“The first time it was offered to me, I rejected it kasi I’m scared na hindi ko makakayang gampanan kasi lalaki ako at hindi ko alam yung nuances ng pagbabakla,” he says. “Walang bakla sa pamilya ng mga Atayde, e. Okay lang kung simpleng bakla, kaso, cross-dresser. Nagdadamit babae talaga. But then, inalok uli sa akin at sabi ko, siguro it’s really meant for me, so susubukan ko. Lahat sila sa MMK, alam nila ang struggle ko at sobrang kaba in the two days we’re taping it. Hell days talaga for me. May scenes na hindi ko akalaing magagawa ko, like yung kissing scene with Felix Roco. First time ko makipaghalikan sa kapwa ko lalaki, e. But what I did is to keep on reminding myself na hindi ako ito, yung role ito at bakla ang role, bakla ako. While the show is being aired, I turned off my cellfone kasi ang mother ko (Sylvia Sanchez), laging may comments yan sa performance ko. At saka natatakot din akong baka may tumawag at laitin ako. After the show, I turned on my phone at naiyak ako sa dami ng congratulatory messages that I got. Even people from ABS, positive ang feedback. They said akala nila di ko makakaya, but I did it daw with flying colors. Pati mother ko, bumilib sa akin.”
Now, he’s about to start a new soap, “Pure Love”, which pairs him with Alex Gonzaga. “Excited ako kasi ‘Dugong Buhay’ is action, ito naman romantic drama based on a hit Koreanovela about a girl who went into coma for 49 days and the man who stayed loyal to her.”
How’s it working with Alex? “We haven’t started taping kasi nasa abroad pa siya. January 13 daw ang balik niya. But nag-workshop na kami and masaya siyang kasama. I like and admire her personality, very bubbly, hindi ka mabo-bore. This is directed by Veronica Velasco.”
