Jaypee de Guzman back to where he belongs

What do child stars do when they grow up or did not grow at all (since most of them stay, uhm, “short” maybe because of sleep deprivation due to long shoot hours)?

Some of them disappear from the showbiz scene, some of them graduate to mature roles (Vilma Santos, Maricel Soriano and many others), some of them get married and live happily ever after, yes, like Jaypee de Guzman who, after a long absence, is making a comeback in the GMA soap My BFF as the best friend of Janno Gibbs with Manilyn Reynes (another former child star) as co-star.

It’s been a long time, indeed!

“My last show,” recalled Jaypee, now 36, “was Andrea Amor with Janice de Belen, also for GMA directed by Kitchie Benedicto. That was many, many years ago, Marcos Administration pa.”

Janice is now a lola (courtesy of her eldest son Iggy Boy Muhlach) and Jaypee is happily married to former TV host PY Nakar, sister of retired actor Dondon Nakar, with whom he has three children aged six (Mateo), five (Lucas) and two (Zach).

“They are all boys so magulo kami sa bahay,” volunteered Jaypee. “As a dad, I can be playful but I can be strict. We impose strict hours for eating, sleeping, playing video games, watching TV, etc.”

Jaypee started with German “Kuya Germs” Moreno’s youth-oriented show That’s Entertainment which ended when Jaypee was 17. At the same time, he appeared in a TV show by Lino Brocka and a few movies such as the Viva drama Saan Darating ang Umaga (with Nida Blanca, Nestor de Villa and Maricel Soriano) directed by Maryo J. delos Reyes; the Regal all-star-cast Mother’s Day film Dear Mama; two Dolphy Films, Tingting de Sarapen (with Alma Moreno) and Nang Maghalo ang Balat sa Tinalupan (with Niño Muhlach); and some Tito, Vic and Joey comedies.

“After That’s, I concentrated on my Communication Arts studies at La Salle. At that time, wala pang film course sa La Salle but most of my subjects were about film. I was working with (scriptwriter) Doy del Mundo, one of my professors. It took me some time to finish my thesis which was a video film.”

After graduation, Jaypee did what he called “behind-the-scenes” work, having directed a few music videos, done post-production work for the defunct GMA sister channel QTV, and (up to now) been doing ministry work with the Nakar-family-organized Catholic charismatic community with over 160 branches worldwide. He authored a book titled Ok, God, Now What? (“finding out God’s perfect plan in our seemingly imperfect lives”).

“We go around, visit different countries to spread The Word,” explained Jaypee who as a child actor was kind of typecast weakling/sickly roles that endeared him to the public, especially parents who longed to give him a loving hug, touched as they were by his portrayal of a child with cerebral palsy in the TV series Blu (with Ronaldo Valdez and Elizabeth Oropeza as his separated parents). “I was barely four years old when I did Blu. I was always the sick kid,” Jaypee added with a laugh. “In the movie Kapag Puso’y Sinugatan, I played Christopher de Leon and Hilda Koronel’s son with leukemia. In Tinik sa Dibdib, with Nora Aunor, batang baliw naman ang role ko and it won for me a FAMAS Best Child Actor. I have two other awards, one for Batang Yagit (Star Awards) and Tingting de Saparen (Metro Filmfest).” 

He got married seven years ago.

“Since then, I’ve been devoting my time to my family and at the same time attending to some business here and there.”

Among Jaypee’s co-stars in My BFF are kids, Jillian Ward and Mona Louise Rey. Asked what of him does he see in those child stars, Jaypee smiled in fond recollection.

“They are very good, pro na pro talaga, magaling na magaling. They don’t look at it as work, parang ako rin when I was their age. I started in TV when I was three and a half years old. No, I don’t think I missed my childhood. The cameras were part of my life. The set was my playground. So I think it was a natural progression for me to go into production.”

And what advice would he give those child actors?

“Finish your studies. Remember that you are never good enough and someone better will come along.”

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