Ice Seguerra on child star life...
memories of this time in his life. He said it felt like a big playground with his workmates as playmates. He was also happy with the people he was surrounded with, from Eat Bulaga to Okay Ka Fairy Ko, who admonished him when necessary. “For me, that’s very important because when you grow up in this kind of industry, you will be surrounded by yes men… I feel like the values that they taught me, I still carry them with me,” he said.
Asked about the downsides of working so early in life, he said, “There are always disadvantages. Perhaps, lately ko lang na-realize yun. Habang tumatanda ako, dun ko nakikita na ang tingin ko sa bata minsan parang, magtrabaho ka na rin. May ambag ka na dapat sa bahay, at seven years old, minsan may ganun akong feeling. Then, I’ll suddenly remember, it’s not the norm, I’m the exception, you know what I mean?
“But sometimes, you really can’t help but feel that way. Never din kasi ako nagkaroon ng traumatizing experience. Every time I looked back, they were all fond memories for me. It was fun, at the same time, (I was) earning.”
Nevertheless, if he has any advice to parents of children who want to be artistas, he said, “I liked how my mom made sure I trained. I remember that time I had to train for dancing, singing, acting not too much, but singing and dancing really because my mommy believes that if you’re in this industry, you have to know it all.
“As child actors, we’re just cute for a few years, I mean, (literally) cute pa rin ako hanggang ngayon (laughs) but, you know, cuteness can only go so far. We have to show them that besides being cute, we have something else to offer, we have other talents to give.
“So, to the parents of the young artistas now, it’s very important to have your kids trained because this is work, this is a job, it’s not a hobby. When you enter (this field), you have to know you’re working with professional actors who value their time and their craft as well. Like ako, I don’t want to work with a child actor who doesn’t know how to give it back, parang ganun, dapat batuhan tayo.”
Ice also advised that parents must still act as parents even if their kids are earning and contributing to the family income. “Hindi porke’t kumikita anak niyo, they’re the boss. No. That’s the worst thing you could do when you treat them na parang sila yung nasusunod. They’re still your kids because sa mundo na ito, sobrang lahat ng tao pina-pamper siya, pinapalaki ulo niyan. It’s up to you parents to keep them grounded.
“I swear ‘di niyo magugustuhan ang mangyayari ‘pag hinayaan. Promise, I’ve seen a lot of sad stories na pumasok sa ulo nila yung kasikatan nila — (into) drugs, alcoholics — and we don’t want it to happen, right? This work, if you don’t tread carefully, can actually break you. It’s very important for parents to make sure the child has a strong foundation so that their child can last long in this industry.”
(Tickets to Becoming Ice: The 35th Anniversary Concert on Oct. 15, 8 p.m. at The Theatre at Solaire, under Fire And Ice Media And Productions, are available via Ticketworld.)