BAGUIO CITY—In time for the Summer Capital’s Panagbenga Festival, GMA’s Meant To Be stars held a Kapuso Fans’ Day at the Sunshine Park. Performing for and with their fans were Barbie Forteza (Billie Bendiola), Ken Chan (Yuan Lee), Jak Roberto (Andres “Andoy” de la Cruz), Ivan Dorschner (Ethan Spencer-Hughes) and Addy Raj (Jai Patel), the lead cast of the network’s popular prime-time multicultural romantic-comedy romp.
Five stars in one frame can be too exciting, so for now I will focus on Ivan and Jak, who have recently scored a major fashion endorsement after Meant To Be premiered in early-January. They are both featured in the summer campaign of retail brand Folded & Hung (F&H).
“Jak and Ivan best represent the millennial generation. They are fun, young and very good-looking, and they suit our branding for Folded & Hung. They are very visible on TV and have a strong following on social media. They can inspire their generation to look good and feel good about themselves by wearing nice, presentable and fashionable clothes,” said Arvie Dizon, the brand’s marketing communications manager.
‘Abs ng Bayan’
JAK said about 80 percent of his role as a torpe probinsyano is based on his personal profile. GMA Entertainment TV asked the cast about their background, then the writers used part of that information to develop the characters. Jak specifically auditioned for the role of Andoy. “When I was told from that there would be four races—Pinoy, Chinese, British and Indian, I went for the Pinoy role. Andoy is from Cavite, but in real life I’m from Bulacan and Laguna,” said Jak, 23.
His sister, the rising star Sanya Lopez and onetime cover girl for D+, has already shared to me their family’s struggles. They live together in an apartment but are planning to buy a house when their savings are sufficient. They’d want it to be in their native Bulacan, or, if they can afford it, somewhere in the Metro.
Sanya has since scored one of the lead roles in Encantadia. Now that Jak has done the same for another top-rating program, how does he feel?
“Sobrang saya. Dati kasi, before Meant To Be, I was in URL [Usapang Real Love] in which I was a third wheel [to teen tandem Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali], GMA told me: Jak, sunod-sunod na ang break mo. Meron kang Sunday Pinasaya, Bubble Gang, tapos may URL ka. Ano pa ’yung gusto mong ma-achieve bilang aktor sa trabaho na ’to?”
He replied: “Sabi ko, ‘Isa na lang po. Gusto ko mabigyan ng chance na mag-bida.’ Then all of a sudden, pumasok itong Meant To Be. Tapos parang ang bilis! Sobrang thankful ako sa big bosses sa GMA; kay God na sobrang bilis ng answered prayer; kay Kuya Germs [the late German Moreno], na hanggang ngayon ramdam ko na nag-ga-guide pa rin s’ya. Sobrang proud po s’ya sa aming magkapatid kasi pareho kaming nanggaling sa Walang Tulugan.”
He also said it was a deliberate decision for him and Sanya to use different family names. “May nag-advise po sa amin na pag magkapatid sa showbiz, medyo nale-left behind ’yung isa pag alam ng tao na magkapatid. Inaalis namin para walang comparison.”
‘Ivan the Terrible’
Ivan’s kakulitan can be terribly infectious. At one point, he will be playfully biting Barbie’s hand. Soon after, the other boys would in various ways “pester” their leading lady. But his character in Meant To Be is the “responsible” one.
“Yes, I’m the kuya of the group. I’m the eldest among the five of us,” Ivan said pensively. Growing up, he leaned more toward the sciences—astronomy, pediatrics, chemistry. “But I learned that the arts has its own definition, its own vast gray space, unlike the sciences, where there’s black and then there’s white. So, now I’m more comfortable to work in the arts, because we all make our own procedure if artistic ang ginagawa nating hanap-buhay. If it’s scientific, it’s formulaic,” he said, projecting his fluency in Filipino with a Los Angeles accent.
Let’s talk about your campaign for F&H. “Ah, masaya. After the launching of Meant To Be, my management team Project 101 and GMA Artist Center worked together para may mangyari naman sa endorsement side of my career. Ang mga efforts nila naging fruitful naman talaga. We had a couple offers and when they presented [F&H] to me, I said, I want this,” said the handsome mestizo, 26.
Has he been always into fashion? “No. It’s an occupational hazard. As an artista, you have to wear different clothes every day. We develop a sense of style. We don’t want to wear anything na di naman bagay sa personality namin.”
In private, he wears shirts and pants as his simple daily uniform. “Actually, pinagtatawanan ako ng mga friends ko, like sina James and Lauren [Reid]. They say, Ivan, you wear dad pants all the time! Kasi I don’t like jeans. I like chinos. I like [pants] na solid ang kulay,” Ivan shared. “Ayoko nu’ng mararaming tastas, may mantsa. Minsan lang, but it’s not my personality. In a way, ang damit nagiging tool ng communication, ng personality, ng self-identity.”