In interview after interview, Tyler Posey—the hot young star of MTV's hit show "Teen Wolf"—is asked where in Mexico his family is from. But until recently, the 20-year-old teen heartthrob didn't know how to answer that question. "I just figured out what kind of Mexican I am," Posey tells The Huffington Post. "I was working on a movie last summer and somebody asked me, "what part of Mexico are you from?' I didn't know there were different parts, so I asked my mom and she said I'm Zacateco...from Zacatecas," says Posey.

The funny and laid-back actor spoke exclusively with The Huffington Post about his Latino roots, why he doesn't speak Spanish, and growing up in an hacienda. He also reveals what's coming up on tonight's all-new episode of "Teen Wolf," (10/9c on MTV) and explains why he doesn't mind showing some skin on the hit show!

Tell us about your Latin roots?
On my mom's side I'm Mexican and my dad is a White dude {Laughs}.

Do you speak Spanish?
Muy poquito, muy muy poquito {Laughs}. I took Spanish in high school and I didn’t do too well in it. My Spanish teacher told me not to go on with Spanish anymore, so I was discouraged a little bit. But I have been wanting to learn it more lately. Hopefully I'll be able to learn some more. Screw my teacher {Laughs}.

Did you speak Spanish with your parents growing up?
My mom would swear at us in Spanish {Laughs}. And you know, just call us M'ijo, and stuff like that. But literally my whole house looks like an hacienda! It's bright, has colorful strands everywhere - I wish I could show you pictures of it. It is really beautiful. I grew up in a small suburb called Santa Clarita just north of L.A.

The fact that you're half-Mexican and the star of your own hit show on MTV, is obviously a big source of pride for the Latino community. Do you feel like you're representing for Latinos in Hollywood?
I definitely do. Especially with all of the attention I'm getting from Latino magazines. I also just got nominated for an Imagen Award {which aims to recognize and reward positive portrayals of Latinos in all forms of media} which I'm super stoked for! I can't even tell you how excited I am about that. Oscar Nunez from "The Office" is going to be there and I love that show, so I'm really excited to see him. So yeah, I completely embrace the fact that I'm Latino and the lead of a show. If anything, I hope it shows that, well, don't be discouraged if you're ethnic {Laughs}.

In your career, you've played characters from a wide range of backgrounds. Do you like the fact that you're not typecast?
I love it! I mean, people don’t know what race I am. They never know if I'm Hawaiian or Italian or Mexican or Spanish or White. I could play Jewish, I could play anything. I used to get typecast when I was younger...

Your character Scott McCall is an all-American guy. He's not Latino, right?
Well, his mom has got a dark complexion, so I think he's half-Latino. It never comes up in the show, but I'm pretty sure that he is Latino. I mean, look at the guy! He looks Latino, a little bit.

The second season of your show is bigger and better than the first. Have you noticed a change from season 1?
Yeah. There's not one dull moment in the show, which I think is the coolest part about it. First season and second season, there's a huge change. It's a lot more intense and a lot more fun to watch and be part of. It's so much bigger in every single way and I think it's so cool that we're pulling it off and we're not jumping the shark. We're actually doing a really good job of making the show bigger without hurting it at all. It's really cool.

The show loves to feature you and your male co-stars shirtless. Is that something you're OK with?
It's actually not my real body! It's my head on... No, I'm just joking {Laughs}. No, I'm completely OK with it. I mean, sometimes I'll be walking around shirtless on set and the only aspect I don't like about it is that I feel like people think that I like to be shirtless and that I'm like, "check out my body, look at this!" But other than that, I'm really OK with it. I don't mind it at all. I'm not some weirdo who wants to take off his shirt. But there's pretty intense training to get the physique to 12-year-old girls' standards, I guess. {Laughs}.

Young girls go crazy for you when they see you! Is that scary?
Well, for me it's normal. If I see a girl, and she doesn't scream, I'm like 'are you OK?' {Laughs}. But no, I embrace it. I think it's so cool that people like us enough to have all of these crazy emotions about us. I think it's awesome and I try to do the best I can to try and make them feel welcome and not crazy —even though sometimes they are crazy. I just try to make them feel good about themselves and I do the best I can to make them happy.

What can you tease about tonight's all-new episode of "Teen Wolf"?
You find out who the creepy mysterious creature is. It’s insane...


40 STARS YOU NEVER KNEW WERE MEXICAN

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  • Joanna Kerns

    You know her as Maggie Seaver--the mom in the family comedy "Growing Pains" (1985-1992)--but you probably didn't know that actress Joanna Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona and is of mixed Mexican/Irish descent (her father David is Mexican American and her mother Martha is Irish-American).

  • Alexis Bledel

    The "Gilmore Girls" star was born in Houston, Texas to a Mexican mother named Nanette Dozier and an Argentinean dad named Martin!

  • Nick Krause

    You know him as the socially inept Sid, Shailene Woodley's hilarious best friend in Alexander Payne's Oscar nominated film "The Descendants," but did you know that this talented actor is part-Mexican?

  • Michael Trevino

    He may not play a Latino on "The Vampire Diaries," but Michael Trevino is a proud Mexican-American! "I'm a full-blooded Mexican," Michael says. "My mother was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and my father--the son of Mexican immigrants--was born near Fresno, California."

  • Stacey Dash

    The half-Mexican "Clueless" star believes it's important to be proud of your Latin roots. "It's who you are," she <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/exclusive-stacey-dashs-tips-looking-young-and-her-advice-latinas-hollywood" target="_hplink">says</a>. "We need diversity. The most important thing for me, in Hollywood, [is that] at this point it should not be about a certain race or color, it's about your ability and what you do. We have a really huge platform to do that and it's important that we do it with integrity." Amen!

  • Sara Paxton

    Paxton is Scottish and Irish on her father's side, but her mother Lucia was born In Monterrey, Mexico and raised in Ciudad Acuña. The "Last House On The Left," star says people don't believe she's Mexican. "They don't believe me at all," she has said. "I think its because they have this stereotype of what a Hispanic girl is supposed to look like, and I don't fit that typical look."

  • Rebecca Black

    When the "Friday' singer recently traveled to Morelos, Mexico to endorse Mexican presidential candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto, a lot of people were confused. But it turns out Rebecca's mom is originally from Mexico.

  • Lynda Carter

    Lynda Carter, the woman who first portrayed Wonder Woman on the 1970 TV series "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman," is of Irish American descent on her father's side, but her mother Juana Cordova is of Mexican descent.

  • Louis C.K.

    "Mexico is just like America--it's made up of some white people and black people and brown people," the star of FX's hit show "Louie" said during a recent radio interview. "My dad is Mexican and my whole family lives in Mexico on my dad's side." Louis even lived in Mexico City "'till I was seven or eight."

  • Mondo Guerra

    The "Project Runway: All Stars" winner is Mexican-American!

  • Mitt Romney

    Even though his father was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Romney says he's not really Mexican: "I would love to be able to convince people of that - particularly in a Florida primary," <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/buzz/100-stars-you-never-knew-were-latino" target="_hplink">joked</a> Romney with a laugh, during an interview with Univision News anchor Jorge Ramos. "But I think that might be disingenuous on my part, because in my case, my dad was born in Mexico and I'm proud of my heritage, but he was born of U.S. citizens who were living in Mexico at the time and was not Hispanic."

  • James Roday

    The talented actor, who plays fake psychic Shawn Spencer on the hit USA Network series "Psych," was born James David Rodriguez. "My father is Jaime Rodriguez from San Antonio, Texas and I've got one whole half of my family that's Mexican through and through. {The other half} is some sort of bright white concoction of English, Irish and Scottish," he has said.

  • Shar Jackson

    You know all about her baby-mama drama with Britney's ex Kevin Federline, but did you know that Shar--who played Brandi's best friend on the UPN show "Moesha"--is Puerto Rican and Mexican on her father's side?

  • Fergie

    In 2008, The Black Eyed Peas singer broke down her Latin roots: "Yes, I have Mexican in my ancestry," Fergie told <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/music/exclusive-fergie-breaks-down-her-latina-roots" target="_hplink">Latina Magazine</a>. "My Dad's grandmother was born in Guanajuato. I'm very proud of it; that's probably where I get my fire! I'm mostly Scottish-Irish, though."

  • Nicole Richie

    Is Nicole Richie Mexican? Let's <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/buzz/exclusive-sheila-e-nicole-richie-she-s-mexican-it-s-her-blood" target="_hplink">ask</a> her aunt, Sheila E. "Yeah--she's Latin, because my brother's Mexican and my dad is Mexican and she's Mexican. It's in her blood," the iconic percussionist has said.

  • Demi Lovato

    The new judge of FOX's "The X-Factor" is Mexican on her father's side!

  • Stefano Langone

    "My mother is Mexican and Spanish," Stefano told Latina.com last year. The "American Idol" contestant--who came in seventh place on season 10--is also half-Italian.

  • Edward Furlong

    You know him as John Connor in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" (1991), but did you know that actor Edward Furlong is part-Mexican? "I know I'm part Mexican and part Russian, but I'm pretty sure there's [also] some Native American in there," he has said.

  • Mike Catherwood

    Catherwood ("AKA Psycho Mike") is a radio personality for KROQ-FM's "Kevin and Bean." He's part-Mexican.

  • Tyler Posey

    From a young age, the part-Mexican "Teen Wolf" star was taught to be proud of his Mexican roots. "I remember when I was a lot younger my mom would tell me that the projects I would be working on at the time were a way of giving back to the Latino community," Posey told <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/tv/exclusive-teen-wolf-star-tyler-posey-says-hes-representing-latinos-mtv" target="_hplink">Latina Magazine</a> in 2011.

  • Kid Cudi

    A lot of people don't know that the "Day and Night" rapper (born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi) is Mexican on his father's side.

  • Uma Thurman

    The "Kill Bill" star's mother, Nena von Schlebrügge, was born in Mexico City in 1941.

  • Alana de la Garza

    A lot of people don't know that the beautiful actress--who played A.D.A Connie Rubirosa on NBC's "Law & Order," for four seasons--is part-Mexican.

  • Jessica Sanchez

    The half-Mexican, half-Filipino "American Idol" runner-up <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27/jessica-sanchez-reveals-p_n_1548994.html" target="_hplink">broke down her Latin roots for The Huffington Post</a>."I'm Mexican and my dad is Mexican, but I didn't grow up with him speaking Spanish to me, so I don't really know much. {But} I'm proud to be Mexican. I'm proud of both my ethnicities."

  • Chris Weitz

    Did you know that the director of "Twilight" is Mexican?! Chris Weitz, who directed "Twilight: New Moon" (as well as the film "A Better Life"), is the grandson of iconic Mexican actress, Lupita Tovar, who starred in "Santa," Mexico's first talkie in 1932!

  • Jessica Alba

    The A-list actress is of Danish and French descent on her mother's side and Mexican-American on her father's side.

  • Francia Raisa

    It's true that the "Secret Life of the American Teenager" star is half-Honduran, but she's also half-Mexican. Francia's dad is Latin radio personality "El Cucuy."

  • Alex Meneses

    "Everybody Loves Raymond" fans remember Alex Meneses for her scene-stealing role as Robert Barone's (Brad Garrett) sexy Italian lover, Stefania Fogagnolo. But in real life, Meneses isn't Italian--she is of Ukrainian American descent on her mother's side and of Mexican American descent on her father's side.

  • Marisol Nichols

    The talented actress (best known for her role as Chevy Chase's daughter Audrey Griswold in the hit comedy "Vegas Vacation" (1997), (and for her role on the short-lived ABC comedy, "GCB") is half-Mexican.

  • Alex Meraz

    He's one of the few Latino actors in the "Twilight" franchise, and Alex Meraz (who plays Taylor Lautner's best friend Paul in "Twilight: New Moon" and "Twilight: Eclipse," is half-Mexican.

  • Sabrina Bryan

    Born Reba Sabrina Hinojos, this former "Cheetah Girl" (and "Dancing With the Stars" contestant) is Mexican on her father's side and Caucasian on her mother's side...

  • Cassie

    The "Me & U" singer is half Mexican and half West Indian on her mother's side and Filipino on her father's side.

  • Alanna Ubach

    Best known for her role as Serena (Reese Witherspoon's sorority sister in the hit comedy "Legally Blonde"), Alanna Ubach is half-Mexican and half-Puerto Rican!

  • Courtney Ford

    The "Dexter" alum broke down her <a href="http://www.latina.com/blogs/vivo-por-tivo/courtney-ford-dexter-season-4-more-jaw-dropping-surprises" target="_hplink">Mexican roots</a> for Latina Magazine last year: "On my mom's side, my grandparents were born in New Mexico and their parents were born in New Mexico and their parents were born in New Mexico," Ford said. "And I think New Mexico was admitted into the Union in 1912. My great grandparents were born in 1916. So their parents were born in New Mexico before New Mexico was even part of the United States. Isn't that crazy?"

  • Kevin Alejandro

    Best known for his role as <em>brujo </em>Jesus Velasquez on HBO's "True Blood," Kevin Alejandro is Mexican-American.

  • Sheila E.

    The iconic Mexican percussionist has said <a href="http://www.latina.com/entertainment/buzz/exclusive-sheila-e-nicole-richie-she-s-mexican-it-s-her-blood" target="_hplink">time and time again</a> that she's proud of her Mexican roots!

  • Sara Ramirez

    The "Grey's Anatomy" star was born in Mazatlan, Mexico, to a half-Mexican, half-Irish mother and a Mexican father.

  • Vanessa Marcil

    The beautiful actress, who is best known for her role as Brenda Barrett Corinthos on "General Hospital," is the daughter of Peter Ortiz--a self-made Mexican millionaire!

  • Taboo

    You know him as Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas, but the talented rapper's real name is Jaime Luis Gómez. His dad is from Morelia (Mexico) and his mom is of Shoshone Indian descent.

  • Christian Camargo

    Remember Rudy "The Ice Truck Killer" on Dexter? Well, he's played by Mexican actor Christian Camargo!