You'll never see <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/pop-culture/2023/01/31/nick-jonas-and-priyanka-chopra-introduce-daughter-to-the-world/" target="_blank">Nick Jonas</a> lose his cool. Speaking to <i>The National </i>in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/jeddah/" target="_blank">Jeddah</a>, the American musician and actor remains as stoic as he has ever been during a wildly successful career since being catapulted to fame as a child. But beneath his calm exterior, the 32-year-old is a ball of nerves, conscious that he is about to take some big risks that could propel his career even further – or send it off the rails. “I’m full of good nerves and bad nerves,” says Jonas. “The bad ones tell you that you're not good enough, or that you shouldn't be doing this, you should give up. The good nerves cause me to ask, do I care enough to pour everything that I have into this? Clearly I do, because I'm nervous. And I can use this in some way.” Jonas has declared himself ready for his close-up in 2025 after years of supporting roles in major films such as<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/new-jumanji-film-will-respect-the-original-says-cast-member-nick-jonas-1.91539" target="_blank"> <i>Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle</i> </a>and <i>Chaos Walking</i>. First, he will star in the highly anticipated Broadway debut of the musical <i>The Last Five Years</i>. After that, he will take the lead in <i>Power Ballad, </i>the latest movie from acclaimed Irish filmmaker<i> </i>(and former musician) John Carney<i>, </i>the man behind <i>Once</i> and <i>Sing Street</i>. Previews begin in March for <i>The Next Five Years,</i> which Jonas, who is married to Hollywood-Bollywood crossover star <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/2023/05/02/who-wore-it-better-priyanka-chopra-and-nick-jonas-twin-in-valentino-at-met-gala-2023/" target="_blank">Priyanka Chopra</a>, is particularly focused on at the moment. “This is a truly beloved piece of material,” Jonas explains. “A lot of people that study musical theatre in high school or college have done this show, so everyone involved is coming at it with real love and passion, the same that I have. But I also can’t focus on that too much because I’ll be locked up creatively, and I won’t be able to do a good job, and I won’t feel happy or inspired in the process. “That doesn’t mean that you don’t take things seriously, but you have to find a way to balance your nerves and use them productively.” He has only recently moved into lead roles in film, starring in 2023’s <i>The Good Half</i> from director Robert Schwartzman, himself better known as the frontman of the band Rooney. However, Jonas has long been in the spotlight as a musician, not only for his family band the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2022/06/18/the-jonas-brothers-and-uma-thurman-to-receive-stars-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame/" target="_blank">Jonas Brothers</a>, but also as a successful solo artist. His songs <i>Jealous</i> and <i>Close</i> each have roughly 600 million streams on Spotify. Not surprisingly, he is moving into starring roles by straying as little as possible from his more successful career strand, working with musicians and taking on parts that allow him to sing. “People always ask me if I prefer acting or singing, but the truth is I like when I get to do both at the same time. The problem is that there are very few roles on screen that allow for that,” Jonas says. He describes working with Carney on <i>Power Ballad</i> as a “dream scenario”, citing 2016’s <i>Sing Street</i> as one of his 10 favourite movies of all time. “When I first got an email saying that John Carney is putting a movie together and that my name was in the mix, I said, ‘I’ll go wherever John Carney goes.’ It wasn’t until about two years later that I got a call that he'd finished the script and wanted to talk to people. When I met him on Zoom, I was excited to talk to him just as a fan. His films have such a great heartbeat.” Jonas says his family is the reason he has seamlessly transitioned from child to adult star. They have kept him grounded and provided a powerful, painfully honest sounding board as he explored career possibilities. He sees a lot of himself in Danny Wilson, his character in <i>Power Ballad</i>, a rock star who recruits a wedding singer (<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv/2023/02/21/paul-rudd-and-peyton-reed-zoom-in-on-family-for-ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania/" target="_blank">Paul Rudd</a>) to be his songwriter and fix his ailing career. In the film, Wilson lacks a support system like his, and is therefore not nearly as well-adjusted. “He’s had a similar journey to mine, but faces a lot more obstacles personally than I, thankfully, did. I was fortunate enough to have my family deeply involved in my professional and personal lives, so I avoided some of the pitfalls that someone who’s famous from a young age and has led a very big life could face,” says Jonas. “I had to pull a lot from my real-life experiences and look at things that I’ve seen throughout the years from people who have really struggled around me and found all of this difficult to deal with. I’ve built a character that I hope will speak to people. It’s a really heartwarming film at its core, but it’s also tremendously funny and intense at times.”