In the footsteps of The Rock

Like Dwayne (ex-The Rock) Johnson, Fil-Am mixed martial arts champion Brandon Vera is crossing over from the ring to showbiz.

“I am following the path that he has laid down,” Brandon confessed. “I love what he’s doing. He’s a good role model. He has successfully crossed over from fighting to acting. He showed sportsmen that it could be done. A lot of pro-wrestlers have started doing what he has done. Initially, people doubted if he could act. He has proven them wrong. He has become such a good actor that he can make you cry.”

Funfare talked to Brandon, the reigning One Championship World Champion, before the signing of the agreement between producers Dondon Monteverde’s Reality Entertainment and the Sunson Group Limited of Hong Kong for the production of a movie (with the working title The Wind Breezes On) which will pit Brandon with Hong Kong action star Dennis To (Ip Man, Bodyguards and Assassins, Ip Man 2 and The Legend is Born).

To be directed by Chinese/British national Sean Yim, the movie will start shooting in November, 70 percent in the Philippines and 30 percent in Hong Kong. It’s the story of two fathers whose worlds collide when Ko (Dennis), a former bodyguard from Hong Kong, and Brandon, an undercover cop from Manila, team up “in a hunt for vengeance and salvation.” It will be released early next year in both countries.

The Wind Breezes On is actually Brandon’s third movie, following Buy Bust (with Anne Curtis, directed by Erik Matti), showing in August, and Hawa (director and leading lady not yet revealed) which starts shooting next month. In Buy Bust, Brandon plays a PDEA agent and in Hawa, a survivor of the apocalypse trying to protect his family after the spread of a deadly virus.

“My role in Buy Bust as an agent is not good and not bad,” explained Brandon whose body, like that of The Rock, is decorated with tattoos. “It’s a movie that is anti-drugs, anti-corruption, anti-everything. It’s an amazing, intriguing movie that you have to watch twice. Hawa is some kind of a zombie apocalypse, with the script written two years ago.”

With Hong Kong action star Dennis To, his co-star in The Wind Breezes On

Asked how different acting was from fighting, Brandon broke into a wide smile.

“You know,” he said, “I trained for my movie like I trained for a fight. I got hurt on the set more than I was in the ring. A lot of action was happening on the set and you don’t have any control of it. I felt different from the start of the shoot to the end. I was nervous and uptight but soon, I got the hang of it. Toward the end, I was having a good time; I felt as if I was just hanging out with my cousins. I totally enjoyed it.”

A permanent Philippine resident since two years ago, Brandon came to the presscon with his also Fil-Am wife, Jessica Renee Craven Vera, who was born and raised in San Diego, California. They got married a month ago in Guam where, according to Jessica, they started dating.

“Since I was a kid,” added Brandon, “I always wanted to live in the Philippines. I’m happy that we are finally here to start our own family. It’s a grinding year for me. I’m shooting two movies and preparing to defend my title in late this year.”

Now that he is in showbiz, is he giving up fighting for good?

With his brand-new wife, Jessica Renee Craven (who is also Fil-Am)

“No way am I turning my back on fighting,” stressed Brandon. “I don’t know if I can or if I will ever give up fighting. Everybody says, ‘You will know when you are ready to retire.’ We’ll see. I’m still enjoying everything that I’m doing. I enjoy the training including the hardship of it all.”

Of course, his mind is set on his big dream.

“Someday, I want to work with The Rock. That’s my ultimate goal.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)