Esteva Wilson, or more commonly known by his stage name Jamie Wilson, is a professional theatre, film & television actor and director, singer and voice artist, and motorcycle enthusiast from the Philippines. More importantly, he embodies #KEBOLIVIN.
How do you balance your time and creative energy between music and acting?
Balancing my time between both is a high wire act at best. There's the physical aspect to consider, in terms of vocal quality and endurance. I've gotta make sure my voice is in good shape, that I get enough vocal rest and sleep, and that I do a proper warm up before I sing, whether it be for a play or with my band. Sleep is necessary. The warmup is crucial.
I also find that dedicating an hour or two to singing every day really helps a lot. This time can be spent either studying my song for a musical, or reviewing my songs for the band, but can also sometimes be spent singing whatever catches my fancy or fits my mood at the time.
Do you find that your acting influences your music, or vice versa? In what ways?
I've always put a little rock and roll in my theater, and a little theater in my rock and roll. That being said, both forms of expression reflect and provide an outlet for my personal truths; both artistic forms demand an emotional authenticity to them.
In acting, I am required to play a character, so the truths coming out are shaped by the character, and must fit the character and the story being told. In singing, this allows me more freedom because I can tell my own story, interpreted through the song. I can be myself, or any version of myself, and it ends up being more personal. Either way, both forms of expression inevitable bleed into each other because they are drawing from the same source of personal experience and emotions. Either way, they tell a story that comes from somewhere inside me.
What drew you to both music and acting—did one come first, or did they develop together?
My father was an actor, and I grew up in the theater, so acting definitely came first. I fell in love with the magic of theater from a very early age, and I have stuck with it for the past 45 years. Singing with a band happened in my teenage years, after having discovered heavy metal and new wave and rock and roll and then the blues, and with my head filled with rockstar dreams, I eventually ended up singing with bands. In the beginning I considered them completely separate worlds, but eventually these worlds collided when I realized that all I was doing was telling stories, in one form or another. I then ventured into spoken word, which I thought was the perfect marriage of these worlds, and the magic was ever present; similar but a little different.
Is there a role you’ve played that felt especially close to your identity as a musician?
Every role I have played has a piece of me in there. I use my personal experience and truths in all my roles; there is a necessity for an emotional authenticity when I'm creating a character. I just tailor my experiences to fit the character and the story as written.
There is one role that stands out that I enjoyed so much, and was perhaps the easiest and the most fun to get into: as Dennis Dupree in the jukebox musical Rock Of Ages. Playing the aging hippie owner of a dive bar on the Sunset Strip called The Bourbon Room, singing some awesome glam rock songs in a love story about a young man who wants to be a rock star who falls in love with a waitress who ends up being a stripper, was just so much fun and truly hit home for me, since I grew up listening to these songs and being a fan of these bands. This was the closest I'd ever come to my theater and rock and roll worlds being on one stage!
What’s more vulnerable for you: performing a personal song or portraying a complex character on screen/stage?
They're all personal to me, in one way or another. Performing a personal song definitely finds me more vulnerable on stage. The thing about portraying a character on stage or screen is that I have a veneer of protection, since the character has been written with a whole life and context in mind, telling a story that has a beginning and an end.
Singing a personal song on stage with my band is just me up there singing my heart out, recalling my experiences, and going through my emotions. There is no veneer or later if protection of playing a role; I'm being myself. And that's definitely more vulnerable in my book.
How do you deal with creative blocks in either discipline?
I step back and breathe and let it go, or I find another angle to approach it from. These days I find that not thinking about it actively usually helps me find a key to unlock that block. If the door is locked, I'll either kick it down or bust through a window.
Riding my motorcycle really helps as well. Going for a ride without a particular destination helps my active mind unwind, since I'm paying attention to the road. And then my passive mind continues to work in the background. More often than not, by the time I come back I've got at least three new ideas to try out. It's an amazing form of meditation for me!
Do you approach storytelling differently when you're writing a song versus acting in a film/play?
They're two entirely different animals, but are closely related somehow. Writing a song is definitely harder when you're trying to find the right words to say, and finding a melody to sing them in. Acting has its own kind of music, but unless it's for an actual musical, you can compose your own melody and tempo internally, and it can change with any given performance.
But essentially, storytelling for me boils down to one thing: What do I want to say? What is the statement, the thesis if you will, of this story you want to tell? The approaches are different, as are the end results, but it is still rooted in my personal truths and experiences.
Which project—either in music or acting—has challenged you the most emotionally or artistically?
I am currently doing a play right now that I believe has been my most challenging to date. I play Rob, in the original play Anniversary, written by Nelsito Gomez for The Virgin LabFest at the Cultural Center of The Philippines. He's a man drowning in anger and grief, and the emotional journey he takes is truly the most difficult thing I've ever had to do on stage.
With just two people on a very intimate stage just talking, there are no bells and whistles to hide behind; there is no rest or respite within the journey. Once the train starts rolling down the tracks, there's no stopping it.
On my 45th year as a professional theater actor, I've had the good fortune to sink my teeth into an incredible role, telling a necessary tale of one man's journey through his darkness; I've also learned so many new things that have modified my process and preparation for a show. And most crucial of all is that I've learned that even after all these years, I am still capable of growth and change!
What role or song do you think best captures who you are at your core?
There's a song by The Doors called Roadhouse Blues that has turned into my unofficial anthem. I sang this song the very first time I came up on stage to jam with a band in the late 80s, and I'm still singing it today.
Somehow my life has turned into that song, and that song has turned into my life. And I still believe it every time I sing it, even after all these years of singing it. Drunk or sober, happy or heartbroken, it still applies to the life I'm living. The essence of it's message still inspires me to this day.
"Get your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel.
We're going to the roadhouse, we're gonna have a real good time.
"Back at the roadhouse I got someone to love;
Death for the people who like to go down slow.
"Let it roll, baby, roll
All night long
"I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer,
The futures uncertain and the end is always near"
If you had to choose only one path forever—music or acting—what would it be, and why?
Oh my goodness please don't make me choose! I cannot live my life with just one or the other. I love portraying other people because I get to live so many lives, and that's what I get from being an actor. I love singing and playing music because I get to be myself on that stage, or whatever version of myself I want to be on any given night, and that gives me the freedom I don't have as an actor. I cannot imagine one without the other, because one feeds the other and vice versa.
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Jamie is wearing our #KEBOLIVIN TEE.
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