Daniel Matsunaga wants to bring family to the Philippines

DANIEL MATSUNAGA is the Brapanese hunk most likely to hit it big in local showbiz. At 21, he's younger than Akihiro Sato and Fabio Ide, both 26, and he's the one who has real matinee idol-heartthrob good looks. His first acting job in "The Last Prince" elicited much good feedback that he was even brought back into the show. No wonder he now co-stars with Heart Evangelista playing the role of a pilot in "Langit sa Piling Mo". "But before we start taping, I'm visiting my parents in Brazil," he says. "I miss them so much. I haven't seen them since I came to Manila one year and five months ago with my sister Vanessa, a model, who's 23."

His dad is a Japanese who was born in Brazilia (Brazil's capital where they live) after his grandparents moved to Brazil following WWII. He has one younger brother who still lives with their parents. "I've been traveling since I was 16. I've been to 20 countries but I've never visited my grandparents' home country, Japan, not even my dad."

When he's already earning much, he wants to bring his parents to Manila. "I want them to see why I love the Philippines, the culture, the people, the food."

Daniel has just finished his first movie, "D'Survivors", where he plays a narcoleptic. "Everytime I get excited, I fall asleep. I'm with a group of models and our plane crashes into an island. It starts as a comedy but becomes a suspense-thriller when one of disappears one by one."

Directed by Adolf Alix Jr. and filmed in the beautiful Caramoan Islands, Daniel co-stars with Akihiro, Fabio, Rocky Salumbides, Lemuel Pelayo, and Mercator models Kerbie Zamora and Aaron Tuiza, along with Kr Brosas as their flight stewardess, Tetay Ocampo as their gay stylist, and the comebacking Evelyn Vargas-Knaebel as their clairvoyant wardrobe mistress. This opens on Wednesday, with premiere tonight 7 PM at SM Megamall Cinema 1.