Aspiring pilot Seth Fedelin’s vow: One day soon, ‘Mag-aaral ako’
Before fate steered him toward show biz, Seth Fedelin’s original plan was to work as a seafarer—not just out of personal ambition, but more so out of necessity.
When he was in Grade 6, Fedelin’s father—then an overseas worker and the sole provider of their family of five—suffered a stroke, rendering him unfit to return to his job in Saudi Arabia. As the eldest of three kids, Fedelin knew he had to get moving.
“I was unsure if I would be able to go to college. But one of my uncles was already working on a ship, and his family ran an agency for seafarers. So they told me they could take me in, even without a college degree. I could work as an errand boy,” he recalled.
“My mind was already conditioned to go that route,” added the 22-year-old actor, who used to help his father clean swimming pools to help make ends meet in the aftermath of the latter’s medical crisis.
But in 2018, the entertainment industry beckoned. Without any expectations, he tried his luck in the eighth season of the reality show “Pinoy Big Brother.” And while he placed only fifth, he went on to become one of the most popular actors of his generation, thanks in large part to his screen partnership with actress Francine Diaz.
‘No regrets’
Acting gave his family a considerably more comfortable life, but it did come at the expense of his childhood dream. “But no regrets,” if that means seeing his siblings fulfill theirs.
“I want to build my own home; I already bought a lot. I want my siblings to finish school. In fact, my younger brother is on his way to becoming a seaman. I’m really happy,” he said.
That’s why Fedelin is determined to make the most out his stay in the fickle world of show biz.
His latest project is “My Future You,” Regal Entertainment’s entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. The romance drama, his first big screen outing with Diaz, follows two strangers, Lex (Fedelin) and Karen (Francine), who meet via a dating app. Later, they discover that, by some fantastical phenomenon, they actually live in different timelines—13 years apart to be exact.
But more than the love angle, the film also focuses on family—a topic that resonates deeply with Fedelin. “I think some of us take for granted having a loving and supportive family. Not everyone has that,” he pointed out. “But family is something you can also find in friends, people at work, or maybe even a stranger.”
If he were given the chance now, Fedelin—from sea to the sky—would shift gears and work on becoming a pilot instead. Realistically, it would be next to impossible to pursue at this point in his growing career, when projects are aplenty.
“I know that I wouldn’t be able to focus on it. I don’t want to enroll and just waste money on tuition. You really have to put in the hours to earn your licenses,” pointed out Fedelin, who finished senior high school last May.
“And should I finally go to school one day, I want to be focused with no other distractions—like a horse with blinders on,” he added.
For now, his family and acting career remain his top priorities. But he knows that one day, his turn will come. “Mag-aaral ako (I have to study),” he stressed. “Hindi pwedeng hindi ako maka-graduate (I can’t not graduate).”
