Comedian Jerald Napoles Gets Big Break As Leading Man In The QCinema Filmfest Entry, 'The Write Moment', Opposite Valeen Montenegro

JERALD NAPOLES is a Tondo Boy who finished high school at Torres High in Gagalangin and later went to college at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. He was taking up chemical engineering but stopped as his heart is really in showbiz. He first appeared in Dulaang UP’s “St. Louis Loves Them Filipinos”, then Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Noli Me Tangere”.

He got noticed as a theatre actor for musicals like “Magsimula Ka”, “Care Divas” and “Rak of Aegis”. He then moved to TV and did shows on GMA-7 like “My Faithful Husband”, “That’s My Amboy” and “Celebrity Bluff”. But he gained fame as a comedian with Alden Richards in “Sunday PinaSaya” and he’s now also a mainstay in “Super Ma’am” with Marian Rivera.

Now 34 years old and managed by Triple A Talent Management (also the manager of Marian Rivera and Maine Mendoza), he gets his biggest break in the QCinema Filmfest entry, “The Write Moment”, where he is paired with Valeen Montenegro. How did he feel when the movie was offered to him with him in the lead role?

“Sabi ko, sigurado kaya sila?” he says. “Siempre, nagpa-thank you agad ako and, sa script reading pa lang, na-excite agad ako, lalo na nga’t si Valeen ang kapareha e magkaibigan na kami dahil magkasama kami sa ‘Sunday PinaSaya’. Tapos, bagets yung director namin, 29 lang, very open minded, mas collaborative and he allows his actors to explore yung magandang atake sa mga eksena kaya magaan ang naging trabaho namin.”

For sure, he’ll be compared to Empoy Marquez, another comedian who hit it big when given his first lead role. “Okay lang, ready ako to be compared with him. Friend ko si Empoy and I’m very happy for him. Fan niya rin ako, e and he deserves yung success niya. And so far, maganda ang feedback sa movie namin. May mga nagtatanong nga, bakit sa Quezon City lang ipalalabas? Well, sabi nina Direk Jun Lana at Perci Intalan, they intend to give it a wider release after it’s show sa QCinema Filmfest.”

“The Write Moment” is written by and the directorial debut of Dominic Lim of IdeaFirst Company. Jerald plays Dave, a writer who is pining for his lost love, Valeen. He tries to win her back with a script full of “hugot” lines but he finds himself living in the scenes that he himself wrote. He is forced to follow everything verbatim or else, he would face being stuck in an endless loop of scenes that are repeated over and over again. As Valeen tells him in the movie: “Hindi lahat madadaan mo sa kilig. Sorry, pero tao tayo, hindi tayo pelikula.”

Will Jerald follow in the footsteps of Empoy and be the next comedian who’d also hit it big as a romantic leading man. We’ll find out when “The Write Moment” is shown as part of QCinema Filmfest from October 19 to 28.