Dingdong enjoying best of both worlds

I’ve always appreciated Dingdong Dantes. Not only because he is a competent actor and professional about his work, but also because he is a gentleman. Dingdong is all the good things you expect a man to be: He’s good-looking, talented, educated, gracious, and dedicated to helping others. He’s always been outspoken about the importance of education, and has supported other charitable causes, all of them without having to be asked.

Dingdong is also one of the most courteous people I know. This is why he is able to go back and forth between networks and is accepted on both sides of the fence. Everyone knows he is a prized talent in the rival network, but at the same time, he also maintains solid work relationships on the Kapamilya side of the fence. Kris Aquino, for instance, is a good friend. They worked together on a number of projects and were co-stars in Segunda Mano, for which Dingdong won a Metro Manila Filmfest Best Actor trophy. Last year, Dingdong starred in Star Cinema’s MMFF entry, the drama One More Try.

Dingdong believes the fact that he values the people he works with is the reason why he enjoys a freedom that his colleagues may not necessarily have. “I take care of relationships. I think that’s why I’ve been able to do this,” he says.

As an actor and as a person, Dingdong really seems to have the best of both worlds. His relationship with Marian Rivera is also experiencing smooth sailing, again, because he values it and both of them know how to draw a line between what is work and what is personal. When Dingdong decided to put his finances on the line to co-produce the action-horror-adventure film Tiktik (which was produced at a cost of P70M), Marian supported him, but that didn’t necessarily mean he had to give her a role in the movie. Now Dingdong is starring in the teleserye Pahiram ng Sandali, that Marian is also not a part of. At the same time, Marian has her own projects. In fact, she has a big film project in the works, that doesn’t include him in any way. According to Dingdong, it’s always been clear to both of them that work is work. So it’s not true that Marian flipped her lid over the intimate scenes involving Dingdong and his leading ladies Angelica Panganiban and Angel Locsin in One More Try. “It’s just a job,” he says. “Doon papasok ang professionalism, walang personalan pagdating sa ganyan. When we do stuff as individuals, we don’t meddle in each other’s careers, o kung ano man. But we support each other.”

Even at this stage of his career, Dingdong seeks to continually expand his creative horizons. It’s why he likes working with different movie companies and production houses for his projects. He is of the mind that the more people there are collaborating on a project, the more chances it has of becoming successful. “Mas naniniwala ako sa mas maraming ulo, mas maganda,” says the actor-producer. “Lalo na ang pelikula, mas maganda kapag maraming collaboration ‘yan. ‘Yung synergy at pagsasama-sama ng lahat ng elements will produce a masterpiece. Kaya hanga ako sa mga direktor ko — mahirap ang ginagawa nila.”

He offers his One More Try director Ruel Bayani as an example. When they were making the movie, direk Ruel would ask Dingdong and the other actors for their opinions. He’d ask them what they thought of a scene. “Talagang binibigyan niya ng opinyon ang bawat artista na nakakatuwa,” says Dingdong. “Parang nagiging collaboration talaga siya in the end. Hinihingi niya ang mga opinyon namin. He listens, but at the end of the day, siya ang nasusunod siyempre, and the writers. But as an actor, you appreciate that you’re part of the process.”

Of course — and even after all this time in showbiz — Dingdong still has dreams. He wants to be able to do a biopic, which is something he’s never done yet. And the biopic he dreams of doing is that of Ninoy Aquino. “Lagi kong iniisip si Ninoy Aquino,” he says.

What about winning another acting award? Dingdong says the only thing that matters to him is giving whatever project he’s doing a hundred percent. If he wins an award, or the movie scores big at the box-office, that’s a bonus. “Yung mga nangyari sa akin last year, hindi ko naman na-predict,” he says. “All I know is, if you put yourself to something and give your everything, most likely the chances of having a positive result will be high, and that’s what matters the most.”