Nadine Samonte on acting comeback: It’s like starting all over again

After a 10-year break, Nadine Samonte knew that her acting would be a bit rusty and that she had to feel her way on the set of the afternoon series “The Missing Husband.”

But thankfully, she said having longtime friends and colleagues like Yasmien Kurdi and director Mark Reyes on board made the adjustment less jarring for the returning actress. “I was gone for 10 years, so I couldn’t help but feel shy … because it feels like I’m starting all over again,” she said in a virtual conference.

While she did a couple of guest appearances in soaps and other shows, Nadine spent most of the last decade focused on her family. She has two daughters and a son with her husband, businessman Richard Chua.

Original home

“I have missed GMA 7, my original home. There had been project offers prior to this one … But I had to think hard on this one, so I asked myself if I was actually ready. I don’t want to enter a situation or accept a show I’m not 100 percent ready for,” she said.

When she was told that she would be acting alongside Yasmien, one of her “StarStruck” Season 1 batchmates, and work under Direk Mark, who directed some of her past soaps, Nadine finally made up her mind.

“Direk Mark and Yasmien? That’s a good sign. I was like, ‘Okay ‘to… sige na,’ I told myself.’ I know that I will be comfortable with them and that this is the right project for me,” she said. “If you were gone for 10 years, you would like to work with someone you’re at ease with.”

Her reunion with Yasmien couldn’t be more timely because “The Missing Husband” started airing around the same time “StarStruck” premiered 20 years ago. “Meeting her on the set for the first time, I felt like I was never away. Yasmien is still the Yasmien I knew back then. She just has her own family now. But she’s still funny, makulit. We couldn’t help but reminisce during taping, like our fun time in Dubai a while back,” said Nadine, who knew Yasmien even before “StarStruck,” because they often saw each other in VTR auditions in their youth.

And here they are still. “Ang sarap sa feeling,” she said.

Is she back in show biz for good? “I talked to my husband. I told him I wanted to go back to acting. He’s so supportive of what I want to do. Now I’m praying for more projects,” Nadine said. INQ