Michael Angelo: ‘Hard to be a handsome priest’
How can someone with such a storied background, a past so dark and lonely, come up with the face of humor, pleasantry and positivity following all those adversities?
We ask ourselves this, startled, stunned, in awe, face to face with livewire TV host and inspirational speaker, Michael Angelo Lobrin. This 36-year-old, short wisp of a man is also an actor, entertainer, best-selling author, humorist with that wonderful gift of gab.
Michael, author of “Laugh With God Today,” which has sold over 150,000 copies so far, credits his deep faith in God as his lifeline. His childhood, he admits, had not been normal, but sheer faith saw him through.
Abandoned by his father early on, he depended on the kindness of strangers for his subsistence and education. One of them, former Senator Edgardo Angara, paid for his schooling at San Carlos Seminary in Makati.
Two years before he was to be ordained priest, he left the convent. He joked, “Mahirap maging guapong pari. Maraming temptation.”
By a stroke of fate, he ended up in show business after some people discovered him while he conducted motivational seminars.
On stage, before huge audiences that usually runs up to thousands, Michael, the face of Bounty Fresh, is such a tough act, a commanding presence, a very funny one, too.
He brings this most refreshing energy to GMA News TV, where his show, “Michael Angelo, The Sitcom,” is about to enter its 13th season starting on Jan. 27. It is the longest-running show of its kind on the network, airing every Sunday afternoon.
The new, improved “Michael Angelo, The Sitcom”, is a combination talk-variety and game show that will offer big prizes to contestants. In the future, he sees it as a happy mix between “Eat Bulaga!” and “Wowowin.”
On the drawing board of his production company that carries his name is a second Holy Week drama special, complete with Lenten reflections and teachings.
His first such production, aired in 2018, rated so highly that network has asked him to produce another one.
His company is also producing two movies this year, both of them feelgood–inspirational, certainly.
On cam or in person, Michael says he has only one goal: To inspire people. He says he wants to use this showbiz platform to reach out to wide audiences, reason why he’s expanding his showbiz roots.
Outside of his career in entertainment, Michael teaches Philosophy and
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