Boyish but not a tomboy?

Unlike other stars, who come all dolled up in frilly dresses and assorted bling-blings, Toni Gonzaga is just fine in casual jeans and T-shirt. And because she dresses up like the girl next door, you’re not scared of approaching her.

Even the best intentions, however, can be misconstrued. And some people are branding Toni a tomboy just because she seldom, if ever, sports those girly dresses her colleagues love to wear.

How else do you account for the absence of a boyfriend all this time, even when Luis Manzano and now, Sam Milby are said to have eyes only for her?

Sam’s leading lady in Star Cinema’s You Got Me! can’t help but shake her head.

"I may seem boyish, but I’m no tomboy," she relates.

Besides, what can she do if her heart still has to go pitty-pat over any guy, even if he happens to be as handsome as Luis and Sam?

"Sam and I agreed that we’re better off as friends," relates Toni.

And the public agrees. They turned the duo’s first film together, You Are the One into a hit. One blockbuster deserves another. So Star Cinema came up with their new starrer, this time, with the two playing police officers running after a pirated video vendor (Pinoy Big Brother graduate Zanjoe Marudo).

You think Toni and Sam know each other inside-out. They’re boring each other to death? Wrong.

"There’s so much to discover in Sam, culture-wise. He’s very open to suggestions, so eager to learn," says Toni.

She herself is raring to try new things in the name of her craft. Even if she can afford not to, Toni herself did all her stunts in You Got Me!.

Result: bruises and wounds here and there.

"It’s the most physically challenging role I’ve played so far," admits Toni.

But she’s not complaining. She had fun!

The camaraderie on the set of director Cathy Garcia-Molina was such that "we drew strength from each other," says Toni.

After the movie is shown (opening day is Feb. 28), will Toni join the political bandwagon her colleagues are jumping into one after the other?

Unlike her colleagues with less experience than she does, the barangay kagawad says no, thanks. Toni would rather bide her time before accepting offers to run for councilor and vice mayor.

She knows one must enter the battlefield fully-armed. And now that she’s neck-deep in work, Toni would rather focus on what endears her most to people: acting and hosting.

"I don’t have time to run for public office," she explains.

Neither does Toni have time to succumb to pangs of jealousy over rumored suitor Luis Manzano’s extra attention to Anne Curtis.

"I’m not even the jealous type in the first place," states Toni.

Yes, live and let live. Jealousy, after all, is a sign of insecurity.

And insecure Toni is not. Not when she’s just built her dream house — with its spacious open-air backyard where Toni recently entertained friends in and outside showbiz.

"I want my guests to enjoy the fresh air in the place," says a proud Toni.

At the rate she’s going, love, indeed, can wait for Toni Gonzaga.