‘XO, Kitty’ star Anthony Keyvan incorporates Filipino roots to embrace his character

Pinoy pride hails on Netflix’s romantic comedy television show XO, Kitty.

Filipino-Iranian actor Anthony Keyvan shared that shaping his character in the newest season of XO, Kitty, involved internalizing his own roots. 

The 24-year-old plays the role of Quincy (most known as Q), Kitty’s queer Filipino friend who provides most of the comic relief in the high school setting of the series. 

“It was always really important for me to share that [Filipino] part of myself through Q and it’s been touched on before on Season 1,” Keyvan told ABS-CBN.

The rising Hollywood star expressed a desire to further explore his heritage and anticipated a deeper exploration of Q's background within the series.

“So I mentioned my Lola, I mentioned my family in the Philippines, and cooking that dish,” Keyvan said, referencing one episode in the series where he featured his grandmother’s special Filipino healing broth, which included ingredients like calamansi and bagoong. 

Apart from the Filipino dishes that were introduced in the series, Keyvan also joked about the generational trauma in Filipino households about being great at something to make your family proud, which is what his character, a track and field runner, was trying to achieve in the show.

“It really felt like I was more connected to my character because of it,” he added.

Keyvan also embraced Q’s role, a character well-loved by the fans, with “such an honor” because of the weight of the responsibility of representing the LGBTQ+ community. 

“Playing someone that means something to people is so special,” he said. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure sometimes, but I’ve taken it in stride because I never really got to see someone on TV like myself.”

XO, Kitty is the spin-off of the To All the Boys film series created by Jenny Han for Netflix, which is an adaptation of the book trilogy with the same title. Its Season 2 premiered last Jan. 16.