Sam Milby teams up with Jennylyn in rom-com

SAM MILBY has realized that even established actors audition in Hollywood. RICHARD REYES

ACTOR Sam Milby, who left the country early this year to pursue his dream of a Hollywood career, returned home to do a movie and a drama series.

According to the 31-year-old actor, while he has signed a two-picture contract with Regal Entertainment, he is still an artist of Star Magic.

Sam said he hoped to be given the chance to collaborate with other artists he had not worked with before.

“I was excited about this new project with Jennylyn (Mercado) for Regal. What’s great is that we filmed in New York for five to six days. I find Jen to be beautiful and kind. She’s one of the best actresses we have.” They were supposed to work together in the hit rom-com “English Only, Please,” but Derek Ramsay eventually took over the role meant for Sam.

Sam said the movie, titled “The Prenup,” would “really make Jen’s star shine. It’s a romantic comedy. Jen’s character goes to New York in search of something. That’s where we will meet.”

In the movie, directed by Jun Robles Lana, Sam’s character John meets Wendy (Jennylyn) on a plane headed for New York City. During turbulence, the boisterous Wendy tries to calm down John, who is afraid of flying. The two eventually fall in love in New York but upon returning to Manila, they realize that their respective families are not entirely in favor of their relationship—hence, the need for a prenuptial agreement.

Born in Troy, Ohio, Sam joined local show biz via the reality show “Pinoy Big Brother” in 2005. He was last seen in the TV series “Nathaniel,” which aired its finale last Friday.

Like starting over

On his latest US auditions, the actor said it was like starting all over again.

“It’s a different experience, especially because I wasn’t really used to doing auditions. Here, I only tried out for ‘Pinoy Big Brother,’ and after that, I was already given roles. I learned that even established actors in the United States go to auditions,” he said, recalling the first time he attended a tryout.

“I was thrilled to see Mandy Moore, Jamie Chung and Alexis Bledel of ‘Gilmore Girls’ at the same venue. It was quite a learning experience for me,” he said.

Sam said he also joined a workshop with Rahyan Carlos, the acting coach who introduced the Chubbuck technique in the Philippines. “It was a fun experience to perform in front of the class. It also helped me a lot. Doing it… [gave] me confidence because I received a lot of good feedback,” he said. “What I wanted to do was to go back and train with different coaches. There are different methods for different actors.”

He continued: “The trip was really for networking, for meeting with important people like casting directors. I also took some classes there. It was my first time to stay in Los Angeles. People who believe in me helped me out. I know it will take a lot of time.”

After being part of local show business for 10 years now, Sam said he hoped to portray more challenging roles. “You want to keep on improving your craft. I’m still a long way from achieving this. I heard that Renée Zellweger auditioned for almost nine years before she landed the role in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ She was close to giving up.”

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