SXSW Live Episode: From Dreams to Dollars: Nico Santos' Comedy Empire

Summary

Net Worth and Chill with Your Rich BFF: From Dreams to Dollars – Nico Santos' Comedy Empire

Episode Title: SXSW Live Episode: From Dreams to Dollars: Nico Santos' Comedy Empire
Host: Vivian Tu
Guest: Nico Santos
Release Date: March 17, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of Net Worth and Chill with Your Rich BFF, host Vivian Tu engages in an enlightening conversation with Nico Santos, a celebrated Filipino-American actor and comedian known for his roles in Superstore and Crazy Rich Asians. The episode delves into Nico's journey from humble beginnings in the Philippines to his rise in Hollywood, exploring the financial and personal challenges he navigated along the way.

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Early Life and Immigrant Experience

Nico Santos opens up about his upbringing in the Philippines and the significant cultural shift he experienced upon moving to the United States as a teenager. He shares insights into how his family's financial situation influenced their decision to migrate.

[06:03] Nico Santos: "When the economy in the Philippines crashed, my mom was like, 'your dad's in the United States. Might as well see what America can offer.'"

The transition from an upper-middle-class lifestyle with household help to a cramped living situation in Gresham, Oregon, was daunting. Nico reflects on the abrupt change and the resilience required to adapt.

[07:44] Nico Santos: "I went from having a three-bedroom home with a nanny and a driver to an eight-person household in a 1200 sq ft home. I had to learn to survive."

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Building a Comedy Career

Nico’s foray into stand-up comedy was marked by financial instability and creative passion. He recounts the extremes of living "paycheck to paycheck" during his early comedy days.

[03:34] Nico Santos: "I had $10 a day to live off in New York for five days. I split my halal cart meals and skipped breakfast. I was living the dream."

He discusses the logistical and financial hurdles of being a comedian, especially in the competitive scenes of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[10:05] Nico Santos: "As a novice comedian, you start getting hosting gigs at about $75 per show. The pay hasn’t changed much since the '80s."

Nico emphasizes the importance of perseverance and financial management during these formative years.

[12:20] Nico Santos: "When I was broke, I was a lot more careless with money. Now, I pay people to keep track of my finances because I'm very bad with money."

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Transition to Acting

Nico's breakthrough role in Superstore provided him with financial stability and industry recognition. He reflects on the strategic decisions that shaped his acting career.

[24:06] Nico Santos: "I decide to take roles based on financial stability and how they align with my career goals. If it doesn't film in LA, I often pass."

He contrasts the traditional benefits of network television with the evolving landscape of streaming platforms, highlighting the financial implications.

[31:21] Nico Santos: "Streaming has changed the game. Residuals from shows like Superstore aren't as lucrative as traditional syndication."

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Financial Management and Lessons Learned

Nico draws parallels between his retail experiences and managing an unpredictable income in the entertainment industry. He shares strategies that have helped him maintain financial stability despite the inherent uncertainties of his profession.

[18:54] Nico Santos: "It's feast or famine. My retail experience prepared me for irregular income streams."

He discusses the importance of hiring financial professionals to manage his wealth, ensuring long-term security through investments and savings.

[19:34] Nico Santos: "I hired people to look after my money to ensure I save for a rainy day and make smart investments."

Nico also touches on his past financial mistakes, providing a candid look at his growth and learning curve.

[13:37] Nico Santos: "When I was making retail money, a lot went into shopping and partying. I was still broke despite earning more."

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Personal Life and Financial Partnership

Balancing a successful career with personal life, Nico shares how he and his husband manage their finances. Their approach emphasizes independence and mutual support, contributing to a harmonious relationship.

[38:34] Nico Santos: "We are very independent. We have our own lives, separate bedrooms, and bathrooms, which helps minimize conflicts."

He highlights the benefits of maintaining individual financial responsibilities while nurturing their joint financial goals.

[38:58] Nico Santos: "We cook dinner together, catch up on our stories, and then enjoy our own space before bed. It works incredibly well for us."

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Advice for Aspiring Actors and Comedians

Nico offers invaluable advice to those looking to break into the entertainment industry. He stresses the importance of passion, resilience, and strategic goal setting.

[33:12] Nico Santos: "Be absolutely sure that this is your passion and you are all in 1,000%. It's a marathon because you get rejected every single day."

He encourages young actors to develop thick skin and view each rejection as not a personal failure but as part of their unique journey.

[34:38] Nico Santos: "Other people's success is not your failure. You have to remember that one person can only book one job."

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Career Reflections and Future Endeavors

Reflecting on his career choices, Nico discusses moments he considers pivotal, such as participating in Crazy Rich Asians. While he admits to not receiving full compensation for his role, he values the cultural impact and personal fulfillment it provided.

[28:27] Nico Santos: "I did not feel like I got compensated properly for Crazy Rich Asians, but it was something special that I wanted to be a part of."

He contemplates what might have been if he had taken different opportunities but remains focused on the present and the life he has built.

[35:25] Nico Santos: "If I had left Superstore at the height of Crazy Rich Asians, I might not have met my husband or built the life I have now."

Looking forward, Nico expresses interest in branching out into business ventures, such as opening a café.

[20:24] Nico Santos: "I would love to open up a dessert store or pastry shop. Baking has become a passion of mine."

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Financial Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Throughout the episode, Nico and Vivian discuss various aspects of financial management tailored to the entertainment industry. Nico emphasizes the necessity of balancing passion with financial prudence, especially in a field marked by unpredictability.

[44:06] Vivian Tu: "If you're focused on wealth growth and can afford to take risks, higher-risk investments might propel you further. However, it's crucial to assess your overall financial picture before making such moves."

Nico concludes by affirming his dedication to his craft, despite the financial uncertainties, and shares his aspirations for continued growth both personally and professionally.

[42:26] Nico Santos: "I love doing this job. It's the only way I want to make a living. If I won Powerball, I might consider retiring, but for now, I'm here to stay."

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Conclusion

This episode of Net Worth and Chill with Your Rich BFF offers a deep dive into Nico Santos' multifaceted career and personal life. From his immigrant roots and early financial struggles to his success in acting and comedy, Nico provides a transparent look at the intersection of passion and financial management. His insights serve as both inspiration and practical guidance for listeners navigating their own financial and professional journeys.

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Notable Quotes:

• Nico Santos on Financial Instability:
  "[03:34]... I was living paycheck to paycheck."

• Nico Santos on Building Financial Stability:
  "[19:34]... I pay people to keep track of my money because I'm very bad with money."

• Advice for Aspiring Actors:
  "[33:12]... Be absolutely sure that this is your passion and you are all in 1,000%."

• On Compensation in Crazy Rich Asians:
  "[28:27]... I did not feel like I got compensated properly, but it was something special."

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Additional Resources:

• Follow Nico Santos on Instagram: @NicoSantos
• Watch Nico on Z Suite (Available on Tubi): Z Suite

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Next Episode Preview: Stay tuned for the next episode of Net Worth and Chill, where Vivian Tu will explore the financial strategies of top entrepreneurs turning their startups into billion-dollar companies.

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Thank you for tuning in! Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to Net Worth and Chill on your favorite podcast platform. For more financial tips and insights, follow @YourRichBFF on Instagram.

Transcript

[Vivian Tu]

For something that's like such a blockbuster hit like Crazy Rich Asians, do you feel like you got compensated properly?

[Nico Santos]

I didn't know.

[Vivian Tu]

You know, listen, your career is at a position where you are consistently booking work, but you're not 100% sure when it's going to come, what size it's going to come out. Like, how do you budget?

[Nico Santos]

It's feast or famine. And it's my experience in retail that you would make so much money Christmas, the holiday season, and then come January you'd actually owe the stores money.

[Vivian Tu]

Speaking of the paycheck, what pays better, movies or TV shows? So support for this show comes from smartsheet. Have you ever wondered about all the incremental steps it takes to launch a rocket ship or maybe get a race car around a track or perform a life changing surgery? These feats of human ingenuity are executed by many people taking many steps that lead up to one big goal making the seemingly impossible possible. Whether you're organizing a team, scaling a business, or sending a rover across the solar system, Smartsheet is the work management platform that helps all those details turn into work. One big leap Smartsheet, the place where work flows. Learn more at smartsheet.com Vox Support for net Worth in Chill comes from Intuit. Reaching the right small businesses starts with the right data. Intuit SMB Media Labs is a first of its kind small business ad network with access to audiences and insights from the makers of QuickBooks. You can target key decision makers by industry, size, maturity, location and more. It's your gateway to B2SMB marketing success. Learn [e-mail] all righty. What's up rich friends? Welcome back to another episode of Net Worth and Chill with me. Your host, Vivian Tu, AKA Urich bff and your favorite Wall street girly. And today, we are in for a treat. As the daughter of Asian immigrant parents, I know firsthand there's a ton of challenges and triumphs of building wealth while straddling two very different cultures. And today, we are diving deep into one of the most inspiring immigrant success stories in Hollywood. Our guests took an incredible leap of faith moving to America as a teenager and went on to become a groundbreaking force in an industry that desperately needed some shaking up. From working retail to stealing scenes in Superstore and Crazy Rich Asians. My favorite movie. He's shown that when talent meets hustle, magic can happen. But what makes his story even more powerful is how he's broken barriers as an openly gay Filipino American actor, proving that authenticity Isn't just good for the soul. It's good for business, too. I'm beyond excited to welcome someone who's not just changing the game on screen, but redefining what success looks like for the next generation of Asian American actors, creators, and talent. Please give it up for the incredible, the iconic, the absolutely fabulous Nico Santos.

[Nico Santos]

Hi. That was the nicest introduction I think I've ever been given. Thank you so much. I hope I can live up to it.

[Vivian Tu]

Oh, please. You will. You already have. You already have. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to get into everything in your career and pick your brain. But before we start, icebreaker.

[Nico Santos]

Okay.

[Vivian Tu]

What is the brokest you have ever been?

[Nico Santos]

The brokest I've ever been. There was one time where I was just doing standup comedy and I had to do a gig in New York. And so I took the gig was couch surfing at a friend's house. The gig didn't pay much. I basically would just end up minus my airfare and how much they were paying me. I was going to be just positive, like, $50. But I needed the $50 to, like, continue living. So I went to New York, got paid my 50 bucks. I had $10 a day to live off of. I was there for five days. I bought a meal from the halal carts, and I had to split it into two. So I ate half of it for lunch, half it for dinner. I didn't eat breakfast, and I was like, I'm living the dream.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Sometimes you're so broke you have to eat, sleep for breakfast.

[Nico Santos]

Absolutely. I mean, like, those things where you, like, I ate ramen for six months.

[Vivian Tu]

I mean, it's true, it's true. And so many people know you from superstore or crazy rich Asians, but your journey to Hollywood actually started in the Philippines. How did growing up there, like, shape your approach towards comedy and acting?

[Nico Santos]

Well, I mean, Filipinos are. I mean, is anybody here Filipino? Okay. I mean, you know, our people, like, you know, I definitely get my humor from my mom. Like, all the Titos and Titos are just, like, just, you know, like, making fun of you all the time. All your cousins. I think that's what developed my sense of humor. Definitely. I had no sort of idea that this is where I was heading towards. When I was still living in the Philippines, I kind of, you know, we were like. I was a big fan of, like, Hollywood movies. And, you know, like, when I was growing up, actually, when I moved to the United States, I thought because I just watched American programming. I thought the high school I went to was gonna be like Beverly Hills 921L or like, stand and Deliver. I don't know if you guys remember that movie Stand and Deliver. I was like, it's gonna be one of those two experiences. And it was just like a regular high school in Gresham, Oregon. And I was like, oh, yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And the people who were there weren't actually adults playing high schoolers.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Where's Andrea Zuckerman? I don't know where she is. Yeah, it was. It was a real sort of like, oh, this is not what I thought it would be because I had just visited as a. As a tourist before. Very different experience. Moving, moving to America.

[Vivian Tu]

And how was your family's, like, financial situation in the Philippines before coming to the US Was that something of a consideration when you were deciding to move?

[Nico Santos]

It was. You know, we were lucky enough in the Philippines that we were sort of like upper middle class. But the culture in the Philippines, even if you were like, middle class, it's very easy to be able to afford household help. So, I mean, I grew up with my nanny, and we had a driver, we had a cook. And then the economy in the Philippines just crashed. My family used to have three wine stores and liquor stores, and we supplied. It was a retail store. We supplied wine and liquor to hotels and restaurants in Manila as well. And when the economy tanked, my mom was kind of just like, you know, your dad's in the United States. Might as well just see what America can offer. Because my older brother was about to turn 18, and we had to get in before he was 18 so that he can get his green card.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

And, you know, my mom was like, if you don't like America, you can always move back to the Philippines. So we did. We moved. Me and my brother moved to Gresham, Oregon, by ourselves to live with my dad, who we never really grew up with. And, you know, and we went from, like, having a very nice, you know, three bedroom home with, like, you know, the household help to, like, there were eight of us in a 1200 square foot, sort of, like, really dilapidated, just very, very humble home. And I was like, where's the maid who's going to do my laundry like you are? Yeah. I said, okay, I don't like this. But, you know, you have to learn. You have to learn to survive. So I learned real quick.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, you did learn real quick. But obviously, moving into a new space with so much risk. A lot of people love you in crazy rich Asians in Superstore. But my favorite time that I've seen you on my screen was when you were the. Essentially the Regina George of the Filipino mafia.

[Nico Santos]

Yes.

[Vivian Tu]

In St. Denis Medical. Essentially. Filipinos are oftentimes known to be a very popular career, is being a nurse. And you were the lead nurse in St. Denis Medical. I was the meanest of them all.

[Nico Santos]

That's so funny. You know, I, when I did that episode, like it, I guess I'm not on TikTok. I guess it went viral. I got like 6,000 new followers like overnight. And I was like, what happened? But everybody online was kind of just like, finally a Filipino nurse. You know, ER did 25 seasons, we've only seen one. But it was a very fortunate thing because the co creator of St. Denis created Superstore. So they actually called me and was like, we got this role for you.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

What do you think? I'm like, I'm down. I was filming something in Toronto at the time and thankfully we were able to work it out with a schedule that I like. I flew back to la, worked Monday, Tuesday, then the next day moved back to Toronto to work my other job.

[Vivian Tu]

But instead of playing a nurse on screen, did you ever feel pressure to be a nurse or maybe a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or any of the other approved Asian jobs that we're allowed to have?

[Nico Santos]

I'm very lucky that my dad did very much say, I would like you to be exactly one of those three. Doctor, lawyer, engineer. But like, well, I'm going to do theater. Sorry, good luck with that. But my mom was very, very super supportive. Then my mom eventually moved to the United States as well. And yeah, she went to all my open mics, she went to a lot of my shows. And you know, the first time she saw me in open mic, she's like, I think you really got a shot at this. And you know, she's not a typical tiger mom by any means, which I think really worked my advantage.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. And you mentioned earlier that you made $50 when you were initially doing stand up comedy. Can you talk to me a little bit? Just because I don't understand, how do comedians even make money?

[Nico Santos]

Yeah. So when you're a comedian, there's, there's a couple of different avenues you can do. You could. If you're pursuing sort of like the comedy club circuit, you have to work your way up.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

And as a novice, you start getting hosting gigs and then once you graduate out of hosting gigs, you get feature gigs. You're the middle act and then once you graduate out of that, it's. You're the headliner. So for a hosting, like entry level hosting gig at like a sort of a B level club, you'll probably get like 75 a show and you'll get $75. Yeah, yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

So it's usually a local 75.00.

[Nico Santos]

Huh? 75. $75 per show. And that's usually. So they usually hire a local person to host. Right. And let me tell you, the rate of pay for comedians has not changed since the 80s. Yep. They wanted to do a comedians union or a stand up. Com. Extended. Yeah, stand up union. But the clubs are basically like, we're not gonna pay anybody. If you guys do that feature act. Yeah, you'll get like 100, 150 per show. Again, usually you work with a local feature, but a lot of the times, you know, when you're a headliner, you don't know these local comics. You can look them up, you know, but you'll only see like part of their set or just one joke on TikTok or whatever. And you just don't know. So a lot of myself included, a lot of headliners like to bring their own feature act, but they only pay that much for the feature. They won't cover the airfare or the hotel for your feature. Unless you're like a huge, huge comedian like Ali Wong or, you know, Chris Rock. Then obviously there's a budget for that. But for just a regular comedy club, ain't no budget. You gotta cover it. And I've covered it a lot of times. And then if you are the headliner, you get like, either you work a deal where it's just per show, like, you know, 200, 250, or you get a cut of the ticket sales. It's like a 70, 30 split. And then if you, you know, you sell out, you get a bonus, and then you sell another amount, you get another bonus. So that's like the club circuit, but then it's different for like, you know, arenas and theaters. It's a very different story.

[Vivian Tu]

And at the beginning of your comedy career, you were living paycheck to paycheck.

[Nico Santos]

Paycheck to paycheck.

[Vivian Tu]

What financial lessons did you learn during that time?

[Nico Santos]

It's crazy. When I was broke, I actually was a lot more careless with money.

[Vivian Tu]

More careless?

[Nico Santos]

Yeah. When I was broke, I was like, well, I'm already in debt. Just add another zero to that number. I don't care, you know, I can't pay it now. Go ahead and come for Me, I don't have money. So, you know, when I was pursuing stand up comedy in San Francisco, I was also working retail. So. So like, yeah. And a lot of my paycheck went back to Neiman Marcus. Cause, you know, like, oh, it's only 70% off. It used to be $3,000. Now it's, you know, 500. I can afford that and be like, you have to pay your rent. What are you doing? Yeah, so there was a lot of that sort of thinking. And now that I'm sort of more financially stable, I actually, like, I pay people to like keep track of my money because I'm very bad with money. But yeah, I mean, like, it should be the other way around. I should be just like spending all my money right now. But no, like back in the day when I had no money, people were like, you look great. I'm like, I know I can't eat for a month, but I look fabulous.

[Vivian Tu]

You look fabulous while skipping meals.

[Nico Santos]

All your meals.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Nice. Okay. Well, while you were working towards acting and your comedy dream, you mentioned earlier Neiman Marcus, you actually worked in retail. You worked at Neiman's, you worked at Dior, Bottega. Jimmy Choose. He really said, I'm only going to pick the most expensive possible designer brands to work at.

[Nico Santos]

She's not going to work at Target Facts.

[Vivian Tu]

So just be honest with me. What were you making at that time in retail?

[Nico Santos]

When I was working retail, I was making a lot of money. Why a lot of money? Because I work on commission. So depending what store you work for, Neiman Marcus was just straight up commission. So I worked in the handbag department. I was getting like, I think like 5 to 7% commission, depending on what brand you sell.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay.

[Nico Santos]

The first sort of retail job I got was at an independent high end shoe store. I was making 10% commission. Just that. And Bottega was like a high hourly plus anywhere between 4% to 9% commission, depending what product category it is. So yeah, when I was working retail before I started stand up comedy, I was like making like almost six figures bank. But yeah, it was a lot. But it was also San Francisco at the time. It was very expensive to live in. Again, I was much more foolish with my money back then. Even though I was making a lot, I still felt like I was broke because of rent and living expenses and because I was buying handbags and shoes all the time and going out a lot. I went out a lot. A lot of that money went, went into my liver and up my nose. So, you know, you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? So even though I was making a little bit more money than when I moved to LA to start over, I was still broke. Yeah, but you can as a retail person make a lot of money. Like the top salesperson at Neiman Marcus, I remember soldiers. She worked in the designer couture department, ready to wear. And she got a 5 to 7% commission and her yearly sales were $7 million.

[Vivian Tu]

Do the math quickly. Someone do the math quickly. Yeah, that's a lot of money.

[Nico Santos]

If you're a career retail, high end.

[Vivian Tu]

Retail person, you make Money that's like $350,000.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah, you make a lot of money. And so being in a high end retail environment, you have to sort of like, you can't just like rely on the walk in customer. It's about building the relationships with all those rich people out there. So you have your client book that you take with you from job to job. And you just. When I left Neiman's, I went to Bottega. I would call Those people up, Mrs. So and so. I'm not Neiman's anymore, but if you need Bottega, come see me, bitch. Yeah, I'm gonna sell you a handbag.

[Vivian Tu]

That is crazy. And I want a little bit of insider info. What is the best way for, for us to shop at these luxury stores without breaking the bank?

[Nico Santos]

I mean, either get a job at these stores because I mean, what's very different nowadays? I think nowadays they're very stingy with their discount because back in the day there wasn't like the real reel or the rebag and now they're very stingy. But when I was an employee it was like double discount. I was able to get Dolce Gabbana suits for $150. There was one time when I worked for Dior where it was owned by LVMH and Louis Vuitton had an employee sale that was like each shoe that was on sale, $35. Honey, I bought 12 pairs of shoes. Yeah, again, couldn't eat that week. But I got 12 pairs of Louis Vuittons. Yeah, that is crazy. But like if you, if you can't work at a retail store and get the discount, you know, a lot of the, I mean all these brands have sales, but sales are more common in the department stores or boutiques. Like not the brand boutiques but like in la there's a boutique called Maxfield. Carry a lot of high end stuff and they have sales. I was able to get a Nice pair of Dior sneakers for half off that was still full price at the store. Thank you very much. So I was like, score. But, yeah, that's the easiest way, I would say.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Another hot tip for anybody who's curious. If you are already, don't book the trip. But if you are already going to the eu, especially countries that are the home country of that designer brand, it is a great way to not only take advantage of the exchange rate to get that item at a lower cost initially, but then you actually get a VAT refund, which is anywhere between like a 10 to 15% discount for that value added tax that you don't have to pay because you're a tourist.

[Nico Santos]

I did that in Italy.

[Vivian Tu]

I know you did, Dan.

[Nico Santos]

So just go to Italy and it goes up.

[Vivian Tu]

And now pivoting into acting, the entertainment industry, notoriously unstable. How do you manage.

[Nico Santos]

So how.

[Vivian Tu]

So how do you manage your finances knowing that, you know, your career is at a position where you are consistently booking work, but you're not 100% sure when it's going to come, what size it's going to come out? Like, how do you budget?

[Nico Santos]

It is. It's feast or famine. And it's my experience in retail that really sort of like mentally prepared me for that kind of income flow because they were, you know, working retail. Like, you would make so much money. Christmas, the holiday season.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

And then come January, you would actually owe the stores money because you would be in the negative because you had so much returns. Returns, yeah. It was. It was insane. So it's kind of prepared me for that type of money. Incoming. So, you know, I became again, I hired people to look after my money. They make sure I put away for a rainy day, you know, make my investments. All those initials that I don't know about, like Ria. Ira.

[Vivian Tu]

Ira.

[Nico Santos]

Ira. Yes.

[Vivian Tu]

Don't worry.

[Nico Santos]

I'm like, nwa. I don't know, we'll do a little. We'll do a little money Q and.

[Vivian Tu]

A after, so don't worry.

[Nico Santos]

Some guy named Roth, I don't know, they make sure I'm in all of that. And. Yeah, and I just sort of like, you know, I still enjoy myself, but at least I know that, you know, you pay yourself first. Like that one guy said.

[Vivian Tu]

Yes.

[Nico Santos]

So I do. I definitely do that. Yeah. But it is hard. I mean, especially this just recently with the strikes. It was pandemic then strikes, then the fires in la. It was really. We were like, we gotta just tighten our belts here a little bit. Yeah, yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

For sure.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And has that financial instability ever made you consider branching out into, like, other things, like production or other business ventures?

[Nico Santos]

Not just. Not necessarily within the entertainment industry, because it's, you know, like, it doesn't matter what.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

What department you're in.

[Vivian Tu]

Producers also stopped working.

[Nico Santos]

Exactly. Like, you know, like, costume designers all stopped working. Set decorators. But, you know, I would love to. I would love to, like, open my own, like, cafe. You know, I'd love baking. I got really into it. I know I got really into it during the pandemic. I baked a lot when I was a kid, and during the pandemic, I was making, like, three dozen cookies a week that my husband was like, send these away. You cannot have these at home. So I would love to open up a little, you know, dessert store, pastry.

[Vivian Tu]

Shop, you know, what will we call it?

[Nico Santos]

My husband, who's also a great cook. He does savory. I do Sweet. I don't know if I could even say this on your. Just leave this if this is not good, but we were like, we should name our cafe Fagettes.

[Vivian Tu]

Oh, my God.

[Nico Santos]

I'm like, brilliant name, but I don't know if people are gonna be on board.

[Vivian Tu]

Wow. I know. That is a South by Southwest first. Please do not cancel me.

[Nico Santos]

I can say it because I'm gay. Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

I absolutely love that. And I love that you're thinking about that. Maybe that's like a nice, cool, cool retirement when you have your Eat, Pray, love moment.

[Nico Santos]

I told my business manager. I was like, what do you think if I open a pastry shop cafe? They're like, the restaurant industry is notoriously very, very, very high risk. Do not do it until you are making Angela Bassett money. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

[C]

Support for this show comes from Smartsheet. Do you ever wonder how many times a day you toggle between different screens, applications, and windows on your computer? Maybe 20 times. Okay. Maybe 50 on a bad day. Try 1,200 times a day in a single day. Now multiply that by all the days you work in a year, and that's 9% of your time spent toggling. That is so much wasted time. Simply clicking back and forth. Imagine what you could do with all that extra time. Smartsheet is here to help you take all that extra time back. Smartsheet is the work management platform that helps your team remove roadblocks, ease friction, and cut those back and forth clicks down to a number that doesn't make your head hurt. With tools that allow your team to manage their Workflow all in one place. You'll spend less time toggling and more time driving results, fostering creativity and scaling to new heights. Smartsheet where work flows. Learn [e-mail] Vox.

[Vivian Tu]

Support for net worth and chill comes from Intuit. When it comes to small business marketing, reaching the right audience starts with the right data. Intuit SMB Media Labs is a first of its kind small business ad network that helps your marketing work smarter. By leveraging exclusive audiences and insights from the makers of QuickBooks, you can connect with the right customers efficiently and effectively. With an audience scale of 36 million, Intuit SMB Media Labs puts your brand in front of the small businesses that need you most, targeting key decision makers by industry size, maturity and location. More than just an audience, it's your SMB Media partner. Learn [e-mail] it.com okay, all right, we'll make note of that.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

So you've been in quite a different, quite a number of things, both feature films as well as TV shows. How do you decide what you are going to do and say yes to?

[Nico Santos]

It's a number of factors. It also depends on where you at financially that year at the time you get that offer of the job. You know, when I first started, I booked Superstore was my big break and that was 10 years ago. You know, my, my goals back then were very different. I was like, I will do any job. I don't care where IT films. You know, I'm just here for the exposure. Like I need to get my name out there now. You know, like I'm 45, I'm turning 46 this year. I'm married, we have a puppy, we own a home. And it's, you know, if I'm not financially struggling at the moment, then it's like, does it film in la? If it doesn't film in la, I don't want to go. Yeah, because a lot of stuff films in Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto and being away from, you know, from your loved ones is very hard. I don't want to be away from my home. It's really, it's very hard when you're like, you know, six months away, three months away. So if it's not about the money, I look at it as far as content. Will this project move the needle for my career? Is this a character I want to play? Is the message of the script something I agree with? But there are those jobs you take just for the paycheck because you have to.

[Vivian Tu]

Speaking of the paycheck, what pays better, movies or TV shows?

[Nico Santos]

It depends what your rank is, basically.

[Vivian Tu]

Wait, explain this to me.

[Nico Santos]

So, you know, for somebody like me, I consider myself just like a regular working actor. I get paid more doing television. So if you are a series regular on a television show, you get paid per episode. And I was fortunate enough to work on Superstore, which did 22 episodes per season, which is very rare. Cause right now a lot of TVs, you just do like eight episodes, you know, 10, 13.

[Vivian Tu]

What's like a TV show episode pay ballpark, anywhere.

[Nico Santos]

Like low, low range would be like 15 to 20 starting out per episode.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay.

[Nico Santos]

And then high range. If you were like sort of more well known working actor. But not like a huge star. Yeah, like definitely like six figures.

[Vivian Tu]

Like, oh, wow, 150 for something like that's 22 episodes.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah. That's a lot of money.

[Vivian Tu]

That's a lot of money.

[Nico Santos]

And then if you were like a pretty big star, it could be like, you know, like 400, 350. 400.

[Vivian Tu]

Wow.

[Nico Santos]

You know, the Big Bang people, Big Bang Theory, they got a hundred, a million dollars per episode, you know, per episode? Per episode. Towards the end. Towards the end. Like in their like 11, 12, 13 season.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay.

[Nico Santos]

But you also have to realize that A, we pay taxes on that amount.

[Vivian Tu]

Yes, of course.

[Nico Santos]

And B, we pay commissions. So depending on how many people you're repped by, it's anywhere from 20 to 30% commission payout plus the tax. So you're essentially making half of what you get. So people are always just like, you are so rich. I'm like, half of this is gone, baby. Half of it is gone right away to your reps and the government. And then you got mortgage bills.

[Vivian Tu]

What about movies? What do those pay?

[Nico Santos]

It depends again on the role that you play. So our union, SAG aftra, has a minimum scale of what they give you for roles. Like if it was like, you know, there are certain roles that are like a guest star in a TV series or like a supporting role in a movie. It could be anywhere from like, depending on how many days you work as well, it would be like, you know, 5,000 to 12,000.

[Vivian Tu]

For the whole movie?

[Nico Santos]

For the whole movie, yeah. And then sometimes per week, it depends how long the shoot is as well. So there's also this thing called schedule F where they basically just do a buyout of your time. So I've done this for independent films because the budget is obviously a lot smaller. So schedule F is like $65,000. And then that's all you get. You don't get overtime because sometimes it can be like you'll just get the weekly rate and that's eligible for overtime. But really you want the schedule left because it doesn't equal to more money.

[Vivian Tu]

So, yeah, for something that's like such a blockbuster hit, like Crazy Rich Asians, do you feel like you got compensated properly?

[Nico Santos]

I did not. I did not. You know, listen, when Crazy Rich Asians came out, the landscape of the entertainment industry was very different. Warner Brothers was taking a huge risk, you know, doing this movie with an all Asian cast. The first movie with an all Asian cast in 25 years. And they just didn't know if he was gonna do well. And the unfortunate reality is, you know, like, they make those decisions with white talent all the time. Like, yeah, just have this $20 million. If it flunks, we don't care. But if you're a person of color, if you're, you know, poc queer, they don't take those chances. So they were very, very careful about the money. And we all got a lot of us, 90% of us got paid scale for that for that movie. And, you know, I basically made a third of what I get paid per episode for the entire movie. But again, I took that job because I knew it was something special. We love the material. You know, like, you wanted to be part of this sort of groundbreaking project whether it was going to do well or not. Thankfully, it did well. And yeah, it was very much the right decision. But my entire team, my agents, manager, my lawyer was like, do not take this job. It is a shitty fucking contract. Sorry, can I swear?

[Vivian Tu]

You can swear.

[Nico Santos]

That's fine. It is a shitty contract, but I was like, I really have to do this. I love the character, I love the script. You know, I want to take a chance on this and I'm glad I did.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay, at this point in your career, Lightning round movie that doesn't pay very well, or TV series that does pay very well, but you're really excited about the movie and not that excited about the TV show. Which one are we taking?

[Nico Santos]

At this point in my life, I would do the movie actually.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

Because right now, you know, like, I've done those jobs where it is stable and I've been able to save money in the bank and, you know, we have a home and all that stuff. Thankfully, we are a double income household. So.

[Vivian Tu]

Dinks.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah, I'm not dinks. Is that what it's called?

[Vivian Tu]

Double income? No kids?

[Nico Santos]

Oh, well, we have a puppy. Double income plus Dog plus dip. Duh.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, exactly.

[Nico Santos]

Dipper, Duh. Dip a duh. Yeah, yeah. But so right now, you know, I'm not worried about, like losing my home. So I would definitely sort of consider a project that was like, you know, challenging or, you know, would again move the needle for my career.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, something like that.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Okay, let's move on to the longest running show that you've been on. Superstore. We love Superstore. Talk to me a little bit about streamers. How has that changed the pay structure, the residuals, how does that work? Are you making money?

[Nico Santos]

I make money, but not what, not what everybody thought I'd be making.

[Vivian Tu]

Right.

[Nico Santos]

So traditionally in network television, once your show hits 100 episodes, it could go into syndication, which means another network will buy it, and then you just get a huge chunk of money as well as the residuals from those shows. So, like, you know, TNT will just buy like the entire series, Will and Grace, and they would just show it over and over. So that's why you hear people like people in Friends or Big Bang Theory that are like, I'm worth, you know, like $200 million. It's because of syndication, because it really is a huge check and it's just money that keeps appearing. But streaming, you know, when it first appeared in the scene, it was considered new media, which is a very different contract according to our union. And like, the minimum for new media is actually like $100. Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

So not a lot.

[Nico Santos]

No, no. So like my, my residuals for Superstore, because there were a lot of episodes, you know, it's not Peanuts, but it's not as much. It's not in 100 million. It's not that much. Because I would have flown private had that be the case. Yeah. So that's really changed. Changed the game. And, and I, and I have to keep working.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nico Santos]

Superstore was going to be my retirement plan because once we hit like 100 episodes, I was like, I'm set. And they're like, this isn't going to get syndicated. It's like, okay, what's the next job?

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, yeah, you switched it up very quick. You know, you call yourself a working actor, but so many people do look up to your career. Do you have any advice for young actors who want to break into the business?

[Nico Santos]

I would have to say, if you are somebody who wants to break into the entertainment industry, whether it's in front of the camera or behind the camera, be absolutely sure that this is your passion and this is what you want to do. Because it is not easy. It is not easy. And if there is something else in your life, I'm not trying to squash anybody's dreams. If this is what you want to do, by all means, pursue it 1000%. Like I did. Because I knew that I could not work at an office job. And the first time I did an open mic for stand up comedy, I was like, this is how I want to pay my bills. I just want to pay my bills, you know, making people laugh, being a stupid idiot on screen, on stage or whatever. You know, like, I don't want to be like, table for two. Right this way. Which I did for many years. But yeah, just a, make sure that this is your passion and you are in all in 1,000%. And B, there is a little bit of delusion that needs to happen in your mind. You have to be a little Delulu delusional confidence of being like, out of thousands of people trying to be a star in the industry, that they're gonna pick me. So, yeah, you need to have like, it's a marathon because you get rejected every single day. So you have to develop a thick skin. Don't take it personally. You know, you have to remember that, like, other people's success are not. Is not your failure. That was a big.

[Vivian Tu]

Ooh, talk to me about that.

[Nico Santos]

Well, because when you're sort of auditioning, you know, it's very common. You're like, I auditioned for that role and that motherfucker booked it instead of me. And you end up hating these people. But you just have to realize, like, you know, other people's success is not your failure. You know, I love that only one person can book a job.

[Vivian Tu]

Right.

[Nico Santos]

They can't have two people working the same role.

[Vivian Tu]

Right.

[Nico Santos]

So, you know, and you're. There's all these stories in Hollywood of like, oh, so and so didn't book that job, but then they got this job and then they won the Emmy for it. You know, there's all those stories in Hollywood. So what. What's meant for you is for you. I know this a little woo woo. But it's the truth.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, I love that so much. I know you had some really great advice just now, but do you have any regrets about your own career?

[Nico Santos]

Not a huge regret. I mean, like, the one what if I was actually thinking about was after I filmed Crazy Rich Asians. Obviously the movie did really well and I had a lot of interest from all these studios. I was getting a lot of additions and projects that I had to say no to because I was under contract for Superstore up to six seasons and crazy reservations came out, like after the third season, I believe, or during the fourth season rather. And at the end of the fourth season, for anybody who's not seen the show, something happens to my character that I could have easily done a clean break and left the show. And I often wonder, like, had I left the show at the height of crazy rich Asians and tried to take the other opportunities I was presented, where would I be? But again, you know, working very hard with my therapist that to just be in the present and don't think about the what ifs, because you are where you're supposed to be at the moment. And, you know, and if I, if I, if I had done that, then I probably wouldn't have met my husband, wouldn't have this wonderful home that we have and this wonderful life that we're living with a very adorable 10 week old puppy. So, yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. What would you say was the pivotal moment of when you were like, everything is bad. I am living paycheck to paycheck. I can barely make ends meet. At what point did you feel good about money?

[Nico Santos]

There was one point where this was like, second season of Superstore. Because first season of Superstore, I kept my day job up until episode.

[Vivian Tu]

Wait, what were you doing? Were you just retail?

[Nico Santos]

I was a host of the restaurant. And you know, again, it's a very volatile industry, so people were like, why are you still working at the restaurant? I kept picking up shifts during the weekends and I was like, I don't know if this show's gonna go like, you know, I'm saving all my money and if we get canceled tomorrow, like, you know, I'm broke again. So by like episode six, the showrunner was like, quit your job.

[Vivian Tu]

What are you doing?

[Nico Santos]

You're on television, for God's sakes. But I finally decided the start of season two of Superstore, I was gonna get my own apartment. I'd never lived by myself before. And the apartment I got was in a very nice neighborhood in Los Angeles and it had an in unit washer and dryer. Oh. And I was like, I am rich. I'm gonna do a load of laundry.

[Vivian Tu]

At 2am Whenever you want.

[Nico Santos]

Whenever I want.

[Vivian Tu]

And you don't need quarters.

[Nico Santos]

And I don't need quarters. Yeah. I really felt it was like, oh, I'm stable. First of all, I could live by myself and not worry about my bills. I was out of credit card debt for the first time in my life, was able to rebuild my credit score. And things were on the up and up and I really was just like, oh, this is what an adult looks like.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

Speaking of the up and up and moving into your first apartment by yourself. You're not by yourself anymore. We've mentioned him a couple times. You have a loving husband and a new puppy. How do you guys talk about money split finances in your relationship?

[Nico Santos]

You know, we are very. We're both very independent people, which actually I think works really well for our relationship and our marriage because we got our own thing going on. So we do spend a lot of time together. But, you know, I've got my life, he's got his life. You know, he's got his friends, my friends, and we have mutual friends as well. We sleep in separate bedrooms.

[C]

Really?

[Nico Santos]

Yes, honey. And let me tell you, it is the best thing in the entire world. A lot of people like, that's so weird. No, honey, first of all, we have different schedules. So when I'm working, sometimes I have to do an all night shoot where I start at 6pm and go until 6am or I have to be on set at 5:30am and he's a night owl, so I also snore and have sleep apnea. So he was like, we're not sleeping in the same room.

[Vivian Tu]

Oh, see, that was the part you left out. Sleep apnea. Like you have a CPAP machine that's like zzz all night.

[Nico Santos]

But when we're traveling, we don't sleep in separate rooms. You know, we sleep in the same room so we can sleep together if we have to. Like traveling.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, have to, have to.

[Nico Santos]

But the thing is like, we again are very independent. We like to do our own thing. So the sort of, the routine at night is we'll cook dinner, have dinner, and then after dinner we'll cuddle in one of our rooms and watch TV and be like, catch up on our stories. And then we're going to be like, all right, time to go to bed. But going to bed means I'm just going to go back to my room, watch more TV of my choosing, and then after a couple hours, go to bed and then see each other in the morning. It's incredible.

[Vivian Tu]

I feel like we're getting life wisdom too.

[Nico Santos]

Honey, we barely fight. And I do think it's because we have our own bedrooms and we have our own bathrooms.

[Vivian Tu]

Mm.

[Nico Santos]

Okay.

[Vivian Tu]

That is very important. Yeah. We are coming up on time. So I do want to kind of just kind of close this out and talk about your highs. What do you feel like is your personal high point of your career, like, the highest moment so far.

[Nico Santos]

Highest moment so far. It was the year that, like, I don't know, there's a couple of moments. I definitely set a lot of goals, like when I moved to Los Angeles and not to be all, woo, woo, but a lot of it has come true. I really do believe in, like, goal setting and, like, really putting it out there. But, like, I was like, I want to be on TV by the time I'm 35. Superstar happened at 35. I want to be. I want to do a movie. Then Crazy Rich Asians happened. I want to do a Marvel movie. I'm a huge comic book nerd. I did Guardians of the Galaxy. So it's just those things that sort of keep happening and keep setting goals. But, like, the year that Crazy Rich Asians came out, I was. The movie was nominated for best comedy. We were nominated for best ensemble in a comedy movie or in a movie. And I was nominated best supporting actor in a comedy series. And I was like, what is happening? You know, like, and honestly, at that time, like, and I still do. I still like battle imposter syndrome sometimes. It is a lot of what my therapy sessions are about. And so I really was like, at that time when that happened, I was like, oh, they only nominated me because the movie's doing really well and blah, blah, blah. And Everett was like, shut up. Like, you know, you've worked really hard and you did really great work. Just be proud, accept it. And, you know, I was like, you know what? You're right. I. Blood, sweat and tears to get to this point, like, from a whole nother from the other side of the world as a teenager and now, you know, just sort of like on this stage, it was really kind of just like, yeah, pinch me moment. It's great.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah, you absolutely deserved it.

[Nico Santos]

Thank you.

[Vivian Tu]

And to wrap us up, you're at a pretty good point financially now. You're at a pretty good point in your career. What would it take for you to walk away from it all and say, I'm retired?

[Nico Santos]

Like, a hundred in the hundred millions of dollars? I love doing this job.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

This is like when I'm not working. My husband tell you, like, I am a freaking mess. Like, during the strikes, I was just like, I would get really depressed, you know, because a lot of time, not just with entertainment, a lot of time our self worth is tied into our jobs. And I've had to work really, really hard to realize and to remind myself I am not my Job, you know, I am a worthy person. Even though I'm not an actor at the moment, or if I'm not acting at the moment, if I'm not doing comedy at the moment, you know, I'm still me and worthy to be there again. A lot of therapy, but I do, I love doing this job. It's the only way I want to make a living. It's the only way I want to pass my time. So I would love to keep working as long as possible. But if I win Powerball, one of those billion dollar jackpots.

[Vivian Tu]

Bye.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah, bye. Bye. Bye. Mansion in Malibu.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

Making it fireproof.

[Vivian Tu]

It's true though. We really do need to be fireproofing those homes. Before we wrap, are there any financial questions that I can help you with your life and your finances?

[Nico Santos]

Okay. I actually was gonna talk to my business manager about this. So I do have like some money just in like a regular investment. What is the regular investment? Yeah, but they were like, you could probably transfer it to something that yields more. But like, should I. Or is that low risk, high risk, and like, where should I move it to?

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. So I would say if you have money in an investment account that is largely in index funds that track the S&P 500, that is a medium risk opportunity, there are certainly fixed income assets like bonds and stuff that would guarantee a lower yield. That would be less risky, but you would get less. And then there's other stuff that you as a high net worth individual, someone with connections who works in the industry might have access to. So things like angel investing or providing seed money or even potentially private equity investing or just private investments, as well as some higher risk growth funds, some sector specific funds. All of that stuff is higher risk, but with a potential for higher reward. The reason I have to say potential for is because everyone thinks if they invest at the risky stuff, they're magically going to get money. That's not how it always plays out. And if you feel like you are now in a position where you are focused on wealth growth and you're not worried, if you were to lose every dollar, you would still have other stuff that would protect you, that would keep the roof over your head, that would feed you and would still allow you to retire comfortably, but this could just potentially take you to the next level, I don't think that's a bad idea. However, if this is money that you are relying on to potentially fund your future retirement, to potentially be a little bit of a parachute. Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily go crazy with Some of these higher risk investments. Because I know people in our industry, especially people with platforms, love to talk about, oh, I'm angel investing. Like, I'm impact investing a lot of those.

[Nico Santos]

I opened up my new cafe called Fagettes.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Literally, like, but a lot of those things go to zero.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah.

[Vivian Tu]

And if money is something that you're really focused on, it's not always the best idea to take those massive risks when there are more dependable, more tried and true methods. But again, it really depends on your entire holistic picture. This is not financial advice, I have to say that. But, Nico, thank you so much for being with me here today. I've had so much fun chatting with you. I can't wait to come to the cafe. I won't say it. Tell us, what can people expect next from you? Where are we going to find you? Where can we watch?

[Nico Santos]

I'm just. I'm on Instagram, Iko Santos. I'm currently on the Z Suite, which is on Tubi with Lauren Graham. It's a really silly, silly, funny show. So please watch that. And I'm just actually looking for my next gig.

[Vivian Tu]

Amazing.

[Nico Santos]

They did just announce that Crazy Rich Asians is going to be a series.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah.

[Nico Santos]

On Max. So I may or may not be involved in that because that just got announced. So I. I'm hoping we'll see.

[Vivian Tu]

I'm hoping. Cause I would like to have something to watch.

[Nico Santos]

Yeah. So. But that's not good. Probably not going to even start filming until 2026.

[Vivian Tu]

Man, I forgot that those timelines are so long.

[Nico Santos]

It's long. Yeah. Making these things is long.

[Vivian Tu]

Yeah. Thank you guys so much for coming. I'm looking at the timer. We are out of time. Really, really appreciate it. Thank you guys so much. And thank you, Nico.

[Nico Santos]

Thank you guys. This is so much fun.

[Vivian Tu]

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, part of the Vox Media podcast network. If you liked the episode to leave a rating and review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Got a burning financial question that you want covered in a future episode? Write to us via podcastourrichbff.com follow Net Worth and Chillpod on Instagram to stay up to date on all podcast related news and you can follow me at YourRichBFF for even more financial know how. See you next week. Bye. Thank you to Smartsheet for supporting this episode. Whether your team is scheduling complex surgeries, getting a race car to the finish line, or sending rovers to distant planets, they need a single place to allow their work to flow. And that place is Smartsheet. No matter what seemingly impossible task you're working on, Smartsheet is the work management platform built to make it all possible. Whether your work happens in the operation room, on the racetrack, or out on the very edges of our galaxy, Smartsheet is the place where the improbable becomes possible. Ready to learn more? Visit smartsheet.com Vox Smartsheet the place where work flows, support for net worth and chill comes from Intuit. Reaching the right small businesses starts with right data. Intuit SMB Media Labs is a first of its kind small business ad network with access to audiences and insights from the makers of QuickBooks. You can target key decision makers by industry size, maturity, location, and more. It's your gateway to B2SMB marketing success. Learn more at medialabs.into it.com.