Viewers see us on television yet our real selves are never really seen by the public. I, myself, have my own experiences with the members of the cast. I think, to some extent, it’s good to share a little bit of ourselves sometimes. Here are little facts that I’ve come to discover during my work on GMA 7’s My Beloved:
Jennica Garcia eats like a bear! Seriously, if you see her on screen in all her skinny glory, you’d think she eats like a bird. Surprisingly, it’s the exact opposite! She always has a pantry of food with her in taping and it seems that fast food follows her everywhere. She’ll snack on chips, desserts and regularly have fast food delivered on the set. And, when she orders, she has a burger, a float, fries and then some juice — hardcore eating habits right there. After she eats, she just dozes off in her ultra-comfortable and extra pink folding bed. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, get up to do the scenes then repeat — that is Jennica during her work days.
Carl Guevarra is a freak marathon runner. He is an actor and a model but I think he could also give Coach Rio dela Cruz a run for his money. He recently told me that he finished his full marathon in under four hours which is freakishly fast. It doesn’t look it but he might have some Kenyan blood in him.
Marian Rivera is a world-class imitator. I’m not kidding when I say that she can imitate anybody convincingly! She’ll do impressions of the cast, copy popular commercials and just be an all around goofball on the set. I think I should take a video of her imitations just to prove what I am saying.
Chanda Romero makes a mean sangria. One time, she served us her special sangria (not during work, of course) and it was amazing! I could drink that for breakfast, lunch and dinner just because it’s so good. Plus, she is a world-class party girl. She is always telling me and Saab Magalona about her crazy party days which have not come to an end quite yet. From Ibiza to the Philippines, you name it and she’s probably partied there.
Saab and I have our own blogs. We’re busy all week yet we still strive to keep up our blogs. In a way, I guess it helps us keep our sanity. Actually, we have two blogs each! Saab has her own at www.isabellamagalona.com and my own at mikaeldaez.wordpress.com. We also are regulars at juice.ph/blogs/.
We are all workaholics on the set. We tape for almost 24 hours straight during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In between, we have promotional tours, workshops, events and many obligations that take up at least half a day as well. I realized we’ve become workaholics without noticing it. Racking up 100 hours of work time in a week isn’t out of the ordinary for us yet we love what we do and we will continue to do it! There’s no time to feel tired when you’re having fun at work.
Nova Villa is somehow, someway related to me! I got to talking to Tita Nova just a few days ago and I realized that she has a very close connection to my Lolo. We ended up talking about our relatives and discovered that we knew a lot of the same people. It is a small world here in the Philippines!
Frank and Saab Magalona appeared in a scene together but Alden Richards and Frank look alike. Personally, I found this really funny. Saab and Frank had a scene together where they were playing two people who didn’t really know each other. What is weird about that is that they very much look like siblings. Also, Alden kind of looks like Frank so in a way, you have three characters on screen who play roles that aren’t related yet they look like siblings! I found that really funny! That doesn’t sound as funny now that I wrote it down though but hopefully some of you will find the humor in it.
Marian and Dingdong Dantes are cheesy. During the times that they would be on set together, you would see both of them talking, sweet talking, annoying each other and teasing each other. It’s cheesy and overly romantic but it’s nice to see a couple getting along and having fun even in the workplace. More importantly, they are still able to do their jobs well! Kudos to them!
My Beloved isn’t just about the cast; it’s about teamwork! We have the production staff, crew, scriptwriters, makeup artists, utility team, catering team and so many other people involved and working like mad men just to make My Beloved what it is today. There simply isn’t enough space in this newspaper for me to give justice as to how important each person in the production is. But, one thing I will acknowledge is that we are a team, and one person’s success is everyone’s success! It’s a great working environment on set and I’m proud to be in this project.
There are many other tidbits and anecdotes that I’d like to share but I’ll stick to what I’ve written so far. Overall, I just felt compelled to write this because our project is so heavy on drama that I feel it’s time to show a lighter and happier side to it. I hope everyone continues to follow the series and to all the fans, I would like to thank you for all your support on behalf of everyone working on the show.
(Catch My Beloved on GMA 7 after Legacy, from Mondays through Fridays. For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at mikael.daez@yahoo.com. Follow me on Twitter @mikaeldaez)