“I Wanna Get Better At It”

MANILA, Philippines – For an internationally acclaimed singer, David Archuleta had to deal with “nerves” in hurdling his first shooting day as a television actor.

The former American Idol sensation, however, said he was pleased with the outcome of the first shooting day, and said he was having a grand time with his co-stars-- TV5 princesses Jasmin Curtis-Smith and Eula Caballero--in the upcoming mini-serye “Nandito Ako.”

Asked to rate his acting experience, David said, “it would be something I would love to work on more because it would be something that I’d like to do. I wanna get better at it.”

He also enjoyed recording the old OPM song, “Nandito Ako,” used as the theme song of the series that bears its title.

Not surprisingly, David said of his recording of the Tagalog song, “it wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be,” and humored interviewers with a “sample” by singing the opening line of the song.

In the mini-serye, David plays the role of Josh, a Filipino-American born and raised in the Philippines and later sent to the US. At the tender age of five, he is separated from his mother during a big fire in their neighborhood. After many years, he returns to the Philippines as an accomplished international pop star in search of his long-lost mother.

David says he can relate to his Fil-Am character in real life. “Whatever personality trait that might be, I feel like I have that too,” he said.

In the series, David unwittingly comes between two best friends, played by Jasmin (as Hanya) and Eula (as Holly). He declines to explain what happens, but prods the public to just watch the TV5 series.

In real life, the screen love triangle is getting along well, says David. “We feel like we can all relate to each other; they might have more experience than I do but they still have that, umm, those nerves,” he quipped.

The series is being shot in Manila and Batangas, helmed by the newest figure in the Kapatid network, veteran director Mac Alejandre. The mini-serye is due to unreel on February 20.

Meanwhile, David and TV5 are being talked about in US media like the Washington Post, USA Today, americanidol.net, the Perez Hilton gossip site, among others. For the latest updates on David, log-on to followarchuleta.ph