In the absence of Piolo, Echo, and John Lloyd
JUST A THOUGHT: ‘Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.’ —Benjamin Franklin
JUST A THOUGHT: ‘Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.’ —Benjamin Franklin
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LEADING MEN WANTED: What’s happening to these leading men?
Piolo Pascual, Jericho Rosales, and John Lloyd Cruz have, one after the other, declared themselves unavailable for teleserye work.
The three senior actors have, in fact, declared they no longer want to do teleseryes. They cited no reason, but suffice to say, it must be career burnout.
Cruz was the first to drop out of the TV and movie grind, preferring to take a hiatus in Cebu for over a year now. He’s now a fullfledged family man with a child of his own.
Piolo and Jericho recently announced their decision to focus on stuff other than teleserye.
Piolo wants to do movies only, either as an actor or as a producer. He has his own Spring Films, a thriving film company.
Jericho surprised many with his pronouncement which he made at the closure of his phenomenal hit series, “Halik.”
As for John Lloyd, one never really knows what his plans are. He’s currently indisposed, or simply unavailable for work at the moment. He avoids the limelight.
Yes, he’s in a new TV commercial. But, be warned. What you see there is an entirely different JLC, far detached from his old, clean-cut, well-groomed image.
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MATURE ROLES NECESSARY: The three seasoned actors’ decision to cut short their teleserye life can mean a shortage of leading men within ABS-CBN.
Chief Content Officer Charo Santos-Concio says TV drama shows need actors of a certain age to make for compelling stories. Network then has to groom actors who are next in line to Piolo, Echo, and John Lloyd.
Problem is, who are they? Who can they be?They should be actors in the age range between 30s and 40s, have proven themselves to be box office draws or have established themselves as stars of a certain magnitude.
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THE NOMINEES ARE: They could be picked from among the following actors contracted to the network.
Gerald Anderson is an easy bet, a favorite leading man even in movies produced by Star Cinema.
Sam Milby, another Fil-Am, comes to mind. He was quite effective as a villain on “Halik” without shedding his leading man appeal.
Coco Martin has established himself as a box office star in movies and a top rater on TV (“FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano”).
Jake Cuenca has played too many character/villain roles that have overshadowed his reputation as a romantic leading man.
Paulo Avelino is a good actor, versatile in many ways, but his trail has been marred by movie flops.
Matteo Guidicelli hasn’t quite made it as a leading man. Like Enchong Dee, he is almost always cast as a third wheel in a love triangle. Carlo Aquino is so full of talent, reminds me of a young Jay Ilagan circa ’70s. He has, in fact, scored one big movie hit, “Exes Baggage.” JM de Guzman is both charming and talented, has good PR, too. He also photographs very well.
The same can be said of JC de Vera, Enzo Pineda, Aljur Abrenica. They deserve bigger breaks as leading men.
Rather too young, only in their early 20s are Daniel Padilla, James Reid, Enrique Gil, Joshua Garcia, Jameson Blake, McCoy de Leon, unless network wants to fast-forward their roles.
Tony Labrusca (“Glorious,” “ML,” “Sino Ang May Sala?: Mea Culpa”) and Marco Gumabao (“Los Bastardos,” “Aurora” ) are slowly inching their way to center screen. They’re proving themselves to be the exciting new finds of the season. They also happen to be sensitive in their portrayals of complex roles.
Give these actors a little more time and bigger breaks. They can soon be their own versions of Piolo, Jericho, and John Lloyd.