‘Chasing’ his own big dream

Chase Tinio first caught people’s attention as the basketball jock who called his brother in Dubai in that heartwarming Globe cell phone TV commercial. "It was fun," Chase recalls of the shoot for Globe. "It was very long, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., but I enjoyed every minute of it. Although it was a very dramatic storyboard, between takes, we joked around a lot."

The first time he caught the commercial on television, he was a bit incredulous. Chase couldn’t believe it was actually him emoting on national television. "It was because back in high school, I thought I couldn’t act," he pipes up. "If they were casting for a school play, even for a small class play, I’d be the last person they’d choose. They’d all say, ‘But Chase can’t act’!"

But look at him now! Not only did he overcome his stage fright, he also developed a knack for acting. In the audition for the Globe ad, for example, director Mark Querubin asked him to talk to an imaginary guy.

"Easy, right?" Chase remembers. "Then he told me that I was supposed to be talking to myself, to who I was 10 years ago. I was 18 then. So I was chatting with an eight-year-old version of myself! Wow, that was hard! So I ended up talking like my dad. I kept saying, ‘Don’t pick fights. Always love your family’."

When his TV ad debuted last year, Chase became the center of attention on campus. "My classmates kept teasing me about it," he looks back. "The whole day, until dismissal time, they kept picking on me. I got so fed up, I told them off: ‘At least, I can go out and buy whatever I want. I already got my first paycheck, do you?’ So they then asked me to treat them all out to merienda!"

Aside from that big break, he also appeared in two Jollibee TV ads, modeled on the ramp for several fashion shows (for Fila, Penshoppe and the Fashion Week), and has joined the MTV Asia VJ Hunt.

The VJ Hunt was quite an unforgettable experience for Chase. "I had a lot of fun," he looks back, fondly. "It was like the MTV show The Real World. TV cameras were following us everywhere."

Although he didn’t win the top slot, he is extremely happy for winners Johan and Patty. "I was really rooting for them," he shares. "And I never imagined that I could get in as a finalist in the first place. I thought I messed up my audition. So I was surprised when I was included in the finals."

The VJ Hunt proved to him that he could handle competition (and disappointment) very well. After all, Chase is a tried-and-tested athlete. "I’m a jock of all trades," he acknowledges. "I tried taekwondo at nine. Then I shifted to karate at 11. I also took up basketball and graduated from the Milo Best. I also wanted to dabble in golf. But tennis proved to be my passion."

Chase, in fact, has competed in a slew of tennis competitions here and abroad. "Hundreds," he says. "To mention a few, I recently joined the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Presidential Cup, The Lhuillier National Open, The Coca-Cola National Open. I also tried out for the $15,000 Men’s Features ITF."

The young athlete, however, also yearns to become an actor. Is it any wonder then why the local celebs he has chosen as his idols are those with a pretty sporty and active lifestyle? "I look up to Mikee Cojuangco, Aga Muhlach, Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta." Among Hollywood icons, he admires such heavy hitters as Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Richard Gere, Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant and Chris Tucker for their versatility and powerhouse talent.

Speaking of which... Chase, who is Jose Tinio III in real life, thinks that he got his catchy nickname because his mom had a humorous crush on Hollywood comic Chevy Chase. Truth be told, Chase has acquired the sly sense of humor of his mom’s idol.

Asked what type of roles he would like to tackle in future TV shows and movies, he exclaims, confidently: "Comedy! Comedy! I feel that I could do well in comedy. I’d love to portray something like Matthew McConaughey’s role in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

He is also partial to slam-bang action fests. "Like Tobey Maguire’s role in Spider-Man. Or Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s characters in the Lethal Weapon series." Aside from acting, he would also like to pursue hosting. "I can do any type of show," he quips.

As far as hosts are concerned, he looks up to a diverse bunch – shock jock Howard Stern, late-night guru Jay Leno, and daytime queen Oprah Winfrey. "Howard Stern is brutally frank," Chase explains. "That’s what I like about him. Jay Leno is so funny. He always comes up with a witty punchline. And I admire Oprah Winfrey for her sincerity. She is so down-to-earth."

In his unending bid to chase his dreams, Chase Tinio has discovered that he can always rely on his faith in God and his family for a much-needed boost. After all, there is no stopping this young man’s journey straight to the top.