Who’s the real Michael V?

A woman with buck teeth and eyes that go blink-blink-blink everytime she faces the camera to report the news has made a world of a difference for Michael V. Maybe it’s because Bubble Gang’s Junilee, whom Michael V created and brings to life every Friday night on GMA, is much like the rapper/comedian/recording artist himself.

You could even say Junilee is Michael V in disguise.

"Like him," Michael V admits, "I’m basically shy. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of celebrity."

It’s not surprising therefore, that Junilee has become Michael V’s all-time favorite character and one of the sketches he will do on Michael V:Show Ko To! at the Araneta Coliseum on July 17, 8 p.m.

Junilee, like Michael V, is a common tao at heart. He may hobnob with poltical and showbiz biggies he interviews, but, like Michael V, he remains hoi polloi at heart.

After all, Michael V’s is typical rags-to-riches story worthy of an episode on Magpakailanman (GMA executives considered his inspiring story, but junked the idea after finding out that "my life had no sad moments").

Growing up in Cavite, Michael V’s boyhood dreams were as varied as his talents. Like many boys his age, he went gaga over Muhammad Ali and dreamt of becoming a boxer. Then, fascinated by the waiters’ bowtied look, he changed his mind and decided he’ll one day be like them.

But this, like his boxer dreams, soon gave way to something more realistic. Michael V discovered the joys of drawing and told himself he would become an artist.

He became just that as a working student at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, where he finished Mass Communication. Michael V got by from day to day by working as a designer for export-quality decorative products. Gifted with a knack for engaging visuals, he also created sculpture designs and even explored digital painting.

News of fat paychecks in advertising made Michael V toy with the idea of venturing into advertising. Little did he know that he would someday get into something much more lucrative: working in front, instead of behind the camera.

Michael V has just renewed his contract for Joy dishwashing product, which he has been endorsing for more than eight years now.

But that’s going ahead of the (success) story.

One fine day 13 years ago, when Andrew E reigned supreme, thanks to Humanap Ka ng Panget, OctoArts Records’ Orly Ilacad and Aster Amoyo spotted this guy rapping away on Eat Bulaga. Orly saw the potential goldmine in this then unknown, and asked Aster to look for him, ASAP.

The recording company groomed Michael V as the answer to Andrew E through another rap piece, Maganda ang Piliin. Piliin was not the monster hit Humanap Ka ng Panget turned out to be. But it turned MichaelV’s life around and thrust the then unknown artist in the spotlight.

That was before the weepy Sinaktan Mo ang Puso Ko turned five times platinum and turned the Michael Jackson-Gary V fan (hence the name Michael V) into a recording star. That was also way back before Lastikman, Rubberman and other characters made it unimaginable for Michael V to act beside Christopher de Leon and Maricel Soriano starrers.

Two Best Comedy Actor awards from the Star Awards for Television also make it downright impossible to cast Michael V in any of those sentimental soaps.

"I can’t imagine myself in drama," Michael V concedes.

Today, around 1,000 character sketches after, Bitoy, as he’s called in industry circles, can afford to turn down juicy offers to transfer to a rival station.

"It’s enough that people I meet greet me, my show rates and my movies earn," he explains.

Money, he explains, is not the top consideration. "Proejct quality is," Michael V explains.

Loyalty to GMA 7 where Michael V also has Bitoy’s Funniest Videos, is on top of the list.

"I will not leave GMA. Management has been so kind to me. If ever I accept good offers, I will make sure they will not get in the way of my GMA commiments," Michael V, 35, vows.

If he sounds smug, it’s because he has every reason to. This father of three (two boys and a girl) is happily married. His wife, a former flight stewardess, has been with Michael V since his struggling days.

"My wife brings me down to earth when success gets the better of me," Michael V talks lovingly of his wife, who has since retired to be a full-time homemaker.

The family owns a townhome in quietly upscale Scout Madrinan, Quezon City. With the kids’ educational plan paid for, and his parents equally provided for, Michael V has earned the enviable right to work at his own pace.

He now looks back, amused, at those lean years when he took the three-hour-trip from his native Cavite to Quezon City, to record a song for a mere 30 minutes.

Old habits die hard. While his colleagues hang around uppity malls with less people like Rockwell, Michael V prefers the more low-key, more populated Virra Mall where he rubs elbows with those who stimulate his creative juices.

"I ask them what portion they like in Bubble Gang and I make it a point to improve on it," Michael V reveals. Now, wonder no more why Bubble Gang has been on top of the heap all these years.

The plaudits do not lull Michael into complacency. He knows this has spelled the downfall of many a star. So Michael V continues to dream big.

"I want to direct, write and star in a comedy movie," he begins. "That way, I can have the effect I want. I will have full control."

He also wants to come up with a long-overdue follow-up to the Al Yankovich-inspired Sinaktan Mo ang Puso Ko. The new album will be called Bago, "so it will look new even if it gets to be dated."

The sequal, Michael V says poker-faced, will be called, what else – Mas Bago.

Meantime, he must cope with the overwhelming feeling of finally taking on the Big Dome, an acid test for every performer. One can safely say that among the signs that an artist has truly arrived is his ability to fill up Araneta Coliseum with adoring fans.

Michael V admits the thought of holding the show in a smaller venue like Music Museum occurred to them. But doing so, they realized, would mean repeating his act all over and risking the audience’s boredom.

So his sponsors, X Zone Entertainment and OctoArts Entertainment, decided to go for broke: the Big Dome no less.

Michael V’s just-as-cavernous talent will hopefully fill up the place with the kind of laughter only Junilee and his band of merrymakers can muster.