No wonder he’s blessed. He just had an entry in the recent CineFilipino filmfest, “Mata Tapang”, and now he plays the lead role in Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino’s “Pinay Beauty”, the first of the 8 entries to hold a general presscon.
“Nagpapasalamat po talaga ako dahil sunod-sunod ang blessings ko,” he says. “I also just won a number of awards for ‘Deadma Walking’. Tapos, I’m in a regular teleseryes, ‘The Stepdaughters’ sa GMA-7 where I play the role of Froilan, half brother ni Mikael Daez at kasabwat ni Katrina Halili na siyang main contravida in the story. I really cannot complain.”
In “Pinay Beauty”, he plays the role of Migs. “Boyfriend ako rito ni Chai Fonacier, who gets her biggest break here. We’ve known each other for a long time at na-in love ako sa kanya. Para sa akin, ang ganda-ganda na niya. But for herself, hindi pa siya kontento sa beauty niya so kung anu-ano ginagawa niya para gumanda siya, pumuti siya. Martir boyfriend ako rito kasi handa akong suportahan siya sa hangarin niyang magpaganda. Dahil dito, nabaon yung character ko sa utang at nanganib ang buhay ko.”
The film is directed by Jay Abello, a filmmaker from Negros who did indie films like “Namets” and “Ligaw Liham” (both Cinemalaya entries), “Red” with Jericho Rosales (a Cinema One entry) and “Flotsam” with Solenn Heussaff. We ask EA what the message of a film like “Pinay Beauty” can be?
“Sa totoo lang, very valid ang message ng movie about people na hindi makontento sa sarili nila. It says na dapat, kung ano ang blessing na binigay sa’yo ni Lord, makontento ka na at maging proud ka. Mas marami pang paraan para mapaganda ang sarili mo, lalo na ang character mo, not just your physical appearance.”
