How ‘naughty’ socmed content boosted Nikko Natividad’s acting career

For actor-dancer Nikko Natividad, social media is not only a way to promote yourself, but also a way to share with people who you really are.

“People think the content I post on social media is scripted, that I just force myself to behave that way for the sake of the camera. This is really me. When I was new in the business, I was too scared to act funny and naughty. It’s been nine years now, so I’m not afraid to show my true self anymore. Also, people are more open and broadminded now,” Nikko told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.

Nikko became popular in 2014 after winning in “Gandang Lalake,” a talent search segment in ABS-CBN’s noontime variety show “It’s Showtime.” He is also known as one of the members of the all-boy dance group #Hashtags. He currently has 2.8 million followers on Instagram, 2.4 million on TikTok and 461,000 on YouTube.

“Of course, I understand that there has to be some limitations to what you can post out there. You have to show behavior that’s still acceptable. Yes, my content can be a little naughty, so it will all depend on the parents of young people to monitor their use of social media. Parents have to guide their kids,” Nikko pointed out.

Surprisingly, Nikko said he has no bashers, so far. “I guess it’s because you already know what to expect when you visit my accounts. My technique is that I never plan any of my posts. I don’t upload content thinking that this particular video has to have 1 million views, or that this picture has to have 30,000 likes. I just upload, regardless of whether I’d get likes or not. To me, Instagram and TikTok, for example, are like my virtual folders. I create something and then save it there. If someone picks it up and it becomes viral, that’s already a bonus,” the actor said.

Comedy road movie

Nikko is scheduled to fly to Thailand with actor Enrique Gil to shoot a comedy road movie, titled “I am Not Big Bird,” with Victor Villanueva (“Patay Na Si Hesus”) at the helm.

In the movie, Luis Carpio (Enrique) finds himself unwittingly caught up in a case of mistaken identity when people recognize him as Big Bird, a famous porn star in Thailand, due to their uncanny resemblance. Nikko plays Macky, Luis’ gay friend.

“I asked Direk Victor why he had to put a gay character in a male ‘barkada’ story, and he said not all friendships are based on gender. It’s time that we stop putting labels and setting limitations—straight guys can only hang out with straight guys, or gays must only socialize with gays. We can all coexist. My character will stand in the middle of straight guys, Luis and July (Red Ollera). We’re best friends,” Nikko explained.

The film is a collaboration between ABS-CBN Films’ Blacksheep and Kroma Entertainment’s Anima Studios.

“I was doing a different film with Bianca (Balbuena-Liew, Anima head and managing director) for Epicmedia when she told me about this project. Her team came back to me a year later with the script. I’m just happy that they liked all the silly things I’ve been posting on social media. They said they based Macky on the real me. I was just a little surprised that they made him gay. I guess they thought I could pull this off. I only need to make fun of myself more,” Nikko said.

Big deal

He is thrilled about the possibility of his film being shown in other parts of the world. He reported on his producers’ plan to have the film compete in international film festivals once it’s finished. “They said the goal is for the film to go abroad. I have never worked outside the country before. This is a first for me. I already imagined myself attending award ceremonies abroad. That would be fun! This is important because not only will I be able to visit other places, but also because this will be part of my filmography—a film that’s able to reach other areas of the globe,” he beamed.

Enrique, who is coproducing the movie under his Make-A-Break Productions, personally picked Nikko to be part of the cast. “We would see each other in ABS-CBN and would just say ‘Hello,’ being that he’s a senior artist there compared to me. When we met again during the script reading, Enrique hugged me. He said he had been watching me on social media. I guess social media was really a big deal because it felt like we’re already very close,” he recalled.

Nikko said he even asked Enrique if the latter was sure about accepting a role that is out-of-the-box and is so unlike what he usually does for the big screen. “Enrique told me, ‘I need something like this because I want to evolve.’ Enrique has surely matured. He’s ready to change his image,” Nikko observed.

Nikko has just finished working on the TV5 sitcom “Kurdapya,” opposite Yassi Pressman with Easy Ferrer as director. “My character there is also my opposite. I played a rich guy … imagine that! My performance there was so effective that Yassi couldn’t control her feelings whenever I would stare straight into her eyes,” Nikko said, laughing. “Seriously, I wish to do another project with Yassi. We should all work on educating our audience. People would say, ‘This guy can’t be paired with another actor anymore because he’s already married in real life, or because he already has a girlfriend. This isn’t fair because we all feel ‘kilig’ with Korean love teams, even though we know they have different romantic partners off-cam.”

Nikko then said he would like to team up with comedian Jerald Napoles in the future. “We’re doing something together right now, but I’m just a supporting character there. I hope we can do something that’s back-to-back. I can also be his ‘kontrabida’. I like him as a comedian because he has perfect comedic timing. I first watched him in ‘Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap.’ I hope we will be given the right material,” Nikko declared.