But is it true he courted Barbie before? “Oh yes, inaamin ko naman yan. We were together in several shows like ‘Tween Hearts’, ‘Luna Blanca’ and ‘Half Sisters’. But we’re still very young at that time, lalo na siya, and she felt na hindi pa siya talaga ready na makipagrelasyon kahit kanino. Ang importante, nagawa naming i-maintain ang friendship namin through the years kaya comfortable kami talaga sa isa’t isa. Kaya nga bagay sa amin ang title ng movie namin, ‘Almost a Love Story’, kasi halos nandun na kami, pero hindi lang natuloy.”
In “Almost a Love Story”, Derrick plays Luigi, who’s based in Tricase, Italy because his mom, Ana Capri, has married an Italian guy. He grew up with his nanny, Lotlot de Leon, whose daughter is Barbie as Baneng, who’s based in the Philippines with her auntie, Matet de Leon. “Parang magkababata kami ni Barbie rito, pero sa video call lang kami nagkikita. Long distance ang lahat, until pinatawag siya ng mother niya at pinapunta sa Italy. Ayun, nagkaroon ng chance na magkakilala kami nang personal at doon magkakaroon ng complications ang story at ang aming relationship.”
Derrick is one young actor who has no qualms about displaying his body on the big screen and he does that in the movie. “Yes, ni-require ni Direk Louie Ignacio na may shirtless scenes ako at okay lang namin sa’kin. I work hard to have a good body and I’m proud of showing my abs, so okay lang.”
“Almost a Love Story” is a co-production of BG Productions with Salento Cinema of Italy and GMA Network. It will be distributed in theaters by Regal Entertainment starting on April 11.
