PIOLO
Pascual is pretty excited about performing
again in Seattle on the Renditions concert scheduled
for November 4 at the Renton Ikea Performing
Arts Center. He had performed twice before in
the city – one with the all beefcake group
The Hunks, and the other as a solo performer – and
now he’s busy rounding up Renditions co-stars
Sam Milby and Rica Peralejo
to work on plenty of new material.
Rica
called Piolo the “kuya” of their triumvirate.
In past shows abroad, Piolo stood as the voice
of decorum and reason when Rica and Sam would goof
around. Not that Piolo is a wet blanket. Or Rica
and Sam, slackers. It’s just the Capricorn
in him (b. January 12, 1977) to assume the big
bro role; just as he seems in cool control of a
career that shows no signs of flagging nine years
after he decided to parlay his awfully pretty looks
(and equally good-looking acting and singing abilities)
for a shot in the biz.
Scheduling
an exclusive one-on-one Piolo interview is like
asking the Pope for a personal audience. No, not
really, but one gets the drift. In a span of seven
days, One Philippines learned the 29-year-old actor
flew to Korea for a live show, returned to tape
episodes for his new soap, Walang Kapalit, which
also stars Claudine Barretto, and then flew out
to Australia for another live gig.
We
collar him in drizzly Tagaytay, a day before typhoon
Milenyo roared in, where he was taping his new
soap, and rudely interrupt his lunch break for
a few Q&As.
When
Piolo made his appearance, it was pure pelikula.
While co-star Edu Manzano and the rest of the cast
and crew spent their break joshing and mingling
on the downstairs area of a cute little storybook
house at a cul-de-sac of an American-style suburban
subdivision (no pader! only low picket fences),
Piolo emerged from an upper floor. No one gave
the signal, but an inner register got us all turning
our heads up simultaneously. And it could be a
case of star-struckedness but for some reason,
Piolo descending the stairs, dressed casually in
a fit tee that showed off nicely contoured biceps
and firm pecs, looked lit for the screen. He positively
glowed. With health, wealth, stardom. And perhaps,
our own fandom.
You’ve
been awfully busy. How do you breathe?
My
work is my breath and it’s my life. Other
than this I just lead a normal life. I don’t
do anything else but work. Either work or spend
time with my family, in church.
Sam
says he gets zero to two hours of sleep. What
about you?
I’ve
been doing the same thing for eight years now.
But it’s good that I get to go abroad; that’s
where I take my vacation. I look forward to doing
shows abroad cause usually our shows are weekends,
right? So I get the whole week off. I get to spend
time with my family in the States. I get to rest.
Talk
about your family in the States.
They’re
based in LA, my Mom, my sisters. (Piolo is the
youngest of six children to a Pinay mom and a German-Spanish
dad.) And I just have a newborn nephew. He was
just born last week.
So
what have you prepared for the Renditions concert?
AS
compared to the last one, we’re doing some
different songs. I’m actually discussing
with Sam and Rica cos we wanna do something different.
We wanna do something that’s more updated.
I did shows in Seattle before with the Hunks and I did Seattle for my own show.
So I’ve been there twice.
What
sort of discussions have you been having with
Sam and Rica?
Because
most of the songs I’m singing with Sam and
some I’m singing with Rica so we wanna do
all the new hit songs. Most of the songs I’ll
be singing are from my soap, Sa Piling Mo, and
I’ve already asked my handler to get me some
new areglos for those songs.
And
then with Sam we’ll be doing some new medleys
and the same with Rica.
Speaking
of Rica, are you dating?
Rica
and I are friends. I mean, uhm, I don’t know
if there’s anything else to that but we don’t
want to preempt things. I’m taking care of
my friendship with her so I’d rather, not
naman keep it secret or keep it private because
as it is we’re from the business and people
are always gonna ask. The thing is Rica and I are
really friends and if there’s anything else,
let’s just wait and see. I don’t wanna
talk about it so often because I don’t wanna
ruin what we have. I don’t want people to
destroy the kind of relationship that we have.
How
do you keep yourself sane?
Sane?
Well, my faith keeps me sane.
But
I heard from Rica that it was Sam actually who
brought her to the Church (Victory Fellowship.)
Sam
actually invited her. Sam has been going even before
I incited him and the time we started going together
was because his manager is my good friend. So when
we met, he was going to the same church already.
So we just decided to go together since we come
from (the Sunday noontime variety show) ASAP most
of the time.
How
often do you go to the Church?
Every
Sunday. That’s my top priority. If I don’t
get to go on a Sunday, I go on a Saturday or a
Friday.
How
has it helped you?
Oh,
a lot. You can say that if your faith is not solid
or if you don’t have the right relationship
with God then it’s easy to get swayed by
the things in this world especially when you have
everything going for you, right? But it changed
me totally because ever since I became a Christian,
I’ve become more responsible, I can say,
because the things I didn’t know before,
I kinda learned as I was growing in God. I’m
still a work in progress but because of my faith,
because of the kind of relationship I have with
Christ, I know the things that I shouldn’t
do and I know the things that I should do.
Why
did you go there in the first place?
I
think each one of us would like to be complete,
right? And there came a point in my life, when
I was 25 – that was four years ago – and
then everything was just happening so fast and
so many things had just happened and I thought
that I’m not worthy of these blessings. Why
is this in store for me? Why are You giving me
so much at a short time and at a young age? And
that’s when I realized that God has a purpose
for me.
That’s
bizarre because people usually question at a time
of want.
Some people would wanna see God when they hit rock bottom but me I sought God
when I was on top. That’s how God touched me maybe and that’s how
God made me realize that it’s not the be-all and end-all of everything.
So
if it’s not the end-all then what’s
your purpose here, what do you want to achieve?
Well,
it’s not about me. It’s anything that
God wants me to do. I mean the way I’m impacting
the youth now is the way I think God wants me to
handle my career.
Personally I think that I’ve achieved quite a lot already, everything
that I wanted to do, my goals.
Which
was?
Not
naman stardom but to be safe, to have regular work
and just to be recognized. I mean, most of us want
to be recognized in our chosen field of work. And
I got that. And after that I said, whatever it
is You want me to do, I’ll just do it because
I got my part of the bargain. And now since I’ve
become a Christian, I’ve become more aware
of my influence, so the reason I found out that
I have a different purpose in this world is that
God has told me, “I put you there for a reason.
It’s not you want to be there, it’s
because I want you to be there.” So now I
live out that purpose.
What’s
the best part of the work that you do?
Everything.
Everything. People will say it’s hard, people
will say that you get to enjoy a lot of things
but it’s just a matter of balancing it and
knowing what you can do and what you cannot do.
What I’m trying to say is that when you have
a passion for something, you go for it. If you
think it’s yours then you work hard and then
be determined. That’s what I realized. I
realized that God has put me in this situation
because he has a purpose for me.
What
about the downside?
Well
the usual, you know. You can’t choose to
have a private life because people are gonna hound
you. People are gonna ask about you because you’re
a public property and that’s a given. I don’t
consider it a downside; I consider it as part of
the deal.
So
as part of the deal, what were the things you
could do before but can’t do now because
it would just create a fuss?
Well,
let’s just say, the things I would want to
do I cannot just do in Manila anymore so I look
forward to going abroad because there I can go
to the park. I love going to the park and just
read or just walk and jog. Here you can’t
just go jogging in public, right?
What
stuff do you read?
Any
Christian book.
You’re
also into music; in the whole scheme of things,
how important is it to you compared to your acting?
It’s
equally important because I’m able to touch
different kinds of people. I’m able to tour.
With that I’m able to entertain people through
my singing.
What’s
your favorite place in the world?
Europe.
Italy. For the last two years I’ve been going
to Assisi and I just fell in love with the place.
I like going to the outskirts, more of the countryside,
Tuscany.
What
do you do there?
Nothing.
I just immerse. And I learn about their culture
and I become…normal. I become like a commoner.
No one notices me; no one gives me VIP treatment.
So it feels like IU can be like the rest.
Going
back to Rica, you said na huwag nating unahan
yung whatever it is that may happen. What is
it about her that makes her special to you?
It’s
her simplicity. She’s one of the most, well,
maybe because of the roles that she’s done
in the past, I think everyone deserves the kind
of chance…and I think she’s just misunderstood.
So
in what ways do you connect with her?
Honestly,
it’s the simplest ways. We love traveling
and we love being independent and we love finding
things on our own. She takes great pictures, she
dives and she’s very simple. She likes the
simple things in life. She loves her family, she
spends a lot of time with them. Her faith is grounded,
so.
You’re
booked solid till 2007, right?
It’s
usually like that. If you’re not taping,
you’re booked for shows. We already have
a commitment for the next summer, next year with
Ms. Kuh. I’m touring with Sam, we’ll
be her guests for a month on a US tour. And I’m
doing a show with Sam again come February and this
soap is until February and in between I’m
doing a movie. It’s with Star Cinema but
the female lead I’m not so sure yet, they’re
still discussing. I got myself pretty booked and
I got myself other engagements with my endorsements.
So
you spend an hour every Sunday in Church, what
other downtime (activities) do you have, if you
have any?
Uhh…I
actually go to the movies whenever I’m free.
I’m not naman working everyday 24/7 but you
know, if there are times when my taping gets packed
up, I hit the mall and I watch movies.
Really?
You hit the mall?
Yeah,
Shangri-la, Rockwell.
What
do the people do? Do they go crazy?
No
naman. People naman are more used to seeing stars.
So
who do you hang with?
Usually,
Eric, Sam’s manager. Or Rica. Or Sam. But
most of the time I’m just by myself.
So
what was the last movie you saw?
Breathe.
Before that I saw Wicker Man. I try to really find
time to watch because that’s my hobby.
How
many endorsements do you have at the moment?
I
don’t know, I lost count. I don’t count
my endorsements because I just wanna keep on going.
I just wanna keep on doing the things I do. If
I try to count then I’ll be so conscious
and I’ll start to worry if I lose an account
and I gain an account but I can say it’s
kinda getting better because I’m just keeping
mostly the major accounts and I’m launching
two new endorsements so that’s a good deal.
It’s Banco de Oro this October and there’s
another one, my own scent line plus there’s
another inquiry so it’s pretty good.
Are
there other things you’d like to achieve?
Uhm,
I don’t know. I’ve gone way beyond
my expectations.
Hollywood
dreams?
I’m
not keeping my doors closed but I’m being
realistic. I like it here. I’m a green card
holder but I like to stay in the Philippines because
I feel that my ministry is here and I still have
a touch a lot of people and I feel that my business
is not yet finished here so there are still a lot
of things I can do.
Any
trepidation about turning 30?
I’m
excited.
Are
you?
Showbiz
is so brutal. You’re on top but—
You can’t stay on top forever. That’s why I psyche myself and I’m
happy whenever there are new people coming in because that means it’s
not saturated. It means there’s a chance for you to grow, be better.
For me, I don’t encourage but I don’t necessarily feel down when
there’s a competition, whenever I’m pitted with someone like Sam,
you know. I encourage pa that person. I mean, this is show business, you can’t
have everything. It’s so big. As it is we’re still trying to work,
constanly looking for newcomers and I wanna share it with a lot of people.
I mean, if they have it, give them a chance.
Do
you see your son ba? (Iñigo,
from a relationship he had before he entered
showbiz)
Yeah,
of course, every week. He lives with his Mom. He
just turned 9 last week.
Does
he know he’s got a famous dad?
He
wants to be an actor too.
And
what do you say?
I
said, if you want to go into the business, then
I can go back to school. Put me through school
and then you work for me. I’m just telling
him it’s hard. He enrolled with the Center
for Pop Music. He’s taking vocal lessons
but I told him that sige, if you get good grades,
I’ll let you but for now I want you to focus
more on your studies because that’s the only
thing you can be proud of when you grow old.
What
did he say?
He
follows naman but he really wants to be an actor.
He really wants to be in the business. Even commercials;
a lot of people have approached him when he goes
to the mall pero I tell him, it’s not worth
it. Give yourself some time. Because I don’t
want him to be blinded by money. If I can provide,
I’ll provide so I tell him, I can still work
pa naman, you don’t have to. Not yet.
Any
last words for your Seattle fans?
Oh
yes! I’m so excited to see all of you there.
It’s been a while and I love seeing people
from the States because it gives me so much excitement
knowing they don’t get to spend much time
in the :Philippines so we try to give you live
entertainment. |
