Mike Tan Can't Stomach Playing Gay Roles

MIKE TAN’s last show was “Legacy”. “That’s seven months ago,” he says. “Ngayon lang po nasundan in ‘Mga Basang Sisiw’.”

So is he sore at GMA management? “Ay, hindi po. Okay lang sa’king maghintay ako kasi tuloy-tuloy naman ang guestings ko sa iba’t ibang show and I was assigned to do a lot of regional shows kaya nakakaikot ako sa bansa. Pero siempre, iba pa rin yung may regular soap gaya nitong ‘Mga Basang Sisiw’.”

Has he seen its original version? “Hindi, e. 1981 daw yun pinalabas, e 1986 naman ako pinanganak. I tried hanapin sa Youtube pero hindi ko nakita.”

What’s his role in “Mga Basang Sisiw”? “I’m Rigor, member ng sindikato exploiting child beggars. Ang limang batang bida rito, ako ang makaka-enkwentro sa kalye. Parang kuya-kuya nila, pero tuturuan silang manlimos. May twist later on, kasi childhood sweetheart pala ko ni Maxene Magalona na siyang umagaw sa dad nilang si Raymond Bagatsing from their mom, si Lani Mercado, na napahiwalay sa kanila during a plane crash.”

Doesn’t he mind playing a contravida role? “Not at all. Ang wish ko lang, sana, huwag ako bibigyan ng mga eksenang sasaktan ko yung mga bata. Baka mahirapan akong gawin yon.”

One of the new shows in GMA-7 is “My Husband’s Lover”, where Dennis Trillo and Tom Rodriguez play gay lovers. What if he’s given this kind of role? “Naku, hindi ko pa kaya. Lalo yung may halikan sa kapwa lalake. Hanga ako sa mga gumagawa ng ganyan but for me, hindi ko pa talaga kaya as of now.”