CARLA BIANCA RAVANES-HIGHAM
Hollywood — the land where dreams come true. It is a place where one can go from relatively unknown to renowned in a matter of seconds (but as they say, barely anything counts as overnight success) and where glitz and glamour is a daily, 24/7 thing.
Hollywood is filled with stories of triumph and victory, however, growing up, it was extremely rare for me to find someone on the red carpet that I could associate with.
Growing up in the Philippines, Lea Salonga was the first one to land Filipinos (for my generation at least, I am sure there were quite a few before her) that made me feel seen as a Filipino. Seeing Lea Salonga become a Disney Princess made me feel like maybe one day, I could too.
Today, thanks to a smaller world that brought about new technology, more and more Filipinos are shining brightly in Hollywood. One of which is Emmy Award-winning producer Marc Anthony Nicolas.
Marc Anthony Nicolas with his Daytime Emmys Outstanding Talk Show trophy as producer of ‘The Talk.’
The first time I met Marc was in a party for Philippine Airlines. He was jovial, very friendly, and was very attentive to his father.
It turns out, Marc is an accomplished producer of “The Talk” with hosts such as Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Sheryl Underwood, and Eve. He was ranked number one in the list of the “75 Most Influential Filipinos of 2016.” I did not even realize that Marc was behind a show I watched faithfully for years, “The Tyra Banks Show.”
And on April 29, 2018, Marc won another Emmy (he has been nominated six times already!) when The Talk won for the “Outstanding Talk Show” besting other shows such as “Ellen,” “Kelly & Ryan,” and “The Real.”
I was immediately drawn to his story and was fortunate to have been given a chance to share his story to Filipinos everywhere.
Humble beginnings
As with any story of triumph, Marc’s story is marked with humble beginnings.
“I was born in the Philippines. My mom was from Pasig and my dad was from Sampaloc, Manila. We moved to the United States when I was four years old. I did not have much growing up. My family lived in a one-bedroom apartment and my parents worked double jobs to put food on the table. My mom and dad were hard workers who tried their very best to make ends meet. I got my work ethic from them,” he recalled to Thought Junkie.
It was his humble beginnings that inspired Marc to strive hard and desire a different life.
Just like most Filipino-Americans, Marc was encouraged by his mom to enter the field of health sciences and be a pharmacist. Being the dutiful and dedicated son that he was, Marc went on to pursue his mother’s dream and became a pharmacy assistant for Kaiser Permanente, one of California’s biggest hospitals.
However, this was not a happy time for Marc and he longed for something else, “I was unhappy because it wasn’t my passion. In my heart, I knew I wanted to work in television and become a producer.”
Marc then took the leap of faith, quit his job after four years, and became a waiter, “Everyone thought I was crazy to quit pharmacy. As I was serving pizza and pasta and working until midnight, I was fueled by a dream that I wanted so bad.”
Hollywood door opens
With determination and a persistent attitude, Marc persevered and sent out his resume to every network, television show, and executives.
“Every single job application was rejected. I called asking for interviews too and even those calls were denied. My dreams were slowly fading away and I would cry every night because I thought that working in the TV industry was close to impossible,” he related.
However, Marc marched on and soon the break came, “I finally got a big break when I was hired as a production assistant. I was paid $4.25 an hour, which was very little, it was less than what I was getting in tips as a waiter but this was what I wanted and so I pushed through. I knew I had to get my foot in the door to reach my goal.”
Because his paycheck was close to nothing, Marc sacrificed a few necessities, “I slept in my car and used a 24-hour gym’s shower facilities to save money. I started from the bottom making coffee, driving the producers to and from set, and mopping the kitchen floors. It was a very difficult job but I had to keep my eyes on the ultimate prize.”
Soon, Marc was slowly moving up. After that stint, he got hired as a casting recruiter for MTV.
“With my personality and charisma, I impressed the casting department and quickly got promoted to casting producer. From there, I learned the tricks of the trade of the casting world and I loved it. My casting skill spread like wild fire through the television industry.”
It was his impeccable work for MTV that led him to The Tyra Banks show.
“I went in for an interview and was hired on the spot. I quit MTV and I was excited for my new venture – the talk show world. I learned how to produce celebrities, musicians, and find the best human interest stories. It was the best four years of my life!”
Losing mother to cancer
Unfortunately, Marc had to put a pause on his career when his mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
“I put my career on hold to take care of her. There was no hesitation on my end because I knew she would have done the same thing for me. She was put into a hospice and I saw her grow weaker and weaker. That awful day came when she took her last breath and I was there to see it. When she died, a part of me died with her. I fell into depression and wanted to be alone. I just lost my best friend and I felt the weight of that.”
After allowing himself to grieve, Marc found himself back in the field of his passion of making television and was soon hired as a producer on The Talk on CBS in 2011.
“It was one of the best decisions of my life. My work background, professional ethic, and enthusiasm for the talk show was undeniable. Now, I am the only Filipino producer in the 200-person production team.”
Winning an Emmy
When asked what it was like to be an Emmy Award-winning producer in Hollywood, Marc said, “Winning an Emmy was my greatest achievement because it proved to me that everything I worked so hard for had a purpose. When I was on that Emmy stage, I was so proud to be part of The Talk on CBS.
‘The Talk’ producer with hosts (from left) Sheryl Underwood, Sara Gilbert, Sharon
Osbourne, rapper Eve (Jihan Jeffers-Cooper) and Julie Chen.
“Flashbacks came through my head while I was staring at the crowd including growing up in the Philippines, graduating high school, and all the struggles I endured to get to this point. The Emmy is now in my living room to remind me that I can do anything.”
Marc hopes that his story of bravery, courage, and perseverance will help inspire others.
“I literally started from the bottom and I finally made my way to the top. I want to tell everyone that it did not happen by luck. It happened because of productivity. Get uncomfortable, get scared. If you want to make your dreams come true, you have to do the things that are difficult,” he imparted.
“Whatever your dream may be, work hard at it each day. You cannot just say you want it – you have to do something about it. I was only serving pasta and pizza and now I am a producer. Think big, dream big, believe big, and the results will be big!” the proud Pinoy Hollywood TV producer testified.
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