He is currently in the thick of rehearsals for About Us But Not About Us, the much talked-about play that opens this weekend at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Makati City. He is also part of the high-rating GMA afternoon drama series Born to Shine, which I heard has been extended indefinitely.
About Us But Not About Us, written by Jun Lana and directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio, is a psychological drama that pivots on a highly-charged conversation between a university professor and his student that starts off as a casual lunch but quickly shifts into the untangling and unravelling of deep lies and even darker secrets.
Brown takes on the role of Lancelot, a complicated literature student who gets caught up in a dark confrontation with his rumored lover-professor. ‘I auditioned for the role for this run and I will be alternating with Elijah Canlas, who originated the role [in the 2022 film of the same name that was also directed by Jun Lana]. I was so happy when I learned that I passed the auditions.’
‘I am so excited about being part of this play, and I’m feeling a lot of raw emotions inside me-I’m excited, eager, ecstatic, nervous,’ Brown admitted when I spoke to him recently.
‘The rehearsal halls have become my new happy place, and I look forward to each rehearsal knowing that I am with the best there is and I am in good hands with our director and production team, and my amazing co-actors whose support for me is just simply overwhelming!’
The 22-year-old gorgeous mestizo admitted that during his first year in the entertainment scene, it was quite a challenge for him to warm up and settle in. ‘You can say that I was a reluctant actor because it was totally an alien environment for me, and I had no clue or idea what Philippine show business is all about.’
At the height of the worldwide Covid pandemic, Brown was prodded to submit an audition video to the Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) reality show, and he never expected that it would be the beginning of a career that he never wished for nor imagined himself to be part of. ‘All I knew was that I was just in the Philippines temporarily, and I’d be headed back to Manchester [in the UK] to continue my schooling and play football. Life certainly is full of surprises and I had to make a detour when I got into PBB.’ Brown was the third placer in his batch and he found himself cast into a world so different from what he knew.
He slowly adjusted to this new life with every gig, every workshop and every show he was tossed into. ‘I was like a sponge that simply absorbed everything that came my way. I mean, not everything came easy or was good, pleasurable and satisfactory, but I guess it ignited the spark little by little until I got used to doing what I did. Until that time, in the middle of my very first musical Tabing Ilog a few years ago, when suddenly that spark turned into a blaze and I started to take this start-up career very seriously and passionately-always wanting to learn more, understand more, do more.’
Brown is aware that the success of an actor is based on hard work, talent, passion and integrity. For one who is just starting to make a name in this already crowded business, he needs to be consistent in his unwavering commitment and the relentless pursuit of this passion.
‘This early, I realize that success is hard work. I have to be passionate about what I do. It is important that I stay focused, stay healthy, and be easy and pleasant to work with. Being disciplined will take me far. I have to come to the set on time and come prepared. I have to make time to study the script even if the script normally gets to me the night before the actual shoot day, and that’s quite a challenge for a newcomer like me since I have to always be on my toes. But there is such a thing as getting used to situations and common practices, and when my system has adjusted, then things become lighter.’
Acting as a career is a profound, personal investment and Brown knows that he needs to stay healthy, keep fit, look fresh in order to keep up with the exacting expectations of the industry. ‘It is a very visual industry. What the public sees is what it perceives you to be. I have to admit that lately, because of shuttling between working on the TV series, and the rigid rehearsals of the play, I have not been regularly working out. I know it’s not an excuse but sometimes I get so tired that I just choose to reward myself with enough sleep hours to get me going the following day,’ he admitted.
Good thing that Brown has always been into sports. ‘Football is something that I was introduced to by my family when I was growing up in Manchester, and something that has stayed with me to this day. Football keeps my adrenaline in check, gives me the cardio and mental exercises I need. It gets me excited, toughens me, and from time to time it also serves as my outlet if I have pent-up energy and unreleased emotions. The football field has always been a happy place for me.’
Up close and personal, this very promising actor strikes me as a very warm, grounded and happy young man. He tells it like it is and does not sugarcoat the truth. I sense that he is seriously working on becoming a better version of himself with every undertaking he commits to, and he knows that the more he puts into it, the more he will get out of it.
There is no doubt that Kobie Brown is definitely headed for the big time.