Fil-Am actor Timothy Granaderos hopes to play roles that reflect his roots

Filipino-American actor Timothy Granaderos wowed a lot of fans in his breakout role as Montgomery de la Cruz in 13 Reasons Why. With the show airing its final season a year ago, he now hopes to forge ahead with his upcoming projects. Although the actor grew up in Michigan, he has been to Zamboanga where his Filipino father originally came from. Even when that’s the case, he hopes to play a character that reflects his Filipino-American roots.

“I learned a lot and most people thought it was kind of a tough process for me to go through at times. And, at times, it was because you have to represent. So many people reached out and kind of related to the character in the show.”

Filipino-American actor Timothy Granaderos hopes to play roles that reflect his roots

Although he is Filipino, he does not speak Tagalog. However, if a person he knows is a Filipino or a Filipina, he would acknowledge them in Tagalog.

“Unfortunately, I do not speak Tagalog but when I notice a Filipino or Filipina and I’ll drop the ‘salamat’ or ‘salamat po,’ they look at me like, ‘What is this white boy saying thank you to me for in Tagalog? And I’m like, ‘That’s right.’”

**Timothy Granaderos stars in Plan B; now out on Hulu**

Describing the movie, he expressed how glad he feels to be part of a project that celebrates strong women. Timothy also pointed out the strong women in his life – his mother who raised him and his sister Alyson who introduced him to the industry.

“I was raised by a very strong, independent woman. My mother, she worked as a dietitian her entire life. She actually just retired recently but she instilled very empathetic open-minded viewpoints. I think that kind of reflected on to the movie, it’s these two girls who are just fiercer and smarter than the rest of us. It’s very fun to watch it from their perspective.”

As a Hollywood makeup artist, Timothy credited Alyson for getting him into the business. Then, he revealed that he made his way into the entertainment scene as a production assistant in a reality show.

“If you’re from Michigan, the idea of Hollywood is just like this fantasy land and it’s like it’s not very attainable but I think my sister kind of came out here and paved the way, and my parents, in turn, were like, ‘Oh, then you can make a living.'”

“When I came out for the show, I remember being at the airport and I had two suitcases and I told my dad, ‘Okay, I’ll be back in a few.’ Because I didn’t plan to move on here permanently. I was like, ‘I’ll be back in a few months to get the rest of my stuff and figure my life out.’ He was like, ‘You’re not coming back.’”