chicago Fire
How Filipino is he? 25%
His paternal grandparents are actor Steve McQueen and Filipina actress Neile Adams. Neile’s niece is Filipina-Spanish socialite Isabel Preysler (mother of Chabeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Jr., and Enrique Iglesias, making McQueen and the Iglesias kids second cousins). He was born Steven Chadwick McQueen but uses Steven R. McQueen as his professional name. The R stands for his stepfather hockey player Luc Robitaille's surname.
Enrique Iglesias
How you probably know him: songs like Bailamos and Hero, dating Anna Kournikova
How Filipino is he? 50%
He is the third and youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His father Julio is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world. A few years after Enrique's parents divorced, his grandfather was kidnapped. As a result, Enrique and his older brother and sister (who had been living with their mother) were sent to live with their father in Miami. Enrique was born with a rare congenital condition known as situs inversus, where some of the body's major organs, such as the heart, are situated on the opposite side of the body from where they would normally be located. His older brother Julie Iglesias, Jr. was the winner of the CMT reality show Gone Country.
Cris Judd
How you probably know him: J Lo's second husband
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, Violeta (née Calventos) is Filipina, and his father, Larry Judd, is American. He appeared in several of J Lo's music videos including Love Don't Cost a Thing, Play, and I'm Real. He was also a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, *NSYNC, and Celine Dion. He has choreographed music videos for Usher, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Julio Iglesias. He also choreographed Jordan Knight's 2000 tour.
Evan Mock
How you probably know him: Gossip Girl reboot
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is Filipina and his father is American. Evan was a professional skateboarder, was the photographer for Travis Scott’s Astro World tour, and has modeled for Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Paco Rabanne, and Jimmy Choo x Timberland.
Darren Criss
How you probably know him: Starkid's A Very Potter Musical, Glee, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Filipina, and Spanish descent while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was of English, German, and Irish descent.
Mark Dacascos
How you probably know him: Iron Chef America, Double Dragon, Cradle 2 the Grave, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, John Wick 3
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii and is a martial arts instructor whose parents originated from the Philippines and were of Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish ancestry. His biological mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. His wife Julie Condra played Madeline, Kevin Arnold's crush on The Wonder Years.
Ernie Reyes, Jr.
How you probably know him: Sidekicks, Surf Ninjas
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
His grandparents were Filipino immigrants. He was the martial arts stunt double for Donatello in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and was as cast Keno in the second TMNT movie.
Vincent Rodriguez III
How you probably know him: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
How Filipino is he? 100%
Vincent was born in San Francisco but his three older sisters were born in the Philippines. He got his start in musical theater, appearing in national tours of Anything Goes and Xanadu, as well as regional productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Here Lies Love, and the musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He married his husband Gregory Wright in 2015.
Nico Santos
How you probably know him: Superstore, Crazy Rich Asians
How Filipino is he? 100%
Nico was born in the Philippines and moved to Oregon when he was 16. He and his brother were the only two Filipino students at their high school. He later attended Southern Oregon University but had to drop out because his parents refused to pay for his tuition after he came out as gay. He started out doing stand up and then appeared as a panelist on Chelsea Lately.
Rob Schneider
How you probably know him: Saturday Night Live, The Hot Chick, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
How Filipino is he? 25%
His maternal grandmother was a Filipina who met and married his grandfather, a white American army private, while he was stationed in the Philippines. He is an old school (pre-COVID) anti-vaxxer who has been talking about how he thinks vaccines cause autism since at least 2012.
Bruno Mars
How you probably know him: his many #1 songs (Just the Way You Are, Grenade, Locked Out of Heaven, Uptown Funk)
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father is of half Puerto Rican and half Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from Ukraine and Hungary) and is originally from Brooklyn, New York. His mother emigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii, and was of Filipina and Spanish ancestry. He has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Eight of his songs have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and his concert tours are some of the highest-grossing in history. He has received 15 Grammy Awards (including three Record of the Year wins), four Brit Awards, eleven American Music Awards, and 13 Soul Train Awards.
Conrad Ricamora
How you probably know him: How to Get Away with Murder
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to the United States when he was 10. His father is adopted and believed to be of Filipino descent while his mother is of German and Irish descent. Conrad is a theater actor who starred in Here Lies Love (about former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos) and Soft Power (written by David Henry Hwang). His Broadway credits include the revival of Little Shop of Horrors and The King and I.
Reggie Lee
How you probably know him: Grimm, The Fast and the Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
How Filipino is he? 50%
He was born in the Philippines and moved to Ohio when he was five years old. He was cast in the national tour of Miss Saigon when he was only 17 and later appeared in the original Broadway revival of Carousel. He was also a backup dancer for Prince.
Dave Bautista
How you probably know him: WWE, Guardians of the Galaxy
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is of Greek descent, and his father is the son of Filipino immigrants. He ie best known for wrestling under the name Deacon Batista in the WWE. He was part of Evolution with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Randy Orton. In 2018, Bautista joined his castmates in support of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn after Gunn's firing over old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape. Bautista called Gunn's firing "nauseating" and declared that if Disney (parent company of Marvel Studios) did not use Gunn's script for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, he would ask to be recast.
Kirk Hammett
How you probably know him: Metallica
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother is of Filipino descent and his father was of English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. He is a huge horror fan. In 2012 he published a book that detailed his horror/monster movie memorabilia. In 2014, he started an annual horror convention called Kirk Von Hammett's Fear FestEvil.
Manny Jacinto
How you probably know him: The Good Place, Nine Perfect Strangers
How Filipino is he? unknown/unclear
Manny was born in Manila, Philippines, and is of Chinese Filipino descent. His family moved to Canada when he was three years old. He has a degree in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Charles Michael Davis
How you probably know him: The Originals, Younger, For the People, NCIS: New Orleans
How Filipino is he? 50%
He is of African American and Filipino descent. His father is from Kentucky and his mother is from Manila.
Mike Inez
How you probably know him: Alice in Chains
How Filipino is he? 50%
His mother, Gladys Luz Ines, is a Filipina emigrant from Manila. He has also played with Ozzy Osbourne, Slash's Snakepit, and Heart.
Joey Santiago
How you probably know him: Pixies
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Manila and moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old. After the Pixies' breakup, he wrote musical scores for tv shows including Undeclared and Weeds.
Jerome Fontamillas
How you probably know him: Switchfoot
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Pasay, Philippines. His family moved to the United States when he was three years old. He plays several instruments including guitar, keyboards, and the accordion.
Laidback Luke
How you probably know him: DJ/music producer
How Filipino is he? 50%
He was born in Manila, Philippines, to a Dutch father, Kees van Scheppingen, and a Filipina mother, Lucy Baruelo. He practices kung fu, especially Choy Li Fut, and represented the Netherlands at the 2013 World Championship in China.
The Filharmonic
How you probably know them: The Sing Off (season 4), Pitch Perfect 2
It's rare enough to see an Asian male singer in mainstream American media, but six of them in one group? VJ Rosales, Joe Caigoy, Trace Gaynor, Barry Fortgang, Jules Cruz, and Niko Del Rey are all Filipino-American singers from the Los Angeles area. As The Filharmonic, they were eliminated from The Sing Off just before the finale but they parlayed the exposure into appearances in Pitch Perfect 2 and multiple appearances on the Riff Off segment of The Late Late Show.
Tanner Buchananan
How you probably know him: Designated Survivor, Cobra Kai
How Filipino is he? 25%
His maternal grandfather was Filipino.
Jacob Batalon
How you probably know him: Spiderman movies, Reginald the Vampire
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in in Hawaii to Filipino parents.
Eugene Cordero
How you probably know him: Takoma FD, Loki
How Filipino is he? 100%
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Filipino parents.
Anthony Keyvan
How you probably know him: Love, Victor
How Filipino is he? 50%
His father is Iranian and his mother is Filipina. He will be appearing in XO, Kitty (the To All the Boys I've Loved Before spin off series).
source: my brain and google image search