Gerald off to a great start

Gerald Anderson’s career got off to a great start this year, thanks to the box-office smash that was Always Be My Maybe. After the Star Cinema movie’s theatrical run last February, it grossed more than P100M and earned Gerald plaudits for his performance, as well as his chemistry with his leading lady Arci Muñoz.

But in the beginning, Gerald almost didn’t sign on to play the role of Jake del Mundo because of how the character was written. Gerald had some reservations about playing someone the script described as a playboy. Although Jake was also portrayed as something of a hopeless romantic, he was a playboy just the same.
Gerald had received some flak from netizens in the past because they saw him as a playboy, too. He was understandably concerned about having to contend with that kind of negativity again. “At the time, naisip ko na shoot, nakakakaba! Kasi yun nga, Jake is a playboy at nasabihan na din ako dati na ganun daw ako. I really didn’t want to exploit myself,” he says.

Eventually, Gerald agreed to play Jake anyway when he realized he could deflect people’s negative comments by doing well in the role. He explains, “I decided I would just do it as truthfully as possible. I realized that I should focus on the more important things that I need to do. Bahala na yung mga tao ihiwalay yung actor sa character. It’s also up to them to judge whether or not they see the real me from the character. But my intention and motivation to join in the cast was to be truthful.”

Apparently, Gerald’s performance in Always Be My Maybe turned out to be so truthful that he was singled out for it — by film critics, not by haters. In a review published on ClickTheCity’s website soon after the movie’s nationwide premiere, Philbert Dy wrote, “Gerald Anderson continues to grow as an actor. Here, he presents an easygoing veneer of confidence that becomes affecting as it falls apart.”

Meanwhile, when film critic Francis Joseph Cruz reviewed Always Be My Maybe for Rappler, he pronounced Gerald as “persuasive as the debonair but good-hearted lead.”

People also enjoyed Gerald’s interaction with Arci. As Gerald tells it, the ease with which they played off of each other onscreen came from how they acted around each other even when the cameras weren’t rolling. “I thought Arci was sexy when I first met her,” Gerald recalls. “Kind, beautiful and sexy — that was my first impression of her. Nagulat din ako na sobrang kalog at makulit siya. We didn’t have to work hard to build our chemistry. Parang sobrang sinuwerte lang kami na OK kami sa isa’t-isa.”

Gerald reveals Arci is up for anything, especially when it comes to work. “She was game in our scenes together, even with our intimate scenes. She made me feel comfortable instead of the other way around. Ako kasi gusto ko na comfortable yung babae. Pero sa amin ni Arci, baliktad yung nangyari. I enjoyed working with her because chill lang siya.”

When Gerald first joined showbiz 10 years ago, he did so as part of a love team with Kim Chiu. He’s thankful to their tandem because it helped him get to where he is now. That said, Gerald admits that as an actor, he enjoys being around and learning from a variety of onscreen partners.
?Gerald is currently filming a movie with Bea Alonzo, whom he says is his childhood crush. He adds, “Working with Bea is so surreal because it’s something that I never thought would happen. She’s my childhood crush, so to see her every day, it’s like, oh my God!”

The Bea-Gerald project, titled How to Be Yours, is helmed by Always Be My Maybe director Dan Villegas. Gerald is also set to return to TV later this year via Because You Love Me, a teleserye in which he will be paired with Yen Santos.

Gerald is very grateful for the auspicious start to his year. “That movie was really a blessing. It started my year right and it brought so much positivity into my life and I want good things to continue coming my way.”

That positivity is what Gerald sets against haters. He remembers a time when people bashed him for having some projects that weren’t exactly received well. He admits negative comments used to get to him, but now he simply uses them to fuel his passion for acting and zest for life.

“Haters give me almost the same motivation my fans do,” shares Gerald. “Kahit pangit yung energy na galing sa kanila, you can take it and use it in a better, more positive way. That’s my secret to staying happy and motivated.”