These days, audiences are more likely to see Nadine Lustre on the big screen than on television or on stage performing her songs.
This shift is a deliberate career choice for the star, who is focusing on honing her craft as an actress after parting ways with Careless Music in 2022, a music label owned by her ex James Reid.
Lustre had said in a Mega Entertainment feature that she wants to “slow down with my showbiz life. Hindi ko alam, I realized eventually na parang hindi kaya. I have no plans of working on my music. Parang ang daming signs din kasi na I should.”
This decision has so far paid off. She won Best Actress at the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival 2022 and a Gawad Urian nomination for her role in “Deleter.” In 2019, she won a FAMAS award for her performance in the JaDine film “Never Not Love You”, as well as Best Actress in a Leading Role (Regional Winner for the Philippines) for “Ulan” at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Despite these successes, Lustre assures her fans of one thing: “My first love, really, is music.”
“Even though I am super busy with acting projects, I try to work on music projects as well,” she told the Cebu media at the Fusion x Cebu Music Festival press conference held October 5 at Radisson Blu Cebu.
“Growing up, my parents were big music lovers. I grew up listening to ’70s, ’80s, and of course, ’90s music from my mom. I would watch these concerts on TV like from Michael Jackson,” she explained.
Fusion x Cebu marked Lustre’s first public appearance in Cebu in five years. She participated in a lively dance number for the event’s main sponsor, the online casino company BigWin29, for which she serves as brand ambassador.
“BigWin and I share the same confidence in spirit. Part of why I am in the entertainment industry is because I love seeing the smiles on my fellowmen’s faces. I love entertaining Filipinos and it’s really nice to see them all happy and smiling, and I think BigWin also operates the same way.”
While music isn’t on her current agenda, Lustre continues to impress her fans through acting, a process that she finds fascinating.
“I am always amazed how people can turn into another character. Because of that, acting is like an experiment for me,” she said.
Lustre’s recent projects include the 2023 Amazon Prime Video series “Roadkillers”, and “Nokturno,” her second project with “Deleter” director Mikhail Red which remains unreleased after not making the cut for last year’s MMFF.
“When I first delved into acting, I wanted to see if it works for me, and I guess I can indeed act. When people told me that I can act, nag tuloy-tuloy na siya and I started getting different projects, some that were challenging,” she said.
“Being able to achieve a certain level of acting and going through these challenges while portraying different characters shows me what I’m capable of.”
Lustre’s advice for aspiring actors? Don’t stop trying.
“I have been in show business since I was seven. My career didn’t blow up until I was around 20 or 21. Sometimes, if you are doing the same thing for the longest time and it feels like it’s not going to get any better, hold on to your dream and passion,” she said.
“I believe in divine timing. No matter how long it takes, as long as you hold on, the door will eventually open and your goals and dreams will come true.”