Meet the teen boys of Bagets, Just got Lucky

MEET THE young actors introduced in TV5’s “Bagets, Just Got Lucky”, shown Sundays at 4 PM after “Paparazzi”. AJ (for Adrian Justine) Muhlach – He’s the most well known cast member as he’s the half-brother of Aga. They have the same dad, Cheng, who’s now 67. AJ says he’s the only son of Cheng with his mom, Janet, but he has two younger siblings with his mom. With Cheng, he’s one of 8 kids: Arlene, Aga, and Albert (all from the late Anita, and AJ says Albert just got married yesterday, Sunday), Barok (son with Beth Bautista, now a stockbroker), Almira, and two more siblings younger than him with another woman. He says his relatives on the Muhlach side are all supportive of him, including aunt Amalia Fuentes, cousin Nino, also Aga’s eldest son, Igiboy, who’s his nephew but is older than him at 23 while he turned 19 only last May 20. “Igiboy was my classmate in culinary school,” he adds. “Close din ako sa mga anak ni Kuya Aga na kambal kay Ate Charlene.” What advice has Aga given him? “Always do your best in every project that’s assigned to you.” He finished high school in La Salle Greenhills and is now a sophomore at UST majoring in applied physics. He had a girlfriend once in high school but is now loveless. In “Bagets”, he plays the caring son of Bernadette Allison who’s a scholar in school.

Josh Padilla – Born on May 17, 1993, he’s the son of singer Gino Padilla. He got accelerated from grade school to high school in La Salle but is now a junior in Ateneo taking up communications technology. He has a younger sister and both of them sing like their dad. He acts as a photographer in his dad’s gigs. “Boss Vic del Rosario saw me and told me to try the audition for ‘Bagets’,” he says. “Nakuha ako and they made me take acting workshops with Direk Laurice Guillen and Leo Martinez.” He has never had a girlfriend. “I go out on dates but no commitments yet,” he adds. In “Bagets”, he plays Jules Soriano, the spoiled brat son of Jao Mapa. “I start as a bad guy who’s one of the bullies but babait ako and will be one of the five Bagets members.”

Aki Torio – A Japino whose mom is from Leyte and whose dad is from Mieken, Japan (five hours from Tokyo), Hideaki Torio was born on Aug. 21, 1991. At 14, he was on vacation in Manila when a talent scout saw him in a mall and asked him to join showbiz. He returned when he was 15, took acting workshops with ABS and joined Circle of Ten model search where he won. He then became a regular in Kuya Germs’ Walang Tulugan then took the audition for Viva’s XLR8 and became a member. He doesn’t speak Tagalog at all when he first came here but now, he speaks it fluently, although with an accent. “I just learned it by watching TV, reading Tagalog books and being coached by my aunt, sister ng mom ko who lives in Novaliches, and my cousins where I live now. My parents are still in Japan with my older brother.” Weren’t they affected by the earthquake? “No, malayo yun amin. But I still got worried because we live by the sea at baka matsunami kami.” In “Bagets”, he plays a Japino named Hiro Galura whose mom also has kids with a Korean and an American. He’s paired with Meg Imperial.

Rico de la Paz – He’s a homegrown discovery of TV5 from their Star Factor artista search. He didn’t make it among the top four finalists but he’s now lucky that he has a regular show, unlike the only male Star Factor contestant who was a runnerup. “Lahat kami sa Star Factor auditioned for ‘Bagets’ but kami lang ni Eula Caballero ang masuwerteng nakuha,” he says. The third of four kids and a high school senior at Marist School in Marikina, he’s the youngest cast member as he’s only turning 15 on May 27. “But I didn’t enrol this coming June kasi I’m busy with ‘Bagets’ and also ‘Fantastik’ on TV5,” he says. In ‘Bagets’, he plays a nerdy student with big eyeglasses who’s secretly in love with their sexy teacher, played by Survivor Philippines’ Jef Gaitan.

Johan Lourens – At 5’9”, he’s the tallest “Bagets” actor as the height of the others range from 5’6” to 5’7”. He’s father is a Dutch national who met his mom while assigned in Manila. He was born here but his dad was also assigned to other places so they had also lived in Frankfurt, Germany; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. When he was 11, they moved to Lucena City and that’s where he finished high school at the International School for Better Beginnings. The eldest of two kids, he has a younger sister. They now live in Taft Avenue and he’s taking up interdisciplinary business studies in La Salle. He was also recruited by I Models for ramp modelling. “They were the ones who told me there’s an audition for ‘Bagets’ so I took it even if I had no acting experience whatsoever,” he says. “I never really dreamt of being in showbiz.” He plays Santi Pecson, in the show. “I’m the rich kid among us, the son of Cheska Inigo who’s part of ‘Bagets 2’. I’m paired with Eula Caballero.”