What Steven enjoys the most

MANILA, Philippines - “Finally, it’s showing soon,” says Steven Silva who couldn’t hide his excitement over the upcoming premiere of the eight-part series The Boston: The Kitchen Musical — his international TV break  — where he plays the metrosexual pastry chef named Sid. To premiere June 18, The Boston will air on the Lifestyle Network.

Steven describes Sid as “interesting for being very particular with his sense of style and physical upkeep and appearance. He is also one of the more skillful chefs in the kitchen, yet he is very soft-spoken. In a sense, he is very metrosexual and sometimes even borders on homosexual by his attitude, tendencies and tone of voice, yet no one really knows the truth.”

“No, it’s okay. For me, it’s just a character. I don’t think it carries over because once they said ‘cut!’, ayun tapos na,” replies Steven when asked if he feels hesitant portraying a metrosexual.  He adds that he doesn’t mind if ever the public doubts his sexual preference once The Boston starts airing because, “I know the truth; it’s really okay.”

Steven doesn’t deny though that portraying Sid is challenging because, “Actually, there’s no Sid in me. Sid is medyo conflicting as compared to how I am in real life. Si Sid mahilig mag-ayos at mag-porma, while I’m not. I only wear jeans and shirt. Si Sid every scene is in a suit, naka-long sleeves or buttoned-up all the time and his hair always fixed.”

Steven admits getting (colorless) manicures for every shoot of The Boston for his portrayal to be believable.

“It’s (kind of) hard, you know,” continues Steven saying that he had to research and practice how to be “more soft-spoken” and act like a true metrosexual to prepare for the role. “I had to observe how they behave, how they know the fashion culture and brand names, ‘yung lagi silang nakaayos and they’re very proper.”

Steven, aside from his love for baking, says his background in culinary had a hand in easily conveying his role as a pastry chef. In 2010, before he came to the Philippines and joined StarStruck, he graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

“I’ve baked a few na. I’ve baked cakes, cookies, brownies and muffins, especially when I was still studying I made breads and stuff like that. Sanay ako sa kitchen and I’m very familiar with the kitchen stuff and the do’s and don’ts,” shares Steven.

His experience in 2012’s musical production of Hope for the Flowers, where he was the male lead opposite Frencheska Farr, had given him confidence in auditioning for The Boston.

“I was a senior high school student when I discovered my interest in singing. When my friends influenced me to join the choir that was the time I realized na okey pala ang kumanta. After that, we would sing together or record songs just for fun,” reveals the 27-year-old GMA Artist Center talent.

Steven’s regular stint in Sunday All Stars has been an avenue for him to hone his dancing and singing continuously.

Asked which is more challenging — acting on TV or in theater, he replies, “Both are challenging naman but I like acting in live theater more because iba ’yung disiplina nila; you need to be well-rehearsed because there’s no more Take 2. And also kawawa din kasi ‘yung co-actors mo if you mess up with your lines or something, their performance will be affected also.”

On his working relationship with the rest of The Boston cast, he says, “Everyone really wants to do his best and is also very professional, especially those who truly came from theater. It’s really a big chance for the cast because this is such a big production.”

Steven stresses that GMA has been supportive of him ever since he joined the auditions for The Boston, despite the fact that it will air on the rival network’s sister channel.

“They (GMA management) encouraged me to audition and told me to do my best. I think their concern lang is that they wanted to make sure that I’m still an exclusive talent of GMA and no problems with the promotion or contract,” he says.