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Rocco Nacino has never been just an actor. Already a registered nurse, a master’s degree holder, a martial arts practitioner and just recently, a Navy reservist, this Kapuso hotshot is bracing for much, much more.
By MARGARET CLAIRE LAYUG
Photos By DIX PEREZ
December 26, 2019
Rocco Nacino walks into the gym, greeting everyone by name — the front desk assistant, trainers, even those working out. He air-salutes a security guard who walks by.
With a sweet smile and a kind look in his eyes, he thanks the front desk assistant for a job well done and sends her off with her husband, who was waiting outside.
Though he owns the half-hidden Elorde at the top floor of a Marikina mall, the Kapuso star humbly apologizes for his tardiness.
He asks if we’ve had dinner, asks what we’d like him to do for the shoot, and goes off in a hurry to change.
Just like that, we understand Rocco’s charms.
Our tall, dark and handsome interviewee is a man with a plan, a heart of gold, and zero rest.
Rocco is capping off a landmark year with a movie in the Metro Manila Film Festival.
In “Write About Love,” Rocco plays a seasoned screenwriter who assists a newbie in writing a debut film. He says it took him a lot of work to embody his character.
“For this role, I really had to change myself and change how I perceive the day. I really had to stop myself from making halubilo, stop myself from making small talk, and stop having a good time, because that’s who I am!” he says.
“But it’s part of my job — to live the character to be able to portray a person.”
Rocco enjoys promoting this film, in part because it resonates with a lot of people, especially the younger audiences.
When we catch up with him, he has just come off a full day of promotions. It’ a grind, given the demands of each engagement and the building Christmas traffic, but that should inform everyone just how dedicated Rocco is. Besides, he considers the MMFF entry his “baby.”
He runs his own gym, teaches millions of viewers a thing or two about wellness every week, and dabbles in a wide range of sports — jiu jitsu, MMA, arnis, basketball, boxing — but Rocco Nacino says finding time for a sweat has become something of a luxury for him these days.
“Right now, I have zero time to work out,” he admits.
“I can’t work out on (Descendants of the Sun) day because we have to rehearse our scenes. We have to be mentally prepared. I can’t work out and feel sluggish. Most of the time it will be for acting. I can’t work out in between, I can’t workout during ‘Healthy Juan’ tapings. I can’t work out when I’m doing campus tours.”
He would be lucky to squeeze in a quick workout after waking out. Still, he manages to remain in fighting form despite the busy schedule.
“It really comes down to managing your time and knowing when to stop,”
Nico, as his mother calls him, spent 10 years in Singapore as a child because of his dad’s job.
“Growing up was hard because, you know, the discrimination was there,” Rocco says.
“I have brown skin so people, or classmates, would look down on me. I made it a point to really learn Mandarin and speak their language. That way, I was able to gain friends and have a good group of friends that really accepted me, but it took a while.”
Everything, Rocco has since learned, always takes a while. But Rocco has also learned that when the moment of reckoning arrives, sometimes, it’s quick to turn too.
After he already made friends, in Singapore the family made their way back to the Philippines and Rocco had to learn the local language here, too.
“It was a real struggle,” he says. “My mom enrolled me into a prep school just to learn abakada. The basics but I knew that I needed it.”
This can-do attitude eventually proved useful for Rocco in achieving his many endeavors.
He graduated with a degree in nursing, passing the boards in 2007.
Rocco remembers the day very clearly, especially the moment when the guy in front of him actually gave up and left.
“I was like, ‘No! Sh*t!’ Napagano’n ako. Kasi that’s not helping me...it was one step closer to giving up.”
The moment he knew he passed also remains unforgettable.
“I was scrolling really, really slow. Natakot talaga ako. Tapos nakita ko ‘yung pangalan ko and, we were in the emergency room, people were quiet, and we were like: ‘Yeah!’ Sumigaw kami and we were jumping up and down, and my brother was hyperventilating, like ‘Wait lang! Wait lang! Relax!’”
Finishing his nursing degree remains one of his best endeavors.
“It was something I really wanted to do. I felt like that taking up nursing would be a way to show care to my patients. But, at the same time, when I take up medicine, I’ll be able to incorporate the care that a nurse can provide to patients.”
But then came “the bet” with his parents. He was ready to go to med school after passing the board exams but because he really enjoyed doing TV commercials and being in front of the camera.
So he told his parents: “Give me six months, let’s see what I can do. If not, I’ll go to straight to med school.’ And the rest is history.”
“History” here means a blossoming showbiz career jumpstarted by “Starstruck,” highlighted by memorable roles in “Encantadia” and punctuated with acting awards for “Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa.”
The rise continued in 2019, after he scored an important role in the Philippine remake of “Descendants of the Sun.” Shortly afterwads, he completed his training as a Petty Officer (PO) 3rd Class with the Philippine Navy, another goal completed for the young achiever.
As a testament to all the things he’s done, Rocco’s full name with titles spelled out reads: Petty Officer 3 Enrico Raphael Quiogue Nacino, RN, MAN, PN (Res).
For now, at least.
Part of the reason he has achieved so much is because he picks up inspiration from anywhere. Take, for example, his training for “Descendants of the Sun.”
“When they said na the reason why you’re doing this why we’re having this interview is because you’re safe, that’s because our soldiers are taking care of us and protecting us. That really opened my mind,” he say.
“It really opened my eyes into doing something more other than earning for myself. I wanted to do something for my country that way this is something voluntary, but it’s also something that can be of inspiration to the younger generation.”
And, as a youth ambassador for the Kapuso Foundation, Rocco believes joining the Navy is a “very timely” feat to achieve.”
“I can use my connections with the Philippine Navy to reach out to the Kapusos that are really, really far. If we can’t get to them by land, we can go by water.”
On a rare day-off, Rocco likes to spend time with family more than anything. He would usually travel from Metro Manila all the way to Antipolo to check on the construction of his dream house. Or play with his six corgi puppies. Of course, he would also spend some quality time with his girlfriend, sports star Melissa Gohing.
At 32, Rocco often gets asked if he plans to settle down.
“It’s easy to jump into that new phase in life. (To) just jump into a new journey with a partner. But she knows what I’m doing, she knows my schedule,” Rocco says about Mel.
“And as a guy who really respects women, ‘yung gusto ko from both sides, we finish what we want in life as a bachelor and bachelorette. Check off your bucket list. Then we talk about the next stage, because I dont want any regrets on my side or on her side.”
The actor also doesn’t shy away when asked if marriage is in the near future.
“It can be. I’m at the right age,” Rocco says.
“But for me, I would really want a house [before anything else]. To house my family. To have them live there before I jump into something like marriage.”
He calls himself old school. “I wanna be that provider. To have that house, bring in your wife, start your family.”
It is 10 p.m. and the gym is empty, except for one guy, doing one flying kick after another just to get one perfect shot.
It’s weird watching a guy destroy a punching bag and throw a hundred-pound tire around this late at night, knowing it’s his third straight day of promotions, which began with early morning land travel to Rizal for a full-blown campus tour.
At one point, the guy with bronze skin, a winning smile and dazzling eyes takes a breather.
But after fixing his footing and wiping the sweat off his brow, he kicked the bag again. This time, with a flourishing mid-air twist.
Rocco knows days like these are far from over.
There’s a taping for “Healthy Juan” the next day. He’s still bulking up to play a Sgt. Diego Ramos in the much-awaited Philippine adaptation of “Descendants of the Sun.”
“Write about Love” just hit the theaters on Christmas. He can rest some other day.
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