John Lloyd Cruz is marking his tenth year in showbiz this year. Unlike his contemporaries, no one seems to be making a big deal of it. The actor was launched as a member of ABS-CBN’s Star Circle Batch 5 in July 1997.

          “Ten years seem like a long time but I don’t feel that way. I feel as if I started my career only yesterday,” says the actor. “But I am glad for having come this far. It’s nice to say that my ten years in showbiz didn’t go to waste. I did a lot of memorable things which makes me fulfilled.”

          Of course, John Lloyd won’t forget the Sunday afternoon series Tabing Ilog where he co-starred with the then-gangly bunch of Patrick Garcia, Baron Geisler, Desiree del Valle, and former onscreen partner Kaye Abad, just to name afew. “That series endeared me to the fans, especially to the lolas. I really felt that my following grew because of Tabing Ilog. It was a Sunday afternoon (show) and somehow we were able to create an audience that regularly watched us,” he recalls.

          The actor also singles out the primetime series Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, his very first teleserye and the show where his team up with Bea Alonzo was born. Initially, he was to be paired with Rica Peralejo in that series until the production decided to pair him with Bea. That proved to be a wise move as it signaled the birth of a tandem that is still being widely followed up to now.

          The John Lloyd and Bea love team then took the litmus test in the Star Cinema film Now That I Have You. It was so successful that in the years that followed, Star Cinema paired them off again in a quick succession of movies – All about Love and Close to You.

A love team breaking up?

          As with all hot bachelors in tinseltown, John Lloyd failed to escape the prying eyes of the showbiz press when it comes to his personal life. He has been romantically linked to various women (including one old enough to be his aunt) and though he never tried to hide the women in his life, he never really flaunted them as well. Hence, amidst all the speculations, John and Bea’s love team remains unaffected by women linked to John Lloyd to other women.

          “Bea and I have six years of good camaraderie, a strong bond as a love team and tandem (that) gives our audience only the best,” says the actor. “Bea makes my work easier. If she wasn’t my partner, I’d probably have a hard time emoting onscreen.”

          Now, the two are back in each other’s arms in One More Chance, a film about the anatomy of a breakup. Directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, the movie goes against the box office grain and takes the John Lloyd-Bea tandem to a new maturity. Here, the actors portray characters as real grown-ups with real issues, real challenges and new decisions to make.

Maturity

So how mature was John Lloyd you in the film?

          “Mature in a way that we’re not talking here of a love team or a simple love story—boy meets girls, falls in love, breaks up and then reconciles,” says John Lloyd. “Even the way Direk Cathy motivates us, me and Bea can relate to her even if we’re not as old as she is. We can identify with the emotions that Direk Cathy wants us to convey. Our roles are really different so I really hope the people would like it.”

          John Lloyd admits that he was hesitant at first when told that he’d be doing another movie with Bea. “I asked myself: what kind of project would me and Bea do that we haven’t done before? It never crossed my mind that we’d be doing a movie about breaking up. How do we sell a movie about breaking up, yet still offer some kilig?”

          He adds, “But I am definite about something, one could identify with the scenes and the lines we have in the movie.”

          John Lloyd says he had a hard time during the first few days of the shoot. He couldn’t identify with the character who he describes as a “control freak.” As Popoy, the actor had to internalize being “organized, planned and practical.”

          He confesses: “That’s the exact opposite of me in real life. I don’t plan, I am not organized and I am not practical. It took some time before I was able to get into the role of Popoy,” he relates.

Younger women, older women

          As for his ka-love team, both Bea and John never blurred the line between real and real. John Lloyd is involved with Liz Uy, an editor for a local fashion magazine. Bea, whose sexual preference has been speculated for some time, finally admitted recently that she’s been going out with actor Mico Palanca.

          But it is testament too to the movie going audience’s maturity that they may be content to have the chemistry between John Lloyd and Bea remain onscreen. Though a few may still hope and believe that maybe, someday, the coosome twosome will still end up in each other’s arms.

          The actor admits as much. “Is it possible for me to fall in love with Bea? Yes, it’s possible because she’s very pretty but I still believe in destiny. If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be. I believe that if Bea and I had a relationship in the six years that we were together as a team, we probably wouldn’t have lasted that long. I fear our work might get in the way of our relationship.”

          Thus, John Lloyd’s next movie projects will be, one, Bea-less, and two, involve a much younger and a much-older woman. After One More Chance, he is set to do a movie with teen pop star Sarah Geronimo. He is also set to do the long delayed-project with Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, although they’re still in the process of fixing the movie queen-turned-politician’s schedule.

          Since John Lloyd has been linked with a much older woman, we asked him what does he think of a May-December affair?

          “An older woman has a sexiness that’s different from a young woman. Experience has a lot to do with it. Older women are interesting. You can learn a lot from them. They are the type who would want to enjoy and they like the idea of going out with younger men. Kung talagang gusto mong mag-dive into adventure then this is something for you,” he says.