“Reluctant,” David Archuleta replied when asked how he felt when he received the offer to do the drama series “Nandito Ako,” coming from TV5. The 21-year-old singer, who shot to fame as an “American Idol 2008” finalist, admitted that the thought of setting foot in another country to do something he had never done before gave him the jitters.
“I was very nervous—I’m thinking, I’m not really much of an actor,” he confessed during a recent press con. “I definitely had concerns, doubts.”
Becoming vulnerable
But after 15 consecutive filming days with director Mac Alejandre and leading ladies Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Eula Caballero, David said he was finding the experience fulfilling and instructive at the same time. “Acting is very much an art,” he said.
He added that he now had a newfound appreciation for actors and all the hard work they put into their craft.
“Looking back and just going through it each day, this was so worth it…just getting to know people, being able to express in a way other than music,” David said.
“Being open and emotional on cue” was one of his biggest challenges on set. But thanks to his experience in singing and performing, David pulled through. “Ultimately, acting and singing are very similar in a way—you open yourself up and become vulnerable,” he said.
But more than the technical aspects of the exercise, the one thing that David is most thankful for is getting to explore things that matured him, both as an artist and as a person.
“I had to step out of my comfort zone,” he said. “This is not something I normally do, or think I’m good in, but I took the challenge. It taught me a lot about myself as a person as well, which was so weird. I didn’t expect that.”
More projects with TV5?
Asked if he plans on pursuing more acting projects with TV5, David, who’s now in Singapore, said that he’s looking forward to coming back, adding that working with the Kapatid network is “one of the best experiences I ever had.”
“I’m not the greatest actor, but I can’t wait to keep growing and improving with it because it’s something that’s so much fun; something I would love to keep working on since it’s such a great thing to share with people,” he said.
The mission
“Nandito Ako,” is one of David’s last few projects before embarking on a two-year religious mission for the Mormon Church. But before officially going on show-biz hiatus, David said, he would record a couple of songs, “because I don’t want to leave my fans with nothing.”
But in the entertainment industry where everything is fleeting, is he worried about losing his fame or career after his mission?
David admitted that it was a “scary thing,” and likened his current situation to when he decided to quit school because of his commitments with “Idol.” David followed his gut feeling, and ended up with a career that’s “so much more fulfilling.”
He wonders, “Am I crazy? It was a hard decision to make and took me a couple of years to make. But I know it’s going to be worth it because I’ve learned to trust that feeling.”
(“Nandito Ako” premieres February 20 after “Wil Time Big Time.”)