What’s all the fuss about Sam Milby

Despite what he calls his "Killer Schedule", fans can’t seem to get enough of Sam Milby.

Aside from numerous TV guestings, he is seen every Sunday on ASAP and on a semi-regular basis (only because he hasn’t perfected speaking in Filipino yet) on the weekly variety show Gudtaym. Soon, he will start taping a new teleserye with John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo. The three comprise a bankable love triangle spawned by the hit of their Valentine movie Close to You. Sam, whose acting debut surpassed everyone’s expectations, is set to shoot a follow-up picture (the second of his three-movie deal with Star Cinema) any time now. His album has turned gold with his composition, Magmahal Muli, becoming an instant hit.

The Fil-American starred in local commercials before hitting it big. But what shot him to fame was his 49-day stay in the Pinoy Big Brother house. His admirers were so eager to see what else he could do (besides that shocking French kiss with Chx Alcala on live TV) that they connived to get him booted off the show by not voting for him.

Life has, since then, been so hectic he often doesn’t know what his day will be like. Honestly, he admits he doesn’t know the nitty gritty of the projects he’s doing. That doesn’t bother him at all since it’s certainly a far cry from having to wait for things to happen. That was how life was like before the 21-year-old (he turns 22 in May) captured the hearts of televiewers. Now, it’s not surprising he regularly clocks in 19-hour work days. Billboards, commercials, TV shows, magazine covers and the like are not enough to satisfy the fans. Wherever he goes, he commands so much attention it’s as if there is no bigger star. People naturally fuss over him. There’s often an endless queue for autographs and souvenir photos. Fans come in all shapes in sizes: young and old, male and female– plus everyone in-between.

He’s definitely hot. But why is Sam Milby driving Pinoy fans crazy? Here are three simple reasons.

He looks like the Boy-Next-Door

What’s more endearing, after all, than a guy who looks so squeaky clean he’d pass the scrutiny of even the strictest of parents? His pretty boy looks certainly passed the standards of Unilever whose Close up toothpaste endorsers (such as Gabby Concepcion and Tonton Gutierrez) ended up being matinee idols.

Sam is more than just a well-sculpted nose and a killer smile. From the neck down, he is in such good shape that he now endorses Centrum Multi-Vitamins. Sam excels in a lot of sports including figure skating, hockey and would love to spend more time on motocross and sky diving. His success as a commercial model hangs on the fact that he is so obviously wholesome he is the antithesis of the movie bad boy–an image that suits advertising to a tee.

He acts like the Boy-Next-Door

Fortunately, in his case, looks are not deceiving. Sam is so genuinely nice that, even on bad days, he never loses his cool.

Faced with inquisitive reporters, the showbiz newbie manages to field tough questions without exhibiting foot-in-mouth disease, an ailment afflicting too many of those in the spotlight.

Asked what he felt about being envied as the most successful PBB housemate, Sam instinctively flashes a you-have-to-be-kidding look. Given a choice he probably wouldn’t say anything, but, after a quick moment, says: "I know that some of us are busier than others but I’ll quote another PBB housemate who said that the success of one of us is the success of all."

His tact applies to more personal topics such as the persistent assumption that he is competing with Luis Manzano for the affections of the fair Toni Gonzaga. "Luis is very nice," he says. "I don’t know if he’s jealous of me. I don’t want to compete. I don’t have anything against him and I don’t want him to have anything against me."

Of the ladies he’s linked to, Sam speaks even more cautiously. The gentleman skirts the issue of courting Toni but confesses he once gave her "chocolates and a lot of Zara" from his trip to Milan. Chx, he explains once more, is simply a friend he shared something special with inside the PBB house. He attributes their closeness (only during the last days of her stay) to his homesickness and the "unusual" atmosphere of the reality show.

His pleasant disposition is not for the cameras alone. Sam is nice to everyone regardless of stature. In fact, he smiles as if he is not tired even if he says it often enough. He neither complains nor becomes irritable.

Asked if he has ever lost his temper, he recalls once having had what he calls a "breakdown" on an exceptionally difficult day. There was no big dramatic scene as one would imagine a breakdown would be. Instead, Sam simply threw his bag on the ground and walked away, not knowing who he was mad at. Actually, he has yet to vent his anger on anyone–even an over-charging cab driver. He claims he shouts and yells once in a while out of frustration, with only his manager as lone witness.

"I don’t sleep much. But I can’t be rude. I don’t like to be mean. I hate to make people feel bad. I want to be known as someone who makes people happy, someone who cares, someone who makes a difference. I have a very guilty conscience. If I make someone feel bad then I feel really, really bad about it," he explains.

His active conscience is all due to his new-found spirituality. Sam became a renewed Christian only recently. He belongs to the Victory Christian Fellowship which counts many other celebrities as members. Before his Big Brother experience, he was already a Christian, and says he’s working on being a better one since leaving the house.

His athletic training also helped him develop the discipline to rise above physical discomfort. Sam concentrated on figure skating as child in the US. He says: "I was pretty disciplined but I do have a lot of patience. But I feel as if there’s only so much you can take. There are times when I feel something can get to me but I just try to control myself. Sometimes I’ll pray."

The smile, though genuine, can be deceiving. Though still quite young, the charming idol denies he has lived a painless life. Sam vaguely insinuates having been scarred by his failed relationships. But, he quickly adds, "there’s a lot you can learn from your mistakes. You just keep going day by day."

Still a gentleman, he insists his most significant ex-girlfriend (an American girl he went out with for four years) did not make as many mistakes as he did. Politely, he mumbles incoherently and declines to say anything more.

He still thinks he is the Boy Next Door

Meanwhile, Sam’s most endearing quality is his humility. He is so totally unaffected by his own stardom that he still acts like a starstruck fan around Miss International Precious Lara Quigaman, his Centrum co-endorser. No different from his own legion of admirers, he keeps requesting for pictures with her.

The fame, he says, is still surreal. "It hasn’t sunk in yet. Everywhere I go, people know me. But I don’t know–wala lang. I never thought this would happen. It was always my dream, but I never thought I had it in me. I never thought I had the talent. I never really believed in myself that much. In skating, it was different because I was training so much. But this, I never really had any experience in this.

Talent is one thing, but Sam is insecure even about his looks. In a previous interview, he admitted hiding his huge feet (he wears size 11 shoes) under jeans he rips so they would flare at the bottom.

As it is, he has gained much more confidence after his stint with PBB. Still, he believes he is more a regular guy than God’s gift to women. Says Sam: "I feel I’m a lot different now than I was back then. I was pretty insecure about my looks. I think it was in high school I developed insecurity. I went to a school with pretty snooty rich kids. There were a lot of them who thought they were too good to talk to other people. I don’t like those people. I don’t think that you should be that way just because of money or looks. But it did change me though. I did home schooling for a while, from age nine to 12 when I concentrated on figure skating. And, from that, I went straight to high school. I would come up to people I used to know and talk to them and they would walk right past me. That’s why I’m so shy. After that experience, I was afraid to talk to some people because I thought they might feel as if they’re too good to talk to me. And I’ve been like that ever since."

To battle his insecurity about deserving all this fame, Sam is taking acting workshops and private lessons in Filipino. He knows that his only chance at longevity is to get rid of his American twang. Reminded by reporters that he was made fun of by cast members of Bora for mispronouncing Filipino words, Sam says with an unoffended shrug: "I’m not surprised. That’s why I have to learn fast."