RICHARD YAP has not done any big teleserye since “Be Careful with My Heart” so he’s happy that Mother Lily of Regal now got him to play the lead actor in the Metro filmfest entry, “Mano Po VII: Chinoy”. “It’s a big challenge for me kasi sa three movies I’ve done before, parang support lang ako kay Vice Ganda sa ‘Praybeyt Benjamin’, ganundin kay Maja Salvador sa ‘You’re Still the One’, at dalawa naman kaming leading man ni Jodi Sta. Maria sa ‘Achy Breaky Hearts’,” he says. “Pero dito sa ‘Mano Po VII’, ako talaga ang male lead at first time kong makakapareha si Jean Garcia as my wife. Crush ko na siya noong araw at hindi ko akalaing darating ang panahong makakapareha ko pala siya. At may love scene pa raw kami. I’m really thankful sa Regal na kinuha nila ako for this movie. This is my most dramatic role so far and I promise to give my best.”
The movie is the first mainstream film of indie filmmaker Ian Lorenos and he says Richard is their first and only choice for the role. “Wala kaming ibang maisip nina Ms. Roselle Monteverde kung sino ang gaganap na bidang lalaki kundi siya kasi, like me, he’s also Chinese. When we met with him, we realized tama kami kasi he even gave his own ideas about the local Chinese community na puedeng maisama sa movie.”
We tell Richard that in the three indie films that Ian Lorenos did, his stars always win acting awards, like LJ Reyes as Cinemalaya filmfest best supporting actress in “The Leaving”, Jericho Rosales as Urian best actor in “Alagwa”, and Rayver Cruz, Matteo Guidicelli and Joseph Marco as Cinema One filmfest best actors in “Saturday Night Chills”. So if Richard would do his role right, with Ian’s guidance, he might have a good chance to win as best actor in the Metro-Manila filmfest this coming December.
