Flirtatious and feisty on Degrassi Season 14

Flirtatious and feisty on Degrassi Season 14

Follow me on Twitter:
@RachelleCruz_

Half-Pinay Nicole Samantha Huff

By Rachelle Cruz

It’s safe to say that she’s not your average 16-year-old belle of the ball. This half-Filipino, half-Caucasian mix ain’t just a pretty face made to mesmerize. Her gilded gold medals and awards spewing out of her trophy room (Was there like 500??) it seemed like she’s already lived a lifetime. What’s a trophy room? you might wonder.

Nicole Samantha Huff as ‘Gloria Chin’ on Degrassi (Official photo from Degrassi)

Just a few notable ones were: 1st place Piano Winner- International Piano Competition in Paris, France 2011 (Concours Musical de France); 1st place Diamond Dance Award- Tap Solo (Michael Jackson Mix song)- Breakthru Dance Competition 2013; and Filipino Talent Showdown Grand Winner ($1,000 cash scholarship)- Singing Competition 2012.

You might have also seen her in some of our community festivals like PIDC Mabuhay Festival as a guest performer. But you’ll see more of her because she plays the role of this fierce and sassy character named Gloria Chin, a softer version of the well-loved Rachel McAdams on Mean Girls. Remember that? Classic. Of course, she plays it out with her own spin, proving that her acting chops and looks landed her a role on Season 14 of Degrassi.

Finally, meet Nicole Samantha Huff, born and raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario, to her Filipino mother Eva Oribiana Huff originally from Gumaca, Quezon, and her French-German-Canadian father Terry Huff. Her background equally myriad and dynamic as her talents.

“I would love to be an actress or a singer, but I also definitely want to finish university, maybe for film and television, and become a producer, director… but whatever it is, I would love to be in that industry, in the entertainment industry because I am very passionate about it,” Huff expressed.

Preened from an early age to be in the entertainment and film industry, she attends Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts in the Drama Arts Program. The word triple threat might be reduced to rubble since Huff can dance (tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop and ballroom); play instruments (Piano, Violin, guitar, trumpet and Flute); and in the athletics department, she’s a figure-skating-gymnastic, 1st-degree-Black-belt-karate-kid. Whew! That was dizzying.

Though not fluent in Tagalog (She is in French!), she’s very much involved in the Filipino community, as a guest performer for festivals. And yes, she was in the Philippines back in 2007 when her uncle got married and she was the flower girl, no less.

With her collection of trophies

“She loved shopping in Manila and she thinks the malls are beautiful but very crowded.  She loved the beach in the Philippines.  She actually learned to speak some Filipino words talking to her cousins there. Although she was very sad seeing the little kids begging for money and food on the streets of Manila.  That was really hard for her because she said they should be in school and not on the street begging for money.   She will never forget that because she realized how fortunate she was,” Mrs. Huff said.

So she may be on her way to stardom, but her parents keep her grounded. And her take on this sassy character that she portrays on TV?

“Gloria Chin, she’s a very interesting girl.  She is the captain of the Newman Dragon’s Cheerleading team.   She comes across as a very confident, flirtatious girl but deep inside she does have a lot of insecurities like any other teenage girl. She comes back later on during the season 14 finale, and a lot of drama happens with her,” Huff said.

Huff contends that she relates to her character, “She has great style, and I’m very into fashion. And sometimes she comes across as too confident and I can, and like any other teenager going through issues, and she’s flirtatious and feisty and that definitely can be me sometimes,” she admitted.

Still, it’s a dream come true for Huff. Before Degrassi, she has appeared in smaller TV show roles like Life with Derek, and a range of commercials from McDonalds, Wonderbread and Nutella. If you haven’t seen it, just Youtube the Mcdonalds ad and you’ll see Huff grabbing a French fry in the crowd. She’s done some theatre work as well, playing the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (French version); and what else? Well, her list of accomplishments goes on… So it’s not surprising that, legend Degrassi director/actor Stefan Brogren, most famously known as Archibald “Archie/Snake” Simpson admitted to bringing Huff back in the show for more episodes than originally planned.

“Nicole’s been a nice added bonus to the show.  I think we had our eye on her for a while, she auditioned for the show a couple of times, and we really liked her. She just auditioned for a couple of roles where I don’t think she’s perfect for it yet.  The idea of this character was gonna come along, who’s not a saint and she would probably be good in that and she turned out to be so much fun! She’s a great actress. We liked her so much we wrote her in a couple more episodes down the line,” he confessed.

“She’s adorable, and she plays mean really good.  I will say that,” Brogren admitted.

Nicole on a page of Paton
Magazine (2 photos courtesy of Eva Huff)

The feeling is mutual, “It’s definitely an honour to be working with him because he’s so cool. He’s a genius,” Huff said about Brogren.

But between her studies, auditions, practices and on-set gigs, it’s a juggle for this teen who has more than 2,000 followers on Instagram and counting.

“It’s hard but I’m definitely having a blast and my mom, she’s helping me with my time,” she explained.

You can catch her on five episodes of Degrassi’s 14th season on MTV Canada or TeenNick USA. You can also watch her full interview on The It List with Rachelle Cruz, on FTV.

Nicole’s Top Ten:

What’s you Make up must have? Mascara and lipgloss 

Favourite book? Secret garden and The Fault In Our Stars

Your dream place to visit one day is… Since I have been to Paris and London, I want to visit Rome and Venice 

You start your day with? Listening to my music and checking my cell phone 🙂

It’s a perfect day when… When I pray the night before 

Fave movie? Titanic 

Pet peeve… When I see people drive and use their cell phone at the same time

Who’s your role model in life? In general, my parents and artistic wise, Demi Lovato and Shirley Temple

Would you rather play bad girl or good girl? I love taking on any role, doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad girl 

Fave Filipino dish? Spring rolls (lumpiang shanghai) from Max’s