No, it's not Richard Gere; it's VJ Dom Lau!

MANILA, Philippines - He’s the Richard Gere lookalike who hosts VIP Access, a movie-review show that comes once a month on Channel V (a subsidiary of Star Movies). He’s Dominic “Dom” James Lau, son of a Shanghainese father and a British mother, born and educated in Hong Kong (elementary and high school) before he moved to the UK for two years in boarding school.

“I guess my mom wanted a stricter education for me,” Dom told Funfare during a brief chat while we were waiting for our turns at the TV interviews with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the Disneyland Hotel in Hong Kong three weeks ago for his latest starrer, Walt Disney Pictures’ Race to Witch Mountain.

“There were a lot of distractions in Hong Kong,” Dom added with a big smile. “At that time, I was obsessing more over my girlfriend than my school. I was young and restless, and I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and so my mom sent me away.”

After finishing school in UK, Dom took up a course in Commercial Music in London.

“I wanted to be a performer since I was a kid. I was a drummer in a couple of bands, one of them called Don’t Wake Alexa. Our vocalist/guitarist is a Filipino, Andrew Bautista. I was told that his father was a well-known pianist or keyboard player in the Philippines. We played cover tunes. I was busy with school and the other members were busy with something else, so it was a shame that we were disbanded because we were really good.”

At 27, he stands 6’3" (“An inch taller with my boots on”). He’s a Taurian (May 1981). It was Dom who hosted the 2007 Icon Awards in Kuala Lumpur in which Vina Morales won a major award.

“Vina’s manager gave me his calling card. I kept it in my wallet which I lost in Singapore. I’d love to visit the Philippines. I’ve met a few Filipino girls, some of them models, and they’re beautiful. I heard that there are more of them in your country,” he said, laughing.

With his build and looks, Dom could be an actor and not just a TV host.

“If I were an actor,” he said, again, “I would be a comedian. I was the joker in class. I’m not a serious guy. I’m happy-go-lucky. But I’m responsible, serious with work.”

Listen to one of his anecdotes.

After an interview with an actor in Hollywood, he felt a strange sensation when the actor shook his hand and, laughed Dom, that kind of convinced him about the actor’s rumored sexual preference.

“He even jokingly asked for my room number and phone number but I didn’t give them to him,” he added, refusing to name the actor.

Told that he’s a deadringer for Richard Gere, Dom laughed louder.

“I should met him in person. He could be my long-lost brother. Hahaha!”  — Ricky Lo