Nyoy making big leaps

Since his spectacular finish in the first season of Your Face Sounds Familiar where he emerged second to winner Melai Cantiveros, life has radically changed for singer and stage actor Nyoy Volante. While he started his career years ago as an acoustic singer, he has been branching out and discovering more and more things that he can and enjoys doing, and one of them is acting.

While Nyoy has already proven he can act in the numerous stage plays and musicals that he’s done (including Rock of Ages, Hairspray, Legally Blonde and Shrek), one thing has eluded him, and that is an acting role on mainstream television. Your Face Sounds Familiar — where he had to “play” a different musical character in each episode — was the closest he ever got to mainstream acting, until now.

Now, just months after Your Face Sounds Familiar, Nyoy is stretching his creative wings yet again. He has joined the cast of the daytime show NingNing, starring five-year-old Jana Agoncillo, who played Baby in Dream Dad. In NingNing (which is directed by Jeffrey Jeturian), Nyoy plays a father role. “Ako po dito si Mang Johnny, ang tatay ni Mac-Mac (who stars as Jana or NingNing’s friend).”

He is not the first singer to try acting on television. Aiza Seguerra, who was part of the daytime hit Be Careful With My Heart, has already done it — and so have a few others, like the country’s Bossa Nova Queen Sitti. So Nyoy at least has a peg to follow.

But it’s still all so new for him. It’s officially his acting debut on TV. At the time of this interview, Nyoy had not started to tape his scenes for the show, so he admits that he doesn’t know what to expect. It’s a big leap out of his comfort zone as a singer. It will be a big step up for him because there will be no singing involved. There will be no guitar or microphone in his hands. But he’s open to the challenge.

“I’m taking this as a blessing,” says the actor-singer. “I don’t know what to expect, but I’m really going to work hard para magampanan ko ang trabaho na ine-expect nila from me.”

But as an artist, Nyoy loves challenging himself and taking creative leaps like this one. Of course, he says, there is a certain sense of anticipation that comes with taking on a project like this. At the same time, he is a bit nervous about what he’s about to get into. Still, he’s excited about it and is sure he made the right decision to say yes to this project. “Yung anticipation ko sa taping, di ko rin maipinta, matagal na akong aktor, pero sa teatro. Pero ito, iba. But I’m eager, excited and happy.”

He had a similar feeling when he first signed on to do Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Back then, says Nyoy, “I was very comfortable with the changes na nangyayari sa katawan ko, ibang experience siya siyempre pero definitely malaking tulong ‘yung theater background.”

Nyoy will be making another big leap next year as he prepares to be wed to theater actress Mikki Bradshaw. “In February, hopefully,” he said to questions from the entertainment press during the presscon for NingNing on when their wedding will take place. “Medyo nag-aayos pa lang po kami ng details kasi nung nag Your Face Sounds Familiar medyo natigil yung pagpaplano kasi medyo busy. Then now, we have this show, which is a new challenge for me, so I have to focus on this. But our preparations are moving forward.”

Once he gets married, Nyoy’s priorities will have to change, but that doesn’t mean he is going to quit showbiz. Entertaining and performing are now in his blood, and with his wife also a stage actress, husband and wife will mutually support each other in their creative endeavors — and we’re sure, that’s just the way Nyoy wants it to be.