Making his Hollywood debut this year with the international series Monarch, Inigo Pascual said he was happy to see more Asians being represented onscreen in Hollywood.

“It feels good. I’ve felt it for the past couple of years with all these artists, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars has been around for the longest time. It feels nice with the acceptance of the variety of ethnicities in the States.

“I feel like now you’re not limited to a certain stereotype no matter what your race is and it feels good to represent where you come from. I feel like we’re living in times wherein because of technology and because of the pandemic, it’s more open globally to represent where you come from and it’s not limited anymore to whatever background you have. And it feels good.

“Honestly, I’m not saying that the pandemic has been good but in a way, I probably wouldn’t have been accepted in this project without the pandemic. Self-tapes happened during the pandemic and I landed this role through a self-tape,” he shared.

READ: Inigo Pascual reveals why he is now happy to ‘not just be called Piolo’s son’

Even while shooting on the set, Inigo recalled how it felt living out his dream and how it humbled him as an artist.

“Sobra. It felt surreal especially to be working with Susan Sarandon. My first conversation with her, kasi I met her at a dinner before taping. Ang daming beses na na-humble ako sa sarili ko sa kung anong pinagdaanan ko before na just because of what you have in the Philippines, it doesn’t define who you are in a bigger stage. Sobrang amazing experience. Sobrang nakaka-humble and it makes you realize na yung mga pangarap mo hindi naka-box sa iisang lugar. Puwede pala mangarap ng mas malaki,” he said.

READ: Inigo Pascual on doing his first Hollywood series ‘Monarch’: ‘Lahat parang dream come true!’

Inigo said he also felt proud to represent Pinoys with this major acting project.

“Siguro bawat araw na nasa set ako surreal. Even now. I was even crying when we did a watch party. To see my family in America, not watching TFC, not watching ABS-CBN and for them to be watching a channel that’s not Filipino-related was something na hindi ko inakala na mangyayari and it feels good that just because I’m doing this it doesn’t mean that I’m leaving my Filipino roots.

“In all honestly, ang tagal kong inisip paano ba mapapanuod yung Monarch sa Pilipinas. And I was worried. If it was going to be on Fox, how will it be shown in the Philippines? It feels surreal that a show like that I was part of will be shown in the Philippines. iWantTFC made it happen,” he explained.

READ: Piolo Pascual super proud sa achievement ni Iñigo sa Hollywood

Now that the first season has wrapped up taping, Inigo revealed he is looking forward to working on more projects abroad in the near future.

“I’m currently auditioning for a couple of stuff actually dito sa States. Hindi lang ako puwede ma-lockdown sa isang long term project since we’re still waiting if we’re going to continue with season two. But of course we’re asking for your support na sana magkaroon ng season two. But I’ve been auditioning for a couple of projects. I’ve been sending in my self-tapes and it feels good kasi marami na akong naririnig na mga kaibigan ko na who have been sending their self-tapes. So I expect a lot of Filipino artists in Hollywood,” he shared.

Tune in to Monarch on the iWantTFC app (iOS and Android) and website (iwanttfc.com). The series, which is distributed by Sony Pictures Television, is available for free for iWantTFC subscribers in the Philippines