GMA contract star Rocco Nacino turns 33 this weekend and he is happy to see his big dreams come into wonderful realities one after the other.
It was more than 10 years ago when we first met Nacino as a hopeful contestant in StarStruck, a local star search of his mother studio that opened the biggest door for him and changed his life forever. Back then, we told him that he would win and, if he played his cards right, he would go very far. True enough, Nacino did and, a decade after, he is up where he belongs, and most of his achievements are due to hard work, patience, focus and trusting what his inner voice tells him.
Prior to his plunging into the crazy world of show business, Nacino was a conscientious nursing student, an athlete, and a part-time actor for commercials. He passed the boards and was planning to work as a nurse before the lure of showbiz beckoned.
He took on different roles on TV, never complained and learned as much and as fast as he could, stepping up every time and impressing his directors and the production teams with his innate skill, positive aura and pleasant attitude. Nacino made us take notice of his depth as a promising actor in the indie film Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa and, from then on, we have followed his career.
And like many of the successful ones that came before him, Nacino persevered in both high and low periods of being an actor, trusting the universe and keeping his faith. And even if he was already making a big name for himself as a competent and reliable actor, Nacino continued to pursue higher education and finished his masteral studies in nursing with cum laude honors in 2017.
Today, he is regarded as one of the prized assets of GMA, and amazing roles continue to be offered to him. Take his current show, Descendants of the Sun, the Philippine adaptation of the hit Korean drama series where Nacino essays the challenging role of Sgt. Diego Ramos, one of the four main characters of the series.
We can’t agree with local fans of Korean stars who tell us Nacino is a doppelganger of Korean actor Jin Goo, because Nacino certainly looks better in all angles. For this role, Nacino trained hard along with the stars, starting off with an intensive military orientation course which allowed him to immerse with real-life Special Forces. Feeling he can learn more, he committed himself to 15 more sessions of military training and was accorded Petty Officer Third Class by the Philippine Navy, which means that he is officially a reservist.
The difference between Nacino and your next-door matinee idol is that Nacino knows what he wants, works hard, strategically plans his career moves and saves for his future.
He quietly purchased a property on a hill in Antipolo City and personally supervised the construction from scratch. Now that the final touches of his new house are almost done, Nacino will move to his dream home right in time for his birthday, a gift to himself and his family.
“It’s a dream come true and I am simply thankful that I am able to build this dream house for those who I love and hold dearly,” he told us, almost in a whisper—the same humble Nacino we met 11 years ago.
We are truly happy for Rocco Nacino and the beautiful man he has become. n