Wheels pays Matteo Guidicelli a visit
OVER the course of almost four seasons, I’ve had the good fortune to feature celebrities on Wheels – sports figures, actors, actresses, and TV personalities who I’ve discovered are much like you and me. Though media might convey a sometimes otherworldly vibe to these people, the stars also suffer the indignities, frustrations and inconveniences of traffic, and they share in our love for beautiful rides. Traffic is truly the great equalizer, and car dreams and aspirations largely weave us together into a homogenous whole.
I thought I did not have much in common with the dashing Matteo Guidicelli except for the fact that we happen to work for the same show. But the handful of times we’ve met for shoots and segments, he showed a sense of humor and a love for good coffee. He also hated traffic with a passion. That means he’s a good guy in my book. Still, I wanted to discover more about our host. With that, we arranged for an exclusive home invasion.
Matteo is probably the busiest person I know, so as soon as we were given a free day, we nailed it down and confirmed the appointment. We showed up early at the family abode, and Matteo was all smiles as he welcomed us within. His eager pooches sniffed us suspiciously, but was appeased by their master.
“Not a lot of people know that I studied musical theatre in college in Chicago, so I really wanted be in music,” he declared. The latest incarnation or facet of Matteo (that of a recording/concert artist) should thus come as no surprise. Speaking of which, he extends an invitation to all his fans to come attend his Cebu show on November 18 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
Before he took us around the house, Matteo and I plopped down for our first interview at the patio, and I’m reproducing excerpts from our short talk below:
Kap: I heard that it’s your 10th anniversary in showbiz. That’s a very big deal, of course, and we’d like to congratulate you for that. How has it been so far?
Matteo: Everything is good, man. We’re planning at this 10th anniversary concert. We weren’t supposed to preempt anything but Wheels is the first so…
I also heard that you’re shooting a movie right now. What can you tell us about it?
It’s called Across the Crescent Moon – very relevant for what’s happening today in the country. It’s about human trafficking, about illegal drugs, about corruption in the country. It’s about how President Duterte and its how our chief PNP Bato is changing the country – making it a better place for all of us. It’s very relevant. I’m very, very proud to play an officer from the PNP.
You’re playing a Muslim cop at that.
Yes my character is a Muslim character… not the stereotypical Muslim. So it’s very nice because it opens up everything not just your typical Catholic or Christian… I remember I was in a mosque the other day shooting a scene and then a Muslim comes up to me and says, “Matteo remember: Learn Islam as a religion not the Muslims as a people… don’t learn about us based on what you see on TV. Islam is a peaceful religion and we believe in peace.’ So much respect to them from me. I’m a Catholic myself, so hopefully we get to respect everybody and we have peace in the Philippines and around the world.
Let’s go back and rewind to the beginning of Wheels when you first learn that you were going to be hosting. Can you walk us through it?
I would read The STAR and, of course, the Wheels section. I’d see you and all the other hosts. They approached me sabi nila we’re going to put this on TV. Sabi ko, wow, and you know my first love talaga is motorsports I started my career as racecar driver and go-kart driver. So it’s very nice to be involved in a car show to talk about cars.
We also know that you are heavily involved in triathlons. Tell us about that.
I think it started five or four years ago. My dad started it off and eventually, two years ago, we said we want to make a team. We’re very privileged that Ford got in with us and had the same goals… parang swak na swak talaga kami everything just gelled. But a lot of people don’t know that the Ford Forza team is not just a team – it’s a foundation; it’s my advocacy. We support athletes; that’s our main goal.
You had such a very blessed career. How is you’re love life? Do you find time to go out on dates?
Everything is fine naman. Just like any other relationship, any other healthy relationship, you’ve got to mix everything with the right things, di ba? Eat right, love right, exercise right, and everything will be fi ne.