What Piolo is scared of

MANILA, Philippines - Piolo Pascual, Angelica Panganiban and Diether Ocampo just got a reason to rejoice these days. The pilot week of ABS-CBN’s Apoy sa Dagat where they starred in has appealed to televiewers so much, especially when Piolo and Angelica appeared as grown-up characters Ruben and Serena, respectively, last Feb. 15, that it earned 27.6 percent in the ratings game based on the latest data from Kantar Media.

For Piolo, there’s still no room for complacency. “I guess, it doesn’t stop there. You don’t stop after the pilot (week) because we’re still establishing the story kumbaga patikim pa lang,” Piolo says after the thanksgiving presscon held Tuesday.

“You cannot rest on your laurels, you have to move on. So we will keep on working as we have to give the viewers something that will entice them more. We are happy when we receive (favorable) ratings like that and we need to continue to do our best. It’s a blessing.”

Sporting a long hair is part of his effort of plunging and losing himself inside the character. “Actually, it was our director’s directive, hahaha just kidding. It was his (director Eric “FM” Reyes) request because he wanted me to look different and I think it helps a lot so we tried to come up with different hairstyles at the time when we’re doing the pilot and I liked it; I enjoyed it because the physical look is big deal to me. When you look different, what follows is the character’s persona.”

But that is not to say that he no longer worked on how to effectively look naïve and dumb as Ruben. Pure acting is a must, Piolo shares. “You see, there was this scene where I was reading the marriage vows. It’s hard to pretend that I cannot read, ‘yun bang alam mo naman i-pronounce ‘yung mga words and yet ‘di mo dapat gawin ng tama so that’s where acting comes in. You have to be in character and what comes out there is the artistry.”

And since a lot have already been said about his acting, Piolo gamely reveals more of himself as he completes the line of every sentence. Read on:

My biggest celebrity crush is…Wynona Ryder ever since I was a kid. I don’t know why but I just like her face. She’s always been my crush.

The superpower I’d like to have is…to be invisible so I can go to different places. I can eavesdrop. I can go anywhere without having to pay.

When I was young, I wanted to be…a pilot. I’ve always wanted to fly planes. Why did I not pursue it? Hopefully soon, I have a friend who’s into it and he’s encouraging me to do it.

My secret talent is…dancing. Nahihiya lang ako minsan. I don’t do choreographed dancing but I love to dance. I can’t do it on ASAP, pa-cute lang ako dun, hahaha.

My craziest fan experience was when…I don’t know it was crazy in a way because we were doing a concert in Sydney for Hillsong Church, it’s a Christian church and then someone threw an underwear on stage. It was crazy because we were performing in a Christian church. I didn’t know how to react.

The one thing that scares me most is…losing a loved one.

My most prized possession is…my son Iñigo.

The most romantic thing I’ve ever done was... It’s more in the family. I find it romantic whenever I take my mom out; even with my siblings. With my son, too. Whenever I spend time with him going to different places. (Last Valentine’s, Piolo shares his mom dropped by his place and they had dinner together.)

The actor(s) I’d like to meet…Wynona Ryder, of course, and then the Hollywood actors I’ve always admired like Robin Williams, Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg. They have great ideas, ang gagaling ng utak nila. Hihingi lang ako ng advice, hahaha.