Waiting for the right time

MANILA, Philippines - It’s clear from the start of this interview that Barbie Forteza is telling the truth when she says Pilyang Kerubin co-star Joshua Dionisio is her best friend — her first male best friend, that is.

The relationship is as natural to them as teasing each other on and off cam – everyday they’re on the set.

“We see each other daily because of work,” Barbie explains. “I don’t mind Joshua’s teasing. Nakaaalis ng pagod.”

The three-year-gap (Barbie is 12; Joshua, 15) is a non-issue. Barbie may act irritated when Joshua mimics her, but she takes it with a grain of salt. In fact, she actually enjoys it.

“I’ve become makulit and noisy because of it,” she admits.

Barbie adds she will even remember this endearing trait of her on screen partner, five years down the road when she would have become a full-blown lady. She would meet other boys, for sure, but she vows Joshua will still stand out in her list.

Joshua reacts with a smile and a playful look in his eyes.

“Barbie may only be 12, but she already acts like a lady,” he observers. Joshua has one wish though: “I hope she will stop using swardspeak.”

Barbie protests: “But I don’t speak that way!”

The two may not say outright. But they’re fiercely protective of their team-up.

Told that he could also partner with Bea Binene, another child star he worked with in the recently-concluded First Time, Joshua reacts, “Kay Jake na yon!”

Even Barbie can’t see herself teaming up with anyone else — not even fellow Kapuso star Jake Vargas — for now.

“I can team up with Jake some other time,” she reasons out.

Before Stairway to Heaven, the soap that first brought them together, Barbie and Joshua thought their climb to the top would be long and arduous.

“We thought people will not remember us as Cholo (Joshua) and Jodi (Barbie) in Stairway. So we never dreamt our guesting will last beyond a week,” recalls Barbie.

As we all know by now, Barbie and Joshua were wrong. The tween market liked them. GMA liked them. And First Time was born.

“Even while we were doing First Time, GMA told us we already had another series coming up. I was also told that First Time was cut short to give way to Pilyang Kerubin,” says Joshua.

Art imitates life as he plays a character close to what he is in real life.

“It’s easy to play Michael because he is easygoing and cheerful like me,” declares Joshua.

The greater challenge landed on Barbie’s lap. As the title roler, Barbie shifts from shy and quiet in First Time to tomboyish in Pilyang Kerubin.

“It’s my first time to play a tomboy. My character in First Time was more like me. But Charity (her character in Pilyang Kerubin) is different. I’m no tomboy. So the role is challenging,” relates Barbie. She got a lot of help from Pen Medina, who held an acting workshop for the two young stars before cameras started rolling.

Barbie – and Joshua – think life would have been totally different for them hadn’t First Time gave them shrieking fans and hordes of autograph seekers.

“If not for First Time, I would still be doing commercials,” relates Barbie.

“Without First Time, I’d still be guesting in shows here and there,” adds Joshua.

Thanks to their parents, the two manage to keep their feet on the ground.

Joshua, whose father drives him to and from work, washes the dishes and feeds and bathes the family’s pet dog.

“We have no maid. And I don’t want to have any other person in the house but my parents and my only sibling,” he explains. “That’s how much I guard my privacy.”

He then turns to Barbie beside him.

“Barbie is a senorita at home,” he says.

The object of this snide remark won't take it sitting down.

“Of course not! I cook rice when the maid takes her day off,” Barbie protests.

Those who fear that the two are too busy to enjoy their youth should not worry. They still do. Joshua says he can still shop in the mall (the upscale ones, of course) undisturbed. Barbie is not complaining about not having time for her toys anymore.

After all, Barbie still is a child, even if she beat an all-adult list of nominees to emerge Best Actress at the PMPC Star Awards for Television. Even her reason for showing up at the awards night is amusing in its childlike honesty.

“I didn’t want my gown to go to waste,” she reasons out.

Joshua, himself a Best Actor awardee (from the Philippine Movie Press Club Star Awards for TV) downplays his victory.

“It’s plain luck,” he says.

Plain luck or not, the guy with the chinky eyes could just be the next matinee idol this side of koreanovela land. And Barbie, if she has her way, would like to be the next Marian Rivera.

Thank God that for now, they’re two young stars teasing each other and laughing at each other’s jokes. Barbie and Joshua will have all the time in the world for more serious stuff once they grow up.