Ian Veneracion At 41 Is Just A Year Older Than Piolo Pascual And Derek Ramsay, Both 40, & Enjoys His Second Wind As Leading Man

IAN VENERACION’s co-stars try to kid him by calling him Tatang. Ian is only 41 years old, so he’s just a year older than other leading men today, like Piolo Pascual who turned 40 on January 12 and Derek Ramsay who turned 40 on December 7. And just like them, Ian looks younger than his age. The difference is that he started as a child actor, became a teen action star, rested for a while, but is now back in full force as a lead actor who still makes a lot of women swoon on both the small and the big screen.

After being the third wheel in “Achy Breaky Hearts”, Ian is now solo male lead in the horror thriller, “Ilawod” (which refers to an evil water nymph), as Dennis, a reporter who covered a terrifying case of possession in a remote mountain village and didn’t know that he brought home the dreadful water demon with him to harass his own wife, Iza Calzado as Kathy, and their two kids, Harvey Bautista as Ben and Xyriel Manabat as Bea. Does he believe that such evil elements exist?

“I believe in the paranormal,” he says. “I’m curious about strange phenomena, so I used to go with the late Roy Alvarez to meet healers sa mga provincia. I also took a course with the well known parapsychologist Jaime Licauco about developing your inner mind kasi part naman ng culture natin yung elementals, duwende, kapre and other folk beliefs, so I can understand the character I play, si Dennis, who’s a paranormal researcher. We should keep an open mind about these things as there are really some things around us that remain unexplainable by science.”

When he was paired with Jodi Sta. Maria in a soap and a movie, rumors came out that his marriage to wife Pam Gallardo was on the rocks. Did it bother him? “No, I have no idea how it started and I was even linked to Jessy Mendiola na ni hindi ko pa nakatrabaho. Some reporters asked me then about it but I didn’t give any reply, kasi hindi naman totoo. Maski nga wife ko, di ako tinanong about it. So I just ignored it and it died a natural death.”

How is it working with Direk Dan Villegas for the first time in “Ilawod”? “He’s good, certainly knows his craft. Ang dami kong nagawang horror noong araw, like ‘Huwag Mong Buhayin ang Bangkay’, pero ibang-iba itong ‘Ilawod’. It will really give viewers a good scare. Maraming eksenang mapapatalon kayo sa takot so don’t miss it.”

And how is it working with Iza as his wife? “Iza and I are together in another movie for Direk Jerrold Tarog and we’re also in ‘A Love to Last’ on ABS-CBN kaya very comfortable na kami sa isa’t isa. May eksena nga rito sa ‘Ilawod’ na ginapang niya ako, e.”
And how was it? “Masarap naman. Ha ha ha!”