Lloyd on his second wind

Slowly but surely, the actor once thought of as the biggest threat to Gabby Concepcion’s throne during his time might just be doing one better than Gabby.

Erstwhile pretty boy Lloyd Samartino is back in the scene and enjoying every minute of his comeback, while Gabby is out of sight and (if we are to go by reports from the US) not exactly making a splash or living it up in comfort.

In less than two years after his failed marriage to Jo Ramos, Lloyd has surreptitiously crept back into the industry with Love 2 Love, Mulawin, Habang Kapiling Ka soap on GMA 7, and the movies Happily Ever After with Nadine Samonte and Tyrone Perez, directed by Maryo J., and I Will Always Love You with Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin and Jean Garcia, directed by Mac Alejandre.

We met up with him on the set of an episode of Magpakailanman after bumping into him at Greenbelt and promising to keep in touch.

He looked very much at peace and contented. He had been on the set since 7 a.m. and it was way into the afternoon, but obviously has easily blended once again into the milieu that meant lots of waiting time on the set and going home at dawn.

Perhaps once an actor, always an actor is true of anyone who has ever been bitten by the bug. Even while he was busy raising a family and attending to a real estate business, Lloyd never lost touch with people in show business close to him. Like director Maryo J. de los Reyes who discovered him for his very first movie Gabun which started the entire Lloyd Samartino mania in the ’80s, including leading man roles in seven Nora Aunor movies that include Annie Batungbakal, Bongga Ka Day, Rock n Roll and Andrea Paano Ba ang Maging Isang Ina?

Apparently his second wind came completely by accident when he chanced upon a GMA 7 taping unit with Maryo J. at the helm and his kumpare Albert Martinez and decided to drop by to say hello. The visit resulted in a role of a lawyer in the telenovela Habang Kapiling Ka for GMA 7 with Albert, Snooky Serna, Angelika de la Cruz and Tonton Gutierrez. Then quickly followed the succession of TV shows.

"I play father most of the time now. I have no illusions of going back to the glory days. I actually enjoy myself more now as a character actor. There’s less pressure. I don’t have to worry if the public will like me or not, or will find me boring or uninteresting that I will need to concoct something to make myself interesting," he muses.

His only condition to himself in accepting a role is that he trusts and feels comfortable with the director and his co-actors. There’s actually no role he will not accept, except perhaps that of a child molester, he tells us.

What about gay roles he has never done, we ask him, especially since the gay rumor which has hounded him for years has not really died down? "I have no problem with that," he assures us, knowing full well that bading roles will surely come his way in the future. "Every leading man has been rumored to be gay one time or another, because this industry is predominantly gay," he explains.

The future is bright and full of opportunities he is eager to explore. He would like to do a dance album should the opportunity present itself. He says he has actually received offers to sing abroad but couldn’t accept for reasons of scheduling.

He is yet to appear in a digital film and is looking forward to a chance to work on this new and exciting format sweeping the movies.

The best thing, however, about his being back in the industry, he says, is that it is no longer his bread and butter. The real estate business he started years ago has yielded him properties he now rents out. "I’m pretty comfortable now," he admits.

He also looks forward to getting married once again and raising a family. His first marriage gave him a son Sarge, now 12. He also looks to retiring in Capiz from where his mom, singer Carmen Soriano, hails. Having acquired a beach-front property there, he foresees the day when he would have put up a resort, contributed to the tourism of the area and spend his days in relaxation.

Meantime, his more immediate involvement is an ABS-CBN telenovela called Walang Kapalit, starring Piolo Pascual, Claudine Barreto, Edu Manzano and Dina Bonnevie. Not bad for one whom Lady Luck seems to be smiling nowadays.

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