Daniel Matsunaga bares his heart

CEBU, Philippines -  Traveling around the world as a model may sound like one of the best jobs ever, but it's not all wine and roses if you ask Daniel Matsunaga.

The 24-year-old Brazilian-Japanese import shares that with the perks and fame came huge challenges too. "The hard part is having to adjust every time I go to a different country. You adjust to their culture, the language, the food, the weather and the people around you. You also have to adjust your body to the preferences of that country's modeling industry. There are markets where they want you looking strong, while there are those who want you lean. And because of all the traveling, you're alone most of the time. When I was 15, I traveled for the first time without my family to model in Singapore so you can just imagine," recalled Daniel during an interview with the Cebu press when telecom leader Smart Communications, Inc. flew him in as special guest for their Smart Switch Madness event.

Daniel --- who hails from Brazil's capital of Brasilia --- said he has been to more than 20 countries in his eight-year modeling career including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Germany, Spain, Malaysia, Taiwan, Holland, United States, France, Italy, Belgium, Indonesia and of course, the Philippines.

He admits not being born to a well-off family, which was why at 16, he opted to follow his elder sister Vanessa's lead by working as a model abroad instead of pursuing college so he can help out their five-member brood.

After being all over the map, the charming hunk decided to drop by our little corner of the world.  "I came here in 2009 with my sister. She told me we had a big purpose here," he said. While her sister would later on marry a Filipino and establish permanent base here, he found himself getting more than he bargained for in the form of a showbiz career.

Partly because of his lucrative future here, Daniel has grown a great fondness for the Philippines. Proof of that are his plans of securing Filipino citizenship and living here for good.

"The Philippines gave me a big opportunity. I just love everything about this country. The people are really welcoming. My sister is already stable here. I plan to eventually bring over my family to stay with us. I also get to play football here, plus the food is very much similar to our Brazilian cuisine."

And what might be his favorite Filipino dishes? "Adobo and beef kaldereta --- everything with meat in it is amazing to me," he quipped.

Lucky for him, he can wolf down his fill of meat and still not gain an extra pound. Daniel said that with his amount of daily exercise, he doesn't need to go on any diet.

"I work out everyday for two to three hours. I do a lot of cardio and marathon. I tried every kind of sport since I was a kid, such as Muay Thai, swimming and boxing. I also play football three to four times a week," lists off the fitness buff, who is also a member of the Philippine Futsal team Muzang and a midfielder for Pachanga FC playing in the United Football League.

Fresh start

But while sports and modeling are his early passions, those two now take second priority to his work as an actor and television host.

Daniel moved to TV5 from GMA-7 early this year, and the Kapatid network has been keeping him happily busy with three regular shows at the moment: the weekly horror series Third Eye, the Sunday game show Game 'N' Go and the daily fantasy series Enchanted Garden. A sitcom with Rufa Mae Quinto, Fabio Ide and BB Gandanghari is also reportedly in the works.

"I'm really happy and thankful to TV5 dahil maraming trabaho sa kanila. The shows that I have been doing are amazing because it's a different role in every show. I'm learning a bit of hosting, a bit of comedy, and then I have a horror show. I'm new in the business, so I really appreciate what they're doing for me. They were really nice that they gave me a non-exclusive contract so I still can do projects outside," said Daniel.

The two-year TV5 contract is guaranteed, meaning his pay is assured even if he doesn't have a show. Film-wise, he's signed up with Regal Films which casted him in the two upcoming movies Ride To Love and The Bride and the Lover.

'Everybody heals'

The gigs have kept pouring in, leaving him no time to sulk on his much-publicized failed romance with Heart Evangelista. Yes, this is old news by now, so you almost pity the guy for still being grilled with Heart-related questions seven months after the split.

He was polite enough to answer though, reiterating how he's very much okay and happy for Heart.

"My plan right now is to just focus on my job. I'm very, very happy and enjoying a lot of my friends and my family. I didn't get to spend much time with my family last year, and they came this month, so I'm very much okay," he stressed.

He continued, "It unfortunately ended but we're still friends. We both learned a lot from each other. She's an amazing person. She's not fake at all and she's really nice. Of course, we aren't the same as before but if I see her somewhere, we say 'Hi' but we don't keep the same level of connection as before."

Asked how long it took him to get over the end of his one-year and six months relationship with the actress, Daniel replied, "I'm not going to say one week or two weeks, but it was slowly. It got better because I had the comfort of my friends and family. When we break up with someone we were in a relationship with, all of us get sad. People around us also got sad, including our fans. It wasn't just the two of us who got sad. But everybody heals."

Heart is now reportedly the girlfriend of media-savvy politico Chiz Escudero, but gossip mills believe the pairing is just a convenient publicity ploy for the senator to further prop up his name for next year's elections.

On whether he thinks Heart and Senator Chiz are truly in love, this was what he had to say: "Why not? I don't see any reason for them not to be. If she really found her real love in him, that's her personal choice. I am happy for her. If she decided to have a life with somebody else, if she's happy then I'm happy for her. Right now, I have totally moved on and I wish her the best in her career and in her life. I have nothing against them. It's bad to talk negatively about somebody, you know. I hope to someday meet Chiz. I've heard a lot of good things about him and he's a really smart person."

In her interviews, Heart had blamed their 'cultural differences' as the main reason for their break-up. But Daniel doesn't have to look far to see that an inter-racial relationship could work: her sister is happily married to a Pinoy, for one.

"I love the relationship that my sister has with her husband Jun because their relationship is based on God. They base everything on God's will. That's the most important thing. It doesn't matter if my future wife will be a Filipina or Brazilian. What matters to me is that we put God first in our relationship and things will flow from there."

His crying moment on television while being interviewed after his announced split with Heart may have painted a terribly-heartbroken man, but Daniel said he is ready to fall in love all over again.

"I'm a Christian and in God's time, I believe that there will come a perfect one for me. I'm just waiting for now."