Gerald to the rescue

CEBU, Philippines – Right after the Wednesday (October 28) play date of his latest feel-good flick, expect Gerald Anderson to make himself scarce to showbiz-related work.

Fret not: the actor isn’t quitting the industry anytime soon. After recently wrapping up the well-received primetime drama “Nathaniel” and playing foil to the LizQuen tandem in the Star Cinema romance-drama “Everyday I Love You,” Gerald will be on 2016 prep mode and making time for an undertaking that’s close to his heart.

“I went straight to shooting for ‘Everyday I Love You’ after ‘Nathaniel,’ so I feel a bit drained right now,” says Gerald during a press conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel, although his jovial mood that afternoon masked whatever fatigue he might have been nursing. The Kapamilya star had earlier that day performed with Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano at It’s Showtime’s telecast at Lapu-Lapu City’s Hoops Dome, and after a rendezvous with the press, was whisked off to Michaelangelo’s Pizzeria at Escario Central for an intimate encounter with fans.

“Everyday I Love You” is his last project for 2015, Gerald says. He’ll recharge for a few days, and then will leaf through a few scripts to see what he can work on – whether in the capacity of actor, producer or both – for next year.

But mostly, Gerald will spend the last quarter training for and assembling a K9 Search and Rescue team. “We have a typhoon now,” he points out, referencing that weekend’s typhoon Lando that battered Luzon. “I’d like to contribute to helping keep people safe.”

Before the limelight beckoned, Gerald says he had dreamt of becoming a soldier. “You know how when you don’t fulfill a dream, it still lurks around,” he muses.

Gerald says he feels blessed to have the resources and influence to aid those in need, particularly in times of calamities and disasters.

The Fil-Am heartthrob had previously been photographed atop a surf board, as he helped rescue stranded residents during a flood in his neighborhood. This experience, and everything else that he saw during typhoon Ondoy in 2009 was how the idea to put up his own search and rescue squad began to take shape.

“I want to make a team, so that if a disaster or calamity occurs, even outside the country, we could possibly be one of the first responders. Call me selfish,” he adds, “because the fulfillment that I get out of this while we’re training is just…I hope someday we can save lives.”

“With me in this group are Subic ex-military, some are K9 who were one time based in Afghanistan, Iraq…they are  helping me out. This is a quality team that I’m building. That’s why I can’t accept showbiz projects after this, because we will start with the intense trainings. We really don’t know when disaster will strike, with all the recent earthquakes and typhoons. This will be my little contribution to the world.”

#Goals

For this lad who grew up in General Santos City, or what he calls “a very small city down south,” Gerald sometimes pinches himself to see if he’s really where he’s at.

“It feels good, because when I was 17 and fresh out of Pinoy Big Brother, never did it cross my mind that all these will happen to me. I only dreamed of being successful. I grew up in General Santos, a very small city down south. Of course there’s Manny Pacquiao, but not too many people make it out from a city like that,” he reflects.

“So I’m going to milk it all I can and take advantage of my blessed situation.”

Formerly one half of the widely popular Kimerald love team with Cebuana Kim Chiu, Gerald has since essayed quite a number of roles that distanced him out of his early teenybopper days.

Variety with roles is what Gerald aims for, and producing his own films might help him further achieve that. “Maybe you’ve noticed that in my 10 years in the industry, I’ve played different kinds of roles. You’ll rarely see me in the same role twice. When I fell in love with acting, it became my priority to strive to become a good actor. The lights, the cameras, fame money – I can’t bring those with me in my death bed. What then will I leave in the industry?”

“So there are still so many roles I want to portray,” he continues. “I wanna play a gay guy, I wanna feel their struggles and their journey. I also want to play an Islam, I want to be a politician with a good heart who is later on tainted, I want to do an Inspirational father-son basketball tale…I promise to you, the press, viewers and supporters, that with every role I do, I will give it my hundred percent.”

His young brother Kenneth, he shares, is trying to follow in his acting footsteps.  “He’s trying,” says Gerald. “I would have wanted him to pursue another path because while there are a lot of pros to being in this business, there are also a lot of cons. He’s very talented. But I would have wanted him to join the military.”

Third wheel

In “Everyday I Love You,” Gerald experiences how to be the third wheel for the first time. He plays Tristan, the boyfriend of Audrey (Liza) who patiently waits for him to snap out of his coma as she does everything in her power to make ends meet to support his hospitalization. Audrey later on meets Ethan (Enrique) who willingly helps her with her financial woes. Audrey and Ethan eventually develop a mutual affection for each other. The plot thickens as Tristan wakes up from his coma.

Gerald says the challenge with this project was how to develop a believable chemistry with Liza, knowing that she was already Enrique’s established on-screen partner.

The lovely teen actress made it easy for him though, as he marveled at her acting depth despite just being 17. “I probably asked her thrice is she was really just 17. I didn’t expect that from her, because I was 17 when I got out from PBB, and in our first show – that was ‘Love Spell’ with Kim – our director got a headache because we both couldn’t deliver what the scene required,” recalls Gerald. “But Liza was such a natural.”

Love lessons

Asked what biggest lesson he’s learned so far from his past romances, notably those with Kim, Bea Alonzo and Maja Salvador, Gerald says,  “That it’s painful,” he chuckles before adding, “but the hurt is outweighed by the inspiration and purpose it gives you. You’re excited to get out of bed, because you know you’ll be seeing your loved one. Being in love is a work in progress. You may be in love now, but it doesn’t mean that feeling will be there forever. Both of you would have to work on it.”

Trust Gerald not to let split-ups ruin his drive for work and life in general. “I just try to keep myself busy and avoid dwelling on the bad memories. I cherish the good memories instead. Just improve yourself as a person. Make sure you learn from your mistakes, and don’t repeat these mistakes.”

At 26, Gerald says he now views love in this manner: “It is the purpose of our existence. It’s the reason we wake up in the morning and go to work. It’s our source of inspiration, of hoping to one day building our own family. Of course, before starting a family, you start with love. You have to fall in love with your future wife first. Then you make beautiful babies, and fall in  love with your family. So love is the purpose of our lives.”